DVD Wii still not a priority, gamers probably don't care

by Phil Larsen { Jun 30th 2008 at 11:00AM }

It's been a very very very very very crazy ride for the Wii in regards to DVD playback. It's still not certain if the general public really cares anyway, on account of owning about six hundred devices that play DVDs already, so it's no big deal that Nintendo still isn't doing much about their planned movie-ready console.

IGN picked up a report from a stock-holders meeting, and Satoru Iwata said outright that "With supply constraints [of the Wii] continuing worldwide, the priority is on the current model." Guess they won't be rolling out a DVD unit anytime soon. It's hard enough to get the existing console to customers as it is, let alone turn around and start dilly-dallying around by making up a new model!

Tags: dvd, iwata, movie, playback

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

TriptychR @ Jun 30th 2008 11:13AM

Nope. Don't care about DVD.

ChrisCanberg @ Jun 30th 2008 11:17AM

I could really care less about the whole DVD thing. I have a computer that plays DVDs for such a purpose.

How bout that storage, Nintendo? That's what we really need.

Good_Bytes @ Jun 30th 2008 11:16AM

you can have a DVD player for your computer for 20-25$, and you can find for your TV for 30$ and up.
What is the problem? I mean seriously I prefer 2 separate devices. Not only you get a proper DVD player (if you spend more on one), you don't have to keep changing game disk if you know you want to play the game inside once more later on.

mgroves @ Jun 30th 2008 11:22AM

Why would they need new hardware? Can't they just update firmware to play DVDs? If not, why not?

RupeeClock @ Jun 30th 2008 11:38AM

DVD players are incredibly cheap and common these days, I don't really need this in my wii, I already have a DVD player I never use, and a PC where I rarely use DVDs as it is.

PS3 is another matter because it's a new format.

BlackFreefall @ Jun 30th 2008 11:42AM

What's next? A blu ray player on the Wii 2?

Oneiroi @ Jun 30th 2008 11:42AM

Whenever i've had a console that can play dvd's, I've never used the player. It's not a big issue. I feel like most people already have dvd players that offer more variety in terms of format anyway.

I'd rather they work to "fix" hard drive issues and friend codes...but that probably won't happen either.

z @ Jun 30th 2008 11:48AM

It doesn't even need to be a firmware update. It could just be offered as a software channel paid download through wiiware, much like the internet channel. Seems like a no brainer...

That said, I've nearly stopped buying DVDs recently so it makes no difference to me.

Stefan @ Jun 30th 2008 11:48AM

I still don't own a separate DVD player --- I use my old PS2 or my laptop in the very rare occasions I play a DVD (3-4 times a year). I would have liked it as a feature on my Wii, just because I hooked that up to a different TV that has nothing else DVD-wise, but it didn't stop me for one nano-second when I considered buying the Wii :)

Nigeria @ Jun 30th 2008 12:16PM

That disc is a little scratched.

Phoenixfury @ Jun 30th 2008 12:17PM

The lack of DVD playback on the Wii is not a deal breaker for me. I already have my PC hooked up to my TV with 2 DVD drives. I also have a Xbox 360. Guess which one has much higher quality playback? It's not the 360 therefore DVD playback on any game console is useless to me. Cheap DVD players are more obtainable as others had already said. These days basic DVD playback on a game console is just plain redundant.

murray b @ Jun 30th 2008 12:31PM

I'd love a dvd playing wii, mostly for travel purposes. but i dont want it to mess anything up like playing dvd's on the ps2.

Waffala @ Jun 30th 2008 1:02PM

I'm kind of surprised looking through the comments and seeing that so few people posting actually watch DVDs; is everyone here just a bunch of pirates stealing movies on the internet, or is wiifanboy devoid of film buffs?

Without an HD output, the wii doesn't need video playback, it's the same display as any standard DVD player which cost maybe 30$ which is the cost of two new release DVDs.

Phoenixfury @ Jun 30th 2008 1:55PM

Waffala, I don't think it's necessarily because anyone's a pirate. There are other mediums these days other than DVD's to enjoy big screen movies. Bare in mind some big named cable companies have VOD services. Also remember iTunes / Amazon, Movielink, and Cinemanow all sell and rent movies online. If anything else, I'd like to see Nintendo partner up with one of these services to stream content from your PC to the Wii much like can already be done with the 360. It would be nice to rent something on iTunes and watch it upstairs on me Wii. Of course Apple would never do this because they have Apple TV's to sell. I just think that downloading and streaming legally is where it's at. The DVD format isn't dead yet, but it's already in the hospital on it's death bed, and quite frankly I don't think people care much when other more convenient options are out there.

Waffala @ Jun 30th 2008 2:52PM

Touche. I still favor the DVD format over digital because it doesn't require complicated set-ups, and the tangibility of the format is appealing to the collector/packrat in me.

velocitySTRIKE @ Jun 30th 2008 5:48PM

The plural of "medium" is "media", not "mediums". Sorry, I had to.

trE @ Jun 30th 2008 1:26PM

I use an upconverting DVD player so a Wii player will be of no use to me.

Rocketboy @ Jun 30th 2008 2:41PM

Same boat here. My DVD player is connected via HDMI. Why would I want my Wii to play DVDs?

Sisyphus @ Jun 30th 2008 2:18PM

By this point, I have far too many things that play DVDs, including: PS2, laptop, computer, DVD players on two tvs, TV with a built in DVD player, and some of those small portable DVD players. Not that I'm rich or special, just that between roommates and things that just end up being able to play DVDs, I'm more than covered.

benmully @ Jun 30th 2008 2:24PM

If they're that bothered, why don't they just release a DVD Channel that plays in software/hardware? Surely it doesn't need a whole new Wii? They could then charge the DVD license fee for downloading the channel.

Garst @ Jun 30th 2008 3:10PM

Why do people use stupidly generic naming systems for labeling Nintendo's unannounced future systems? Wii 2? We know Nintendo will never use such dumb mnemonic devices. People should use terms like Nintendo 6 or NES6 that way you don't sound like you're one tree short of a forest when Nintedno announces the name.

"Oh. Nintendo's next console is going to be called Wii, not GameCube 2. That does sound much better, yet somehow worse."

Sure that's not the best example, but you get my point. And if Nintendo doesn't put in DVD features in their current or next gen system, will I get mad? No. Do I think other people will be mad? There will probably be the standard 1-2% that will be, but no I don't think people will be mad. Nintendo has done well without adding a DVD player to its list of accomplishments, so why drive up cost on something people don't seem to care about?

Mattchewie @ Jun 30th 2008 3:18PM

I personally would actually enjoy this. I would love for the wii to support UPNP servers and DVD playback. I don't watch dvd's often, therefore having a dedicated device for it seems pointless to me. Why not do it on the device I use a lot, which is my wii.