Hiroyuki Shimizu, an analyst for Gartner research firms, has predicted that 2008 will mark the end of the hi-def format war, with Blu-Ray as the victor. Despite Toshiba’s cutting of HD-DVD player prices, Shimizu believes that the lack of titles, and majority of major studios supporting Blu Ray (five of seven studios to be exact) will cause HD-DVD to become the undisputed loser of the format war.

He describes Toshiba’s price cuts as “useless resistance” and that at this point, the format has passed the point of no return. Given the recent setbacks against HD-DVD, including Warner Bros. switching its support to Blu Ray, things are definitely looking grim for the format. Shimizu’s predictions don’t sound all that unreasonable; Toshiba has recently stated that they aren’t ready to start waving the white flag just yet, but the format’s fate seems inevitable.