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No Wii DVD for thee... for now photo

Are you one of the last remaining holdouts basking in the glory of a self-imposed exile from technological leaps and avoiding DVDs until Nintendo outfits its next iteration of the Wii with built in DVD playback? If so, the wait to make the "current-gen" jump just got a little longer. IGN is reporting that Nintendo has decided put off plans of producing a DVD-ready until sometime next year. The reasoning behind it has to do with Nintendo making sure that they don't make any manufacturing changes that might impact getting more units out the door -- and to store shelves on time. After all, the holidays are fast approaching.

Why anyone would want to spend $250 to watch movies is beyond me (This is the part where the anti-PS3 crowd goes nuts). This isn't exactly like the early PlayStation 2 days, where part of the glamour was adding a new technology to your living room. You can literally purchase a stand-alone player for $30 these days. Considering that most households already have at least one working DVD player, and that the Wii is better suited as a gaming device -- I don't think this is going to turn a lot of heads.

Then again, I could be wrong. Is anyone out there really missing this function at this time? If it's that important to you, there are other routes. Just try not to get spooked by the black helicopter Nintendo dispatches to hover above your house at night. Rumor has it that they don't always take to console modifications too kindly.


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23 comments | showing # 1 to 23

Jasongame's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 09:32
Jasongame
I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going to go crying because I am now forced to play DVD's on my DVD-player. It's a game system and that should be the main goal. Adding DVD functionality isn't going to do much for me when I already have a DVD player built into my TV.
PraiseChaos's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 09:33
PraiseChaos
I don't buy consoles to watch movies. I buy them to play games. Personally, I'd rather see Nintendo spend time developing games I want to play rather than adding functionality that everything attached to my TV can already do.
Gameboi's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 09:34
Gameboi
BINGO! The Wii is for playing games, and I'm all for that.
Necros's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 09:42
Necros
I totally support the notion that the Wii is a game player first and anything else second. However, they might as well toss in the ability when they have a DVD drive right there.
Snaileb 's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 09:47
Snaileb
Well, it would be nice to add even if I have 3 other devices that do play DVD's, but it's not a big deal. Except that BS about getting more units out, I mean, of course putting that kind of hardware would slow down production, but I'm sure there are other rea$on$..
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 09:51
JACK of No Trades
I don't give a shit if I own 5 other devices that play DVDs. The Wii should have DVD playback. But, Why would I want to watch my movies in standard definition......ok nevermind don't put DVD playback in the Wii.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 10:06
GuitarAtomik
I just got a Wii the other day for my girlfriend's birthday. She asked me if you can play DVDs on it and she was dissapointed to hear the answer "No" as it seemed like a perfect fit for the Wiimote. Personally, I'd rather have it in there. It's a minor inconveniance, but it's still an inconveniance. Right now the only other DVD player hooked to my TV is a PS2, but that would be replaced in a heartbeat since wireless controller > wired controller when it comes to this. Again, it's not a big deal, but if they are trying to become the center of family entertainment in the living room would it hurt?
BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 10:07
BluDesign
Why would I care?

I have too much entertainment now anyway, the very last thing on my list of must have accessories is a DVD playing Wii.

I have:

The Internet (I could honestly stop right there...)
2 iPods
An iMac
An iBook
A PS3
A 360
About 200 hours of MPEG-4 videos to stream through either of my consoles...
A Wii
100 or so DVD's
23 BluRay's
20 or so games for my consoles.
A DS lite (6 games?)
FiOS digital TV, with a 3/4 full 80 hour DVR and endless amounts of VOD.

When the fuck am I gonna be bored?

I feel like a roman emperor sometimes, with so much awesome stuff, I purposely have like 3-4 things running to enjoy it all.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 10:25
Mxyzptlk
I have never cared about any of my game consoles having DVD playback. And I still don't.
ruckus's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 10:27
ruckus
i'd like dvd playback in the wii. How many devices do i need to stuff under the tv? and just another remote on the coffee table...
F Whipple's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 10:28
F Whipple
I don't care seeing as I have a dvd player and a ps2.

Besides, Mario comes out next week. Who's going to have time to watch movies anyway.
Vyruz's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 10:39
Vyruz
I just hope they think about the people who already have a Wii and release the DVD-playback as a buyable software upgrade.
Or I'm missing something important about the hardware that doesn't make it compitable right now.
Annyway, even if it is released, i'm proberly not getting it, but it's something to save like a last resort or something.
saxomophone's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 11:01
saxomophone
it's not that big a deal, but i would like dvd playback on my wii. it would allow me to get rid of one more device in my already super crowded room. no chance the wii would be capable of upscaling, is there?
Auto Glocktopus's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 11:13
Auto Glocktopus
i already own one so its no big deal, but i am bothered. i have an older tv in my apartment with a ps3, 360, and a wii- and i can only hook up one at a time since i'm too cheap to buy a switch. i usually play my systems in waves; para ejemplo i'll play a bunch of ps stuff whether its kingdom hearts, resistance, or chronotrigger - i play it on my ps3 which can also play dvds. same with the 360. the only time i have to switch those out is when i want to play a different company's product. however, on the wii after im done playing zelda or metroid or mario i have to switch to a different system just to watch a movie. lame. it would've been easy to implement and i dont know why they didnt.

i know. i need a new tv with multiple inputs.
i'm in college, leave me alone.
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 11:20
Holyetheline
Wii needs more memory, not a DVD player. It will be 7 more years until Nintendo catches on to the external hard drive feature at this rate. MORE MEMORWII!
Lord The Night Knight's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 11:59
Lord The Night Knight
If (and that is an "if") HD player prices go down fast enough by then, Nintendo should just add HD-DVD and blu-ray support as well.
rdaneel72's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 12:11
rdaneel72
My only regret is that after being amazed at how well the Wiimote works for navigating the Wii Channel interface, I want my DVD player to offer a similar interface. Pointing a cursor to PLAY or EPISODE SELECT on a DVD menu, rather than trying to find the correct tiny button in the dark would be much easier.
brainpower4's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 12:52
brainpower4
I'm in college... i.e. a tiny dorm room... i.e my Wii is in my sock drawer for lack of space. It isn't a big deal too me since my PC monitor is all most the size of my TV(tiny TV unfortunaly :(. but if i had play DVDs on my TV i wouldn't know where to put a DVD player. If i didn't have a Wii by the time they came out with DVD players it would have been a definite plus.
dontstaylong's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 13:31
dontstaylong
as much as nintendo wants to make the wii the center of family entertainment, dvd playback makes sense. so far though, my wii wishlist is as follows:

1. more memory (or at least more SD capabilities)
2. music/video player
3. fewer crappy VC games... i'm impatient.
grrza's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 17:15
grrza
Well, it's not a big deal, but it should be on there, just because - i.e., as a standard feature. This seems especially obvious since a lot of people buying the wii are not hardcore gamers or technophiles, and may not have or want multiple other boxes sitting next to their TV. I imagine having dvd playback capabilities could be a significant extra for these people.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 19:15
Wedge
Newsflash, it already plays DVDs. They would never have to release a new version of the console for this. You can already hack one to play DVD's, they just haven't payed the license to allow you to do so. Youl'd figure with all the money they're making, they could afford to put out a DVD Channel for it eventually.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/08/2007 19:16
Wedge
And no, I'm not in a reading mood today to read the entire post before saying that. I have like twenty posts to catch up on D=.
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/09/2007 03:50
Burnt Meatloaf
@Wedge: I think you're the only person who actually knows this. You can play DVDs on a chipped Gamecube!

It's strictly a certification issue. It has absolutely nothing to do with hardware or firmware. If it cost real money to add DVD playback to the Wii, I would argue that Nintendo doesn't have to do it. But, given that it's just a matter of a license, refusing certification is just so damn cheap of them.

Maybe they figure that if people spend time watching movies, they'll buy fewer games. In the real world, though, that doesn't happen.
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