While the official Wii press release today made no mention of DVD, Nintendo VP of marketing has confirmed to IGN that Wii will not include DVD playback. From the article: "Nintendo of America's vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan, confirmed to IGN Wii today that its forthcoming Wii console will not play Hollywood DVD movies. The decision to remove the functionality was made in order to deliver the machine at a cheaper cost and because most people today already own DVD players."You mean to tell me I finally have to buckle down and buy a DVD player?












(Page 1) Reader Comments
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Why must Nintendo hate the DVDs? =O
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If you don't have a DVD player yet, I doubt you were waiting for the Wii to have one.
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This announcement deters my decision to own a Wii on day one not one iota.
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No, the gamecube got slammed for not having it 6 years ago, when most people didn't have dvd players. The ps2 was the first dvd player most people had, gave parents a reason to buy it. Now, not so much, since dvd players are as cheap as $20. I don't use my ps2 or xbox dvd player because they SUCK. I imagine the same will hold for the x360 and ps3 (when i get them, if i get them). Who would really use a wii for dvd playback?
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Posted at 1:02PM on Sep 14th 2006 by Tony "
I seriously wish the PS3 didn't have blue ray support so I could afford one.
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I think they dropped the ball on this one.
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Immediate News Release – 9/14/06
Montreal School Shooter Trained for Massacre on Two Violent Video Games
Dawson College student Kimveer Gill apparently literally trained on his two favorite murder simulation video games to go on his college shooting spree, just as did Klebold and Harris at Columbine High.
The two games, according to Gill’s own web site, are Postal and Super Columbine Massacre.
Miami attorney and anti-violent video game activist over a year ago challenged the maker of Postal, Vince Desi at Running with Scissors in Tucson, Arizona, to publicly debate whether or not his company should continue marketing Postal. Thompson predicted that it might lead to a mass killing, as a mass knife assault in Russia had been linked to Postal. Desi refused. Desi is now likely to have his company named in a wrongful death action in Canada: http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/Jack_Thompson_Double_Dare_You_9141_2629_0.htm
Even more remarkably, Thompson last year appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes regarding a wrongful death case that he and his co-counsel filed in Alabama on behalf of the families of three cops slain by a teen who trained on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to kill. The video game training of the Alabama killer became known when he was quoted as saying: “Life is like a video game. You have to die sometime.” Kimveer Gill, the Montreal massacrist, is quoted saying precisely the same thing, while enthusing about his play on violent video games:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060914/gill_profile_060914/20060914?hub=Canada
The massacre in Montreal is simply the latest tragedy of mass killing linked to violent virtual reality murder simulators. The worst is yet to come. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., is set to release on October 17 the game Bully, which in every sense is a Columbine simulator.
CONTACT Jack Thompson at 305-666-4366.
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Don't peg me as a fanboy, because I am excited for the Wii as well, and may even get one on the launch day. However, I also see that the PS3 will be a fine machine as well.
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I would be upset with Sony if they made me pay extra for the BluRay technology and it didn't even play BluRay movies. BluRay players cost $1000, so it's not something *everyone* can go out and buy. A DVD player on the other hand...well, you get the picture.
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In fact, if you buy the remote and the nunchuk, you could buy two DVD players. One for yourself and one for a friend ;D
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nintendo you can make profits out of anything but to me you are nothing but a greedy bitch. how come you guys hate ea but not nintendo? why do they get a pass?
F*ck you nintendo
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Why doesn't he go after the gun manufactures with the same zeal? Guns kill people, not games.
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NO DVD PLAYBACK
NO DOLBY DIGITAL SOUND
NO MORE THAN 480P
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NHL 07, enough said.
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Guns dont kill people Rappers do!
Doh
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All I ask is that Joystiq be a little critical when bad news is released for Nintendo, just like they are ready to attack anything Sony or Microsoft. Give me a break guys.
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I have a DVD player and a DVD player/burner in my computer. Its just ridiculous to have another. I don't even know anyone who uses their game consoles as DVD players. Cause they suck.
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How dare you try to one-up the tragedy at hand with a news post of your own. Have you no heart for wii consumers? Think of the children who will be forced to buy cyberhome dvd players at best buy in order to make use of the Yu-Gi-Oh - The Complete First Season their granparents bought them. You sir have no heart and I hope you recognize how callous and insincere your comments have been.
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Find another website for your own personal crusade. Everything you try and pass gets shot down for being unconstitutional anyways.
Anyways, I am a little disappointed that there won't be dvd playback on the wii. I know dvd players are cheap, but that just means one more thing i have to plug into the back of my tv.
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if you complain about no dvd playback then you're an idiot!
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It is not a big deal. Not even on the freakin' radar. I have a home theater system. I'm sure everyone already have a DVD player. You probably have one too, don't lie. What the hell is the point of having another DVD player? It keeps costs down, which is a plus for the 90%+ that already own a DVD player. IMHO.
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This morning the Nintendo execs advertised using Nintendo's Opera browser to look up movie star names while you're watching the movie on TV (on commercial break or something). Well, it would be SO much cooler if my Wii played DVDs... pause the movie, press home button, go to imdb.com, find info, press home button, go to dvd channel, and bam resume movie.
Plus, I was hoping to move my current dvd player to my bedroom. Can't do that now. Is the Wii supposed to be the center of entertainment in my living room or what???
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Yes, DAMN THEM! They should be making the Wii out of pixie dust and candy drops because a unicorn asked them to, not because they're a large game company that consistently turns a profit for their investors. HOW DARE THEY try to make a PROFIT! The CHARLATANS!
And you're right; I certainly equate self-interested global concerns that reinforce corrupt political regimes in third world nations, ignore or cover-up the environmental impacts of their business and actively work to adversely affect a variety of industries and competitors to a company that decided not to put a DVD player in a video-game console.
Because remember kids, five years of R&D cost absolutely nothing and doesn't have to be off-set or deferred, nor do marketing, shipping or production costs. How much could it cost, indeed.
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Regardless, I have a DVD player for playback. I'll just keep Twlight Princess in my machine for the next 3 months anyway, and then some other Wii game. No point upping the price, even by a few dollars for something almost everybody has now.
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Oh, and I love Jack Thompson. He's like the five year old kid who just won't leave you alone, no matter how many times you hit him in the head with a baseball bat. Videogames taught me that violence. They also taught me to feed the dead body to monkies. ;) Kiss kiss, Jack.
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Nintendo - never has DVD playback to avoid paying license fees and to MAKE more money on the console. People pass it off as though you already have a DVD player in your bedroom or some other console.
- Did anyone think that most people don't have multiple consoles in one room? They don't need to keep the PS2 in the bedroom if they have a backward compatible PS3 in the living room. Maybe people just want to minimize the number of components they have in the room.
- The Wiimote is the first controller that was essentially perfect for movie and music playback control and instead of taking advantage of it, they drop the ball and not include basic DVD playback with the console. You can say whatever you want to defend Nintendo, but the average consumer (non-gamer) is going to EXPECT DVD playback.
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