The end of the format wars between HD DVD and Blu-ray was good for most people, but for the early adopters out there who had backed HD DVD the failure of the format was not good news. To help appease customers that purchased HD DVD gear at Best Buy gift cards are coming.

Best Buy announced today that it will be giving out over $10 million in $50 gift cards to customers who purchased HD DVD hardware in its stores. The offer covers stand alone HD DVD players as well as HD DVD attachments, presumably for the Xbox 360.

The really cool part is that buyers have to do nothing. Best Buy will simply mail the cards out to every customer it can identify as having purchased a HD DVD player in its stores. Buyers who purchased via Bestbuy.com, bought an extended service plan or are part of Rewards Zone should find the gift cards in the mail by May 1st. Sure $50 doesn’t quite offset the hundreds of dollars most HD DVD players cost, but it’s better than nothing.

via Best Buy.