Rant: Why manufacturers don't need to "give away" BD players

[Elandyll]

The situation can be summarized by this term (also emplyed by Penton-Man):
Scorched Earth.

This is a moment in a "battle" when you know you cannot win, but instead of giving way gracefully you decide that you wil go down fighting to the last man, delaying your opponent's certain victory as you may, and leaving behind you "burning fields" that will make the victory so costly, and the aftermath so bitter in term of results, that supposedly your "opponent" will think twice in the future about re-engaging in a battle with you.

What I fail to understand is why would the HD DVD buyers, who could see this tactic being used by just opening their eyes, would condone it. This is shaddy business at best, and downright spitefull, countrary to ethical business practices and even immoral at worst.

There is also a French term called "Jeu de Massacre", which normally refers to a throwing ball game into a bunch of cans, but also to the principle of having nothing to gain but taking a whole bunch of people down with you, just because you can.
The way I see it, Toshiba is getting real close to this...