WiiLoaded.com - Wii Forum and News

How many times have you emailed Nintendo with a question or problem and never received a reply? I know many people that are still waiting for some question to be answered or for some problem to be fixed but are still waiting. One reader emailed Nintendo with some questions about DVD playback on the Nintendo Wii. To me a question like that would be a waste of time to type because there is no way that Nintendo would ever respond to these kinds of questions. Or would they? The answer of course is that they did respond because Nintendo not responding to a reader's email would certainly not be news. I will jump right into the email so you can see Nintendo's reply about playing DVDs on the Nintendo Wii.

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Hello and thank you for contacting Nintendo,

I appreciate your taking the time to share your comments and suggestions with us. Rest assured that they will be forwarded to the appropriate department for further review.

Also, as you know, Nintendo and Sonic Solutions have made an agreement to allow Nintendo the use of Sonic Solutions’ DVD technology in a future version of the Wii console. However, launch details, like where (regions or countries) it will sell, release date, or price (although it will be more expensive than the original version) are currently unavailable and won’t be revealed until sometime in the latter half of 2007. It will not be available as an add-on attachment.

For those who already own a DVD player at home, the launch version of Wii will be the best choice. This version of the console is more affordable and you’ll be able to enjoy Wii games immediately.

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After reading Nintendo's response it most definitely looks like that the current Nintendo Wiis will never see DVD playback through any kind of update as has been speculated or hoped for. I fully understand Nintendo's reason for wanting to keep the price of the Wii down as it is really for gaming but some people, myself included don't understand how the Wii can play DVD Game Discs and also DVD R, DVD R+ and DVD RW through a modification but cannot play movies. I've heard that the movies on the DVD would have to be backwards in order for the current Wiis to read them but am not sure on this. What do you guys think? Maybe someone with technical knowhow can set us straight.

Nintendo’s response to Wii with DVD playback - GoNintendo

I don't see how they can't do it with a software update.

I'm sure there's a big reason involving the disc drive, codecs, disc types, etc. which I don't feel like getting into.

I'm sure they have their reasons. And it doesn't effect me, I have about 5 DVD players in my house.

I agree... when I moved to my current apartment, I gave away a few DVD players that I didn't realize that I still had until we started packing. I'm certain that my standalone will have a better quality than the Wii anyway.

Precisely, good choice Nintendo on letting consumers choose rather than paying more for an extra that they may not care for.

Lol I have four in my room alone (xbox, standalone, PC, Laptop)

I wouldn't even dream of burning out my Wii drive with playing DVDs...for christ sakes you can go out and buy a standalone player for 20 bux these days.

You can get DVD players for £9 here. So im not fussed

If you ask me, that's stupid. It can read DVDs so I don't think it would be more expensive if it would play DVD Movies. lol, nintendo is just making money out of it again. like always I just say zelda four swords for GCN, where you need 3 GBAs XD (if you want to play with 4 people)

If it were found out that the current Wii was capable of playing DVD movies and they just said that it wasn't so they could get more money then it would be real bad for Nintendo's image. If they don't want to have DVD support to bring the cost down then that's fine but if they tell you that if you want to have DVD playback on your Wii then you have to buy another version but your current one was capable of playing them then that would be a really bad idea and tarnish their image.

Meh I have a perfectly good DVD player here anyways. I'm not gonna get another Wii just to have DVD playback.

Yea, i've got 3 DVD players, but WTF? I really hope that if they do anything to the Wii like this or better again, that we are able to update somehow, why couldn't they just let the Wii be DVD playable in the first place?

I really doubt it would be so simple as a firmware update, even if the Wii games are on DVD discs. Its a machine optimized for playing games, and for the channel structure.
Even if it is possible for a firmware update to allow for the playback of DVDs, I think part of the reason they're not just doing that is because it wouldn't be a quality movie viewing experience. They wouldn't want to unlock the ability in current Wiis only to have people complain that it isn't good quality playback.

Basically.. I agree with Kindrik's perception.