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Wii photo channel drops MP3 playback in favor of AAC format next month photo

As part of an update available next month, the Wii Photo Channel will be replacing the MP3 file format with the ability to play higher-quality AAC files. Also compatible will be MP4 audio files in the m4a format, but MP3 is about to be kicked to the curb. So much for most of my music library.

Current Wii owners should be able to simply skip the update if they wish to keep their MP3s, but all consoles sold at retail next month and beyond will come with it already installed. Additionally, the new Photo Channel version 1.1 will allow you to shuffle songs for random playback and set any picture you like as the Photo Channel icon in the Wii menu, but what good is any of that when you just finished explaining to Grandma what an MP3 is? She's going to be so confused now. 


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36 comments | showing # 1 to 36

mispelt's Avatar
mispelt at 11/14/2007 04:14
Since this is the first I've heard about being able to play MP3s on my Wii, I am only marginally upset.
Topher Cantler's Avatar
Topher Cantler at 11/14/2007 04:16
You can play them from your SD card while you're playing with the photo channel. I don't know of anybody that bothers with the photo channel in the first place, but apparently MP3s are sooo 2002.
mispelt's Avatar
mispelt at 11/14/2007 04:23
Good to know. I'll be sure to use that feature as soon as I get done listening to all the songs that my 360 is perfectly cool with saving to its hard drive.
Topher Cantler's Avatar
Topher Cantler at 11/14/2007 04:25
Exactly.
KraazyCraig's Avatar
KraazyCraig at 11/14/2007 04:53
So will Excite Trucks custom soundtrack use this now instead of the old mp3 format?
why couldnt they have just added aac instead of removing mp3 altogether? i have a feeling Nintendo are up to something
Topher Cantler's Avatar
Topher Cantler at 11/14/2007 04:59
Craig, that's what I'm saying. I'm all for AAC, (woo hoo, whatever, good for them,) but why do they have to cut out MP3 entirely? Not smart, Nintendo. Not smart.
brimtastic's Avatar
brimtastic at 11/14/2007 05:15
Seems like a curious decision.
Rbj's Avatar
Rbj at 11/14/2007 05:22
NintendApple.
brad drac's Avatar
brad drac at 11/14/2007 05:22
This is pretty shitty news. Not that I've ever actually played an mp3 on my wii, it just seems senseless to remove a feature that we all already have.
AKK's Avatar
AKK at 11/14/2007 05:34
I'll drown myself in a tub of butter before using the aac format.

Fortunately, I never use the photo channel anyway.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 11/14/2007 06:47
So now I feel my SD card is almost of no use...
DanGale's Avatar
DanGale at 11/14/2007 06:49
Wait, what? They're DROPPING it. Why not just add AAC playback, just bear with this crazy idea, aswell as MP3. Beggar's belief it is.
lowercaseluke's Avatar
lowercaseluke at 11/14/2007 07:10
Sounds like copyright talk to me.

This worries me and my excite truck.
bhive01's Avatar
bhive01 at 11/14/2007 07:13
Laym. I agree with the sentiment above.

They should be adding AAC playback to the already supported MP3 playback. Adding options not taking away.

Double Laym for removing the most widely used compressed audio format worldwide.
cryocide's Avatar
cryocide at 11/14/2007 07:18
I think they should've at least kept MP3 as an option for people who can't seem to let go of MP3.

AAC isn't Apple's format, by the way. In fact, the group who cooked-up MP3 (Fraunhofer IIS) had a hand in its creation, and they officially declared it to be MP3's successor. Hating on AAC vs. MP3 is akin to hating on MPEG4 vs. MPEG1 (literally). I know that MP3 players are cheap and plentiful, and that's probably why it's still popular, but that doesn't mean it's a better format.

Oh yeah, and photo channel sucks. I'm surprised someone noticed the change. :p
wardrox's Avatar
wardrox at 11/14/2007 07:58
What, so I'm going to have to convert BOTH the mp3 that fit onto my sd... dammit.

There is room here for somebody to just make a flash mp3 player that sit on ur PC, streem to the wii.
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 11/14/2007 08:32
MPEG-1 sucks dick.

While removing the feature sucks, considering that everything on the planet including your shoelaces can play MP3's is anyone going to really miss this.
PraiseChaos's Avatar
PraiseChaos at 11/14/2007 08:34
Why wouldn't you just support mp3 and AAC?
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 11/14/2007 09:20
Big deal. It's not like good AAC converters come at a premium these days.
wiifreak's Avatar
wiifreak at 11/14/2007 09:34
*Grumble*
hjd uk's Avatar
hjd uk at 11/14/2007 09:35
Sigh, well at least i didn't know you could play Mp3s until now. Whats the odds that a "WiiTunes" channel is going to appear?
That does suck, why take it out ?
Quix's Avatar
Quix at 11/14/2007 09:51
"AAC isn't Apple's format, by the way." - cryocide

Amen. I'm tired of people bagging on Apple every time AAC is mentioned. Just because Apple is one of the few who recognize AAC as superior to MP3 (and is, in fact, MP3's legitimate successor).

Apple ≠ AAC. But AAC > MP3.

That said, I can't fathom why Nintendo can't support both formats.
Oni's Avatar
Oni at 11/14/2007 09:53
Shrug. Who cares, really? It's not the end of the world. It's not like anybody, y'know, USES the photo channel, and from what I understand, they're only removing it from the Photo Channel, so Excite Truck should still work.
dontstaylong's Avatar
dontstaylong at 11/14/2007 09:59
if this means a wiitunes channel, i'm all in. considering i use my TV as a stereo anyway, i'd like to be able to have a dedicated music player on the wii. having a shuffle feature will be nice, as right now it'll just play your mp3s in alphabetical order.

if this is just a change for change sake.... why? has to be a copyright issue. still, it's not like nintendo has a lack of cashflow to be able to support both formats.
RoyRP216's Avatar
RoyRP216 at 11/14/2007 10:52
as if anyone actually used this functionality to begin with..
sogmasta's Avatar
sogmasta at 11/14/2007 11:33
I , too, agree with the 20 gagafillion people who think dropping mp3 playback is a bad idea. Even my dead monkey, snookie poo, thinks this is a bad idea


OBVIOUS MAN.....FLLLLLLYYYYY!!!!!
sTo0z's Avatar
sTo0z at 11/14/2007 11:36
I'd just like to say that this is probably my favorite story picture header ever posted with a story on Destructoid.
moominsean's Avatar
moominsean at 11/14/2007 12:34
i didn't know you could play mp3s on my tv through my wii...but if i did, why would i care if i can play higher quality soundfiles through my tv? and i have like 25,000 mp3s, and i've never had one single aac file. who payed whom to make this change?
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 11/14/2007 12:40
It's the photo channel. You know you only booted it up once, just to check it out. And if you did use it more than that, I highly doubt you had to listen to music through your TV's speakers instead some higher-quality set-up.
Cowboy TTop's Avatar
Cowboy TTop at 11/14/2007 14:33
More Nintendo crap. Perhaps Dtoid should ask their reps why they removed mp3 support for aac, without warning their customers? There's nothing wrong with seeing the option and your Wii warning you that 'you will no longer be able to play mp3s on your Wii, if you accept this update'.

To not do this and let your customers stew, in the wake of such an update is unforgiveable. Its not the point whether aac is better or not, its the fact we didn't get asked about it.

A lesson Nintendo can learn from MS, when updating software, please give a discription of what the update does to your Wii and the option to refuse parts, if not all of it.
Twiggy's Avatar
Twiggy at 11/14/2007 14:36
I'm probably one of the 10 people this comes as good news for, as I finally got my phone/main music player to run AACs, so I'm currently changing my whole music library over to the format. I really don't get why people identify AACs with protected iTunes files - most cd-ripping software will make AACs these days, and they get a lot less crackliness at lower bitrates and over bluetooth connections.
myaimistrue's Avatar
myaimistrue at 11/14/2007 16:56
"old-lady-with-naughty-ooooooh-look.jpg" is the new standard all filenames will be compared with.
carmatic's Avatar
carmatic at 11/14/2007 19:33
why are they removing a feature?
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar
Burnt Meatloaf at 11/14/2007 21:01
Hardware compatibility is important, but software compatibility is meaningless.
NihonTiger90's Avatar
NihonTiger90 at 11/15/2007 00:35
Great, now I have no reason to play Excite Truck anymore.

Thanks a lot, jerks.
Crock23A's Avatar
Crock23A at 11/20/2007 11:00
I doubt this will affect Excite truck owners. The game disc probably has it's own "MP3 Decoder". I doubt it would load the photo channel's software while a game is in use. All in all, this sounds like a crappy move because the photo channel's functionality is great when you have family over and want to show off some vacation shots.
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