Who the hell doesn't already have a DVD player? I don't understand why an inbuilt DVD player is such a big selling point.

Lemon, awesome.

That the users have to create content like this is perplexing to me.

It's a step in unraveling the mod, and they've proven a great point in showing that the hardware can handle it. Calling a step in their research process idiotic is, well... idiotic.

Damn, what I meant there was that due to the fact that you need a modded system in order to use it, in essence it brings nothing practical to the table, and is of no use to anyone not in possession of a modded Wii.

That doesn't mean that it's idiotic or anything, just that it's not particularly worthy of getting excited about, as it means nothing for proper Wii owners. Wee, so they got the Wii playing DVDs. Okay then, let's move on.

I'm actually quite impressed by this, and I can only be sceptical of Nintendo's intentions here by having hardware capable of playing DVD's but not allowing it straight from the box. I can only think they intended at a later date for a firmare update by some WiiChannel (for 500 points or whatever) to milk us of more money, or as rumoured, to release a new SKU.

Also I'd like to point out that regardless of how cheap you can buy a DVD player, that is not why people want their consoles to play DVD's. Look at the current mobile trend which is to incorporate as much technology/utilities as possible, even when what they are offering is essentially a crappy novelty. For instance the very, very poor quality camera's in mobile phones. Personally I don't see the point. I have a mobile/cell phone to make calls, a digital camera for photography, and mp3 player for music. But remember, the idea that it can all fit in one piece of kit is very attractive.

Sorry for the ranting, first post on Destructoid ^_^

My hat goes off to the chaps that have the skills to make homebrew for any console/handheld, for some people coding may be more fun than gaming its self and for some of you to use words like idiotic is just narrow minded fuckwitism.
I think this project is more to see if the Wii could rather than a usable DVD player.
Leaving out the DVD function of the Wii has reduced the cost price to the end users as the Wii only supports Dolby Pro Logic II not Dolby Digital that is the standard on most DVD players.
To add this would have cost more via licensing costs and major hardware redesign.
Remember that the Wii is just two Cubes taped together, by reusing the cube sound system it would have reduced both cost and development time, leaving them more time to work on that white stick which is after all, is the main selling point of the Wii.

@ Cyberxion: What I'm saying is when developing, researching, etc, you don't normally go from A to D without passing through B and C as well. This is a means to an end I'm sure, and it obviously doesn't represent a practical final product.

Calm down everyone... This is only an option, its not like they are making you use it to watch DVD and yea the same old question, Who doesn't have a DVD player already? Hell even the poor people in China have one!

*MaherMcD: "I can only think they intended at a later date for a firmare update by some WiiChannel (for 500 points or whatever) to milk us of more money, or as rumoured, to release a new SKU."

Nintendo said that it would take more than a firmware update to make the Wii play movies. That's obviously BS, because a Gamecube can play DVDs when running GCLinux. You have to have your hardware certified by the DVD consortium to play movies, and it's obvious Nintendo didn't want to do that. Therefore, it's unlikely that the ability to play movies will be offered for existing hardware.

Nintendo will probably refresh (ie - repackage) the Wii in a couple years and add DVD functionality, just so they can justify not having to drop the price to $150. Hey, it works for Apple and the iPod, as well as Sony with the 80GB PS3.

To those bitching that you don't need to play DVDs, well... it's not about whether you need the feature. It's about whether you WANT it. I, for one, don't like swapping cables back and forth and having to pay extra for more devices that take up more space, so the fact that the PS2 plays DVDs is a bonus for me. Could I buy a separate player? Sure. Should I have to? Of course not.

I find it a little ironic that the 8-bit NES was called the "Nintendo Entertainment System", implying that it does more than just play games, and handles all forms of entertainment. Today, the Wii is not an entertainment system -- it's just a video game machine.

Not like I'd want to pay $600 for an all-in-one device, but I can't imagine the DVD license fee costing more than a few pennies per machine. How do you think they make $30 DVD players (retail, no less) if the licensing is too expensive? Nintendo is just cheap, that's all.

@ Nightmareci, sorry I'm not familiar at all with video media and licensing of technology or whatever the technicalities are of incorporating a DVD player. It just seemed at first glance this could've been a money making scheme.

@ Dr Hairydwarf, your point about the sound technology also makes my assumption less logical. Definitely not an audio junkie!

I just threw that opinion out there to see what others thought, I wasn't bitching. However, I think this mod exists because people as Burnt Meatloaf pointed out, would rather not swap cables and have the technology in one solution. I think media forms will inevitably merge.

I'd also like to say that ok, Nintendo is a gaming business, but they are also a business as is so frequently pointed out by people defending their current strategy to spread to a more casual marketshare. Just wondering how much would including the DVD playback have set back the average user? and isn't the core XBOX 360 price not just over the Wii's pricing? which does include DVD playback. By the way, I own a Wii so please reserve any "M$ fanboy" comments!

@AngelsDontBurn

Unless of course you slip, then it costs about $80 for a modder to tell you that its hopeless and then $250 for a new wii.