DVD-Enabled Wii: Coming Soon*

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Vertigo Acid

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Nintendo has confirmed that they will be releasing a version of their Wii with DVD playback capabilities... just not this year. Lack of DVD support has long been seen by critics and supporters alike as a sticking point for widespread adoption. Like most 1st generation Wii owners, I haven't been holding my breath.

“We had decided not to initiate sales of [DVD-enabled Wii] in 2007 due to the necessity to raise production efficiency for the single game console product type. Given the demand for Wii in Japan, Europe and the U.S., we had to raise manufacturing efficiency of the current versions,” Nintendo indicated.
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I wonder if they will let you download a program to let you play DVD's (for 30 bucks or so)?
 
Kendrak said:
I wonder if they will let you download a program to let you play DVD's (for 30 bucks or so)?
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See, I was wondering the same thing, but when you read Nintendo's comments, they make it sound like it will be a hardware revision of some sort
 
Vertigo Acid said:
See, I was wondering the same thing, but when you read Nintendo's comments, they make it sound like it will be a hardware revision of some sort
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Meh, I have my HD-DVD player now. But it still be nice to to take the Wii on vacation and have a DVD player with us.
 
Vertigo Acid said:
See, I was wondering the same thing, but when you read Nintendo's comments, they make it sound like it will be a hardware revision of some sort
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Don't the mod chips for the Wii enable DVD playback?

I would think a firmware revision could make it possible.
 
No one cares. People don't buy game consoles to watch movies. Nintendo is just covering up the one weak spot that Wii-haters like to attack.
 
InorganicMatter said:
No one cares. People don't buy game consoles to watch movies. Nintendo is just covering up the one weak spot that Wii-haters like to attack.
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i havent had to spend extra money on a DVD player in years because of DVD playback on my gaming consoles.....

big news will be when they update the hardware so Wii people can at least enjoy HD gaming and actual surround sound....

other big news would be that they will actually come out with some good games, but that wont happen until the hardware gets updated
 
InorganicMatter said:
No one cares. People don't buy game consoles to watch movies. Nintendo is just covering up the one weak spot that Wii-haters like to attack.
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Exactly, I think only critics like to point that out because there isn't much else to complain about. Just lack of DVD playback and lack of "next gen" graphics. And how can someone claim it is stopping widespread adoption? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Wii kicking the PS3s ass in sales? In August the Wii had sold more units that either the Xbox 360 or PS3 at 10.57 million units (according to http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/08/23/wii-beats-xbox-360-in-total-consoles-sold/ ) - how is the lack of DVD playback a barrier to wide-spread adoption again? :D

Besides, who doesn't have a DVD player by now? They are what, $30 from wal-mart?
 
nobody_here said:
other big news would be that they will actually come out with some good games, but that wont happen until the hardware gets updated
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If you don't think the wii has any great games. Well then you don't see beauty for what it really is.
 
kllrnohj said:
Exactly, I think only critics like to point that out because there isn't much else to complain about. Just lack of DVD playback and lack of "next gen" graphics. And how can someone claim it is stopping widespread adoption? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Wii kicking the PS3s ass in sales? In August the Wii had sold more units that either the Xbox 360 or PS3 at 10.57 million units (according to http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/08/23/wii-beats-xbox-360-in-total-consoles-sold/ ) - how is the lack of DVD playback a barrier to wide-spread adoption again? :D

Besides, who doesn't have a DVD player by now? They are what, $30 from wal-mart?
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i think they come in cereal boxes and happy meals now.

plus i used my wii to visit tvlinks. bypasses that whole archaic industry. would be nice if this writers strike grows and kills the studios and their old ways.
 
k1pp3r said:
If you don't think the wii has any great games. Well then you don't see beauty for what it really is.
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it has some good games if you like sports and mario and metriod and that kind of stuff, all of the AAA titles that are multiplatform are a much more enjoyable experience on my 360, my friend has a Wii, so yes i have played on one, it has its place, if i owned one it would be in the kids room
 
nobody_here said:
it has some good games if you like sports and mario and metriod and that kind of stuff, all of the AAA titles that are multiplatform are a much more enjoyable experience on my 360, my friend has a Wii, so yes i have played on one, it has its place, if i owned one it would be in the kids room
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Mine is in my living room, right next to the x360, i take both systems for what they are and nothing more. I enjoy both.
 
Smititty said:
Don't the mod chips for the Wii enable DVD playback?

I would think a firmware revision could make it possible.
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Modchips enable it, but it is recommended not to do so because apparently the laser on the current Wiis aren't suitable for reading DVD movies (they wear out faster than if you just played a game)
 
Modchips enable it, but it is recommended not to do so because apparently the laser on the current Wiis aren't suitable for reading DVD movies (they wear out faster than if you just played a game)
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Probably because when playing a DVD, the laser is constantly reading information from the disk. When playing a game, the Wii doesn't have to constantly read information. This does raise an interesting issue though- how long will the first-gen Wii lasers last if they're not up to hours and hours of constant reading?
 
Ozymandias said:
Probably because when playing a DVD, the laser is constantly reading information from the disk. When playing a game, the Wii doesn't have to constantly read information. This does raise an interesting issue though- how long will the first-gen Wii lasers last if they're not up to hours and hours of constant reading?
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Probably a decade or more.

Playing a DVD movie involves 2+ hours of constant reading.
Playing a game involves a few moments of reading for every few hours of play. Playing a DVD movie is likely 20-30 times more strenuous then playing for the same amount of time. So while using you Wii as a player might kill it in a couple years, it is far more likely to suffer mechanical failure before laser failure if you're only playing games.
 
ive never heard of a laser wearing out in a drive. i have some very old drives that still work...
 
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I wonder who really does care about this in the age of 20 dollar dvd players. On another hand it would be nice to have an option to buy a dvd player off the wii store(or hell a media player that will stream from the pc too).

If they are making a new hardware revision for it I can only hope they add optical out for it. Maybe a digital output(even though it would still run at 480p).
 
Kinda a backwards step from the 360 and PS3 with their HD-DVD and Blu-Ray respectively...
Of course, Nintendo wins because they actually did their homework. Most parents aren't going to monopolize an HDTV so their kids can play games, and they aren't going to drop $400 or more on a game system. DVD playback hasn't ever been a real selling point on any game system but the PS3 (back when it was the cheapest Blu-Ray player you could buy) which I mostly use to stream anime vids over the home network and play Guitar Hero, hehe.
By the by, does anyone else have a real problem with fast paced games on the Wii? Something about that controller doesn't seem to work properly with fighting/aiming.
 
I couldn't care less about the DVD playback. I am just crossing my fingers that they will add optical out for the audio.
 
I think this is a good thing. Personally I'm annoyed at all the "updates" and different versions of consoles. Isn't that one reason to do console gaming? Not having to worry about compatibility, system requirements, etc? This along with price is why I've stuck with the PS2. It seems as soon as you shell out a few hundred bucks for a console, a new version comes out and you feel bad about not having the latest and greatest. Bring back the good old days of one PS2, one Gamecube, one XBOX. Other than smaller form factors, all the hardware was the same.

Or maybe I'm just becoming an old man. "Back in my day, we had to blow on our games to make them work. And then the controller only had 4 buttons! And it was a rectangle with terrible ergonomics and destroyed your hand..."
 
Great, now after they get around to putting a DVD player in, maybe they can make a few extra so I can actually find one in a store.
 
Tokamak said:
....
Bring back the good old days of one PS2, one Gamecube, one XBOX. Other than smaller form factors, all the hardware was the same.
.......
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Hardware was not the same. With the gamecube they removed one of the outputs so you couldn't run 480p on it(not that that many games supported it). With the PS2 they removed the ability to put the hard drive in it which a few people also used.

This gen they are adding features as well as just removing them. In the case of the 360 they added a hdmi port and a bigger drive. With the ps3 they removed some features and are adding in some old ones(like rumble).
 
Ozymandias said:
Probably because when playing a DVD, the laser is constantly reading information from the disk. When playing a game, the Wii doesn't have to constantly read information. This does raise an interesting issue though- how long will the first-gen Wii lasers last if they're not up to hours and hours of constant reading?
Click to expand...

My Wii does seem to get hot after a while of playing. I wouldn't be surprised if it burned out early.
 
Ozymandias said:
Probably because when playing a DVD, the laser is constantly reading information from the disk. When playing a game, the Wii doesn't have to constantly read information. This does raise an interesting issue though- how long will the first-gen Wii lasers last if they're not up to hours and hours of constant reading?
Click to expand...

What I want to know is who claims that the current Wii laser isn't up to continuous use, and who is claiming that it will die if you use it to play DVDs. Sounds like some crackpot theory someone just threw out there. 5-10mW needed for DVD playback isn't going to get all that hot and/or burn out during continuous use....
 
AKDUDE said:
Great, now after they get around to putting a DVD player in, maybe they can make a few extra so I can actually find one in a store.
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If you read the article, you would know that they are holding off on this update due to concerns about first getting supply issues under control :rolleyes:
 
AKDUDE said:
Great, now after they get around to putting a DVD player in, maybe they can make a few extra so I can actually find one in a store.
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my local Walmart always has several on the shelf......i could have bought 10 of them by now
 
Nintendo has the makings of a killer app... Wiifit in conjunction with the current controller... for shooters or sports games. It's just plain full of win. :D
 
InorganicMatter said:
No one cares. People don't buy game consoles to watch movies. Nintendo is just covering up the one weak spot that Wii-haters like to attack.
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Actually they do. I would think lots of BluRay viewers use PS3's to make it happen. For years I've used my XBox (the first one) to watch DVD movies until I finally got around buying a DVD player lol
 
Bittersweet, If they make it attractive enough for existing owners to grab it (say, both Blue-Ray & HD-DVD support) then it would flood ebay and local game shops with used Wiis that those peeps that need the Wii discount could grab a 1st gen machine which in turn would create a larger demand for games, in turn making more money for Nintendo. Isn't capitalism grand? While I'm really for it, it's gonna entice me to spend more money! Argh!! :eek:

As for game system to play DVDs, you simply can't beat them!! Even if you never play with the console, I'd still want to use one for speed alone. I sold my 1st gen XBox prior to get'n my Wii and picked up a standalone DVD player with much regret. Oh the pain, it's like reading a single speed drive or something on the standalone, menus are slow as mollases and hesitates continually. A game system is going to have at least, what?, an 8x dvd player or better; and being a pc in desquise is going to process video faster. The fluidity of a gaming console as a DVD player is hands down the way to go - next better would be an HTPC. I've been contemplating picking up either a PS3 or XBox360 if nothing more than just to play DVDs.
 
Azhar said:
Actually they do. I would think lots of BluRay viewers use PS3's to make it happen. For years I've used my XBox (the first one) to watch DVD movies until I finally got around buying a DVD player lol
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Or people like me. I have yet to buy a stand alone player. I have always used game consoles or computers to play my DVDs.
 
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