DVD-enhanced Wii also hits US "latter half of 2007"

Wowwww, so many people whining over a DVD player.

The GC's laser pot needed to be tweaked down to read DVD-R discs. GC disks are black, as are Wii discs and require a stronger laser to read...as a form of piracy protection.

I'll bet the new Wii has a software-controlled POT to read DVD's.

Anyone going to comment on how Nintendo copied Microsoft or Sony with 2 console versions?...

Also, I think I remember Reggie having a statement "One configuration, One price, under $250..."

But this is okay when it's Nintendo, right?

I would really like to know why DVD playback is an issue for any person thinking of getting a game console. I'm thinking of getting a Wii and it does not bother me. First off I use my computer as a TV and it has a DVD drive in it. Secondly, my room mates have a DVD player, ps2, xbox360. My parents have two DVD players hooked up to TVs so I'm sure that if for some reason that my computer goes down I can still watch the few DVDs that are good.

I read somewhere that the PS3 comes without a built-in coffeemaker. THE HORROR...

Nintendo is actually the only company making profit off of gaming, since thats all they do they better be making a profit or they'd be doomed. Luckily even though the gamecube was deemed a failure by the gaming community they still made lots of money from it. Microsoft and Sony are losing money for every console they make because they have other divisions to draw money from. They spend lavishly on their consoles adding DvDs, bluray, and whatever expensive stuff they can cram into it.

Wow, they already overcharge for the system as it is, now they're going to jack the price up some more? Boy they sure are milking that $99 Gamecube hardware for all that it is, aren't they.

I can't wait 'til next year when the DVD one comes out and two months later they say "we're releasing a smaller one, with DTS 5.1, for a little extra, in five new colors!!!" and people can cry and whine once again at the almighty Nintendo milk machine. And to think that I was all hyped up and excited for the Wii launch, and it seems like the more things change, the more things stay the same.

Thanks Nintendo, for giving me another reason to be happy that I took my Wii money and bought a 360 over the weekend with it instead.

I walk into my office, and I see my computer has a DVD drive that works brilliantly with my flat panel display. I step into my wife's office, and I see her computer's DVD drive that works just fine, as well as the spare DVD player she hasn't hooked up to her office television because she's been lazy.

I do all this on my way to the living room, where the home entertainment system has a DVD player built into the stereo receiver, and the Playstation 2 sits in front of it, not used for DVD purposes in at least 4 years.

Yeah, it really kills me that Nintendo is making me wait for the Wii with DVD functionality. How ever will I watch my favorite DVDs without it?

I'm honestly wondering how many people will even bother using the DVD playback, beyond a couple reviewers. Unless you're suddenly able to use the Wiimote to interact with movies. Create a special Wii-enabled version of the Kill Bill movies, and you'd have me hooked. Beyond that? Seriously, who cares beyond fanboys desperately looking for a reason to slam Nintendo?

I just hope that they have a change of heart and make it a purchasable firmware upgrade (They're lying or at least exaggerating, BTW, there is no technical reason why the Wii would need hardware changes to decode a DVD). My TV only has one set of component inputs, so it's either the DVD player or the Wii, not both.

DVD+Wii in the same package means that both get to use component. And I'm not waiting to buy a Wii. I guess the worst case is that I sell the old Wii when the time comes and buy the new one to replace it.

T-bag, I'm starting to see how appropriate your name really is. I mean, a nutsack in your eye would explain how you are unable to see that you are a TOTAL FUCKING MORON!

#38.

No, I don't own a DVD player. For years, I watched DVD movies on my laptop, and then finally re-purchased a PS2 which is my trusty DVD player.

For me, a console system with DVD playing capabilities is a huge bonus. I don't want, need, or have the space for a plethora of boxy electronics. If I were to purchase a new console, you'd better bet it has DVD playback and backwards compatability for my old games. If it can't play my old games, it better well have a reason to be sitting on my shelf aside from a "revolutionary way of playing games!"

I have DSLite. But I don't see any reason to shift gears away from the PlayStation train for a home console system. WiiSports and Twilight Princess are hardly enough to warrant that purchase.

God, quit all the whining about having no DVD playback. It is NOT the end of the world, and for those of you who believe so, wake up! So what the Wii is $50 more than you're expected price guess. If you're not happy with that, you can buy the PS3 and get yourself a DVD player for merely $350 more. That's a good price for a DVD player!

It's a DVD player! I have like 10 of them. Who cares???

So.
Rabid Sony Fanboy: Nintendo always does this! They release the features they should've had in a system a year later!! And that's totally different from Sony who all-but-stated we'd be forced to buy upgrades for the already expensive PS3! Sony FTW!
Bitter Nintendo Fanboy: If you can include DVD, you can include HD!! I'm sick of Nintendo forcing people to buy upgraded versions of their products!! PLZ TO BE STOP RAPING UR FANBASE NINTENDO!
Rational Nintendo fan: Do any of us actually know what adding a DVD player would entail? Also, what's to stop Nintendo from selling the dongle or download or whatever for, like, $20? And aren't they only adding the DVD functionality because you guys kept whining about not having it?
Bitter Nintendo Fanboy: We don't need ur earth logic!

On a completely different topic: "Poopsky"? Who the hell uses the word "poopsky" besides grandmothers who speak Yiddush when talking to their grandchildren? Hope you get a Wii for Hanukkah, Blake Snow.

(Don't take offense; you know I'm just busting your chops.)

Things that consoles do not function as and don't need to: clock-radio, toaster, home security, sexual partner, DVD player

If you don't have a DVd player go get one. You can easily find a suitable DVD player for 20 to 30$. If you don't have 20 or 30$ then 1.why are you talking about making next-gen purchases at all and 2.just fall asleep at work tomorrow and rack up some overtime.

PS: the PS2 as a DVD-player was utterly horrible. the controller sucked as a remote, making many DVD menus a complete bitch to get through, and the sound was terrible.

Question: will this upgrade be forced or will it be an option, because (as I have made quite obvious) I don't want my Wii to play DVDs. In fact, if the feature costed 1$ raising the price of the console from 249.99 to 250.99, I would still prefer to save the dollar (I'd go buy me a Snickers or something) than to buy something that I already have in several different forms.

I don't see Nintendo actually bumping the price of all Wiis up to accomodate this and hence making 1st gen Wiis just a novelty (and a better deal, IMO). That would be just stupid. If they do that, consider my faith in them lost.

#64: There is most definitely a market for gaming consoles that double as sexual partners. Invest in teledildonics, my friend. (For those counting, thats two off-topic posts this thread. Sorry; I'm bored as hell at work today)

Are the customers reaping the benefits of this constant cost-cutting? I don't think so.

I'm really surprised to see such a rediculously cheap piece of hardware for an outrageous $250, after Nintendo released the DS Lite for a mere $130. How much does DVD licensing cost? Probably between 20 to 50 cents per unit in total after you add up all the dev and Q&A costs. How much profit is Nintendo going to make on the Wii? My guess is $60 or more per unit -- plus software licenses and accessories. Either they are incredibly greedy, or they are taking precautions in case they sell a small number of units.

If this really is just a software issue, why can't you unlock DVD capabilities with an online download? Nintendo isn't going to make a new GPU just to add DVD capability, so the hardware can definately handle it. And what's this about Sonic Solutions' software requiring more than a firmware update? Firmware *IS* software! God, does Nintendo think gamers are electronic morons? Here's a fact for you: DVD drives decode regions and CSS encryption through firmware running on the DVD controller chip. You need a new drive controller chip to handle DVD playback? What, did they hound Matsushita to engineer a custom drive controller to save half a cent per system, so people could pay $50 for an external DVD player? Now they're going to sell a new, "enhanced" Wii?

They have the fewest features, the highest profit margin, and a rediculous price for what they are selling, and they still bitch that they need to cut costs. Nintendo should be an embarrassment to the industry.

*Rayrne: "The reason they didnt originally include this is because the Wii and GCN discs spin backwards as a form of pirate protection."

Then why can you read DVDs on a Gamecube when using GCLinux?

*Kevin: "Wowwww, so many people whining over a DVD player."

It's not about DVD. It's about Nintendo being cheap and talking to people like they are idiots and don't know jack about hardware. Any geek knows Wii is a huge rip-off, and the Nintendo faithful are more than willing to cry "graphics don't matter" every five seconds. Well, if they think that the graphics are great, that's fine, but nobody is going to tell me the system is worth the money they want for it. It's garbage. People should demand better.

*Lou D: "GC disks are black, as are Wii discs and require a stronger laser to read...as a form of piracy protection."

Um, aren't you thinking of Playstation discs? Those discs weren't black, either. Red laser wavelengths worked just fine through that purple-ish material -- only white light doesn't pass through well.

2 Words: Wii Hack.

The Wii will be hacked within the first few month's of release. And once it is. We will have homebrew software that will enable dvd playback and even 5.1 surround and all the jazz. And most likely be able to play burnt game's. It's only a matter of time :) But alot less time then when the dvd wii come's out. And for no money :P