Wii DVD Confirmed

[Tom]

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=14430

As of Nov 13, There will be a DVD enabled Wii for North America in 2007.

[Thorin]

We find it curious that Nintendo is sort of splitting the market by offering one model without DVD playback and then later one with DVD functionality enabled, but Atwood asserted that that's why Nintendo is getting the word out there now, prior to launch. If DVD movie playback is so important, people can wait for the later model next year. For most consumers it'll be about the games, so they'll likely not want to wait to purchase the new system.

This quote indicates an interesting attitude by the spokesperson and hopefully Nintendo as a whole; specifically, that they need to pay attention to their demographic and make sure to publish their short- to medium-term plans so that we the customer don't get bitter about them.

[Tom]

Hey, I'm happy. I don't want to spend money on a unit that aught to be able to play DVDs, and have to get a stand alone dvd player on top of that. Its just silly.

[Tom]

It seems Nintendo is really waffling with the NA DVD support.

[Lazybones]

I don't care.. I already have Two DVD playback devices, why do I need a third?

[Tom]

You don't. But I would like to have one device for everything. Which is one reason it wasnt released with DVD support to begin with, most people probably dont need it to play dvds. I however would like one single small unit for everything.

[Shayne]

Why would people argue to not have it?  Value added to the console.

[Tom]

It costs about $20usd per device to have the "DVD" logo on it. (aka: Certified DVD player blah blah)
Plus the software license fees.

Nintendo wanted the machine to be as inexpensive as possible. At one point the CEO said he wanted it at around 100-150. But parts like the NAND flash and whatnot have bumped the price up a bit.

[Shayne]

Well, its already $250 and they currently pull a profit on every device sold.  So slap in a dvd decoder and make it happen.  Its not like a $20 price drop will spur sales as they already are 50% the price of the "competition"

[Lazybones]

I think the Wii needs DVD like every phone needs a camera... er wait they don't.

[Shayne]

Why not?  I have got killer candid shots on my cellphone.  Just seems like a nice value added feature.  HD would also be a nice value added feature

[Tom]

Well, its already $250 and they currently pull a profit on every device sold.  So slap in a dvd decoder and make it happen.  Its not like a $20 price drop will spur sales as they already are 50% the price of the "competition"

I saw a news item that said Nintendo wanted the Wii to cost about 100$ usd. They didn't get that due to choosing some slightly more expensive parts, like the builtin NAND flash, and various others they didn't mention. And adding certified DVD playback would cost $20 usd for the "Ready for DVD" logo, and some other not cheap fee per unit for the DVD software. So it could easily have cost $40usd/46cad more than it already does.

For me, and some others, Its a great, ney, an awesome feature. I don't want N (probably ugly) devices that each do a single task, I want one pretty device that does most of the things I'll do with my TV.

[Lazybones]

Aww but the Wii is not marketed as a media center, only a game system. Both MS and Sony are pushing hard that there systems are more. Nintendo has only outlined classic game content and multi player features for it's online feature.

Also I believe Nintendo fully expects many households with a Wii will aslo have a 360 or a PS3. Again that is why they where trying to price it so low. They didn't want to be the ONE system you could afford, they wanted everyone to be able to afford one.

The only hate I have at the moment is the damn Wiimote and Nunchuck are sold as two parts, but basically every game is going to need both! It actually makes the controler set more expensive than the competitions controllers.

[Tom]

And thats exactly why it was released without direct support for DVD playback. It would have increased the price, added something their core demographic probably already has, and may have pushed back the release date.

I think, as one article put it, they announce that there will be a DVD version later, so the people that want it, will/can wait. As it it seems nintendo said that while all thats needed is software a "firmware upgrade" wouldn't actually let the current Wii play DVDs.

For me, and some others, Its a great, ney, an awesome feature.

[Shayne]

I hope to revisit this thread in 2 years time and see the state of the 3 main players.  It will be very interesting