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Japan To Get Wii With DVD Player
cdneng2 writes "Gamesindustry.biz reports that Japan will be getting a Wii with a DVD player. Unfortunately, there are no plans to release this in US or Europe." From the article: "An article in the latest issue of Edge magazine states that an 'enhanced' Wii with DVD function is due out in Japan some time next year. Speaking to GI.biz, a spokesperson declined to comment on when the new machine will hit the shops, but did confirm, 'There are currently plans to release a version of Wii in Japan featuring DVD playback.' ... The Edge article also claimed that CNN has already signed up to provide content for the Wii news channel in the US and Japan - but according to Nintendo's spokesperson, 'We have currently announced no deals with any news or weather service provider for Wii channels.'"
Oh well, I guess I can just get one from Lik-Sang. Oh wait...
I don't get the big deal. The PS2 having a dvd player was a big deal when dvd was new. Nowadays, you can and probably already have gotten a dvd player for about the price of a dvd. There's just no point in shoving one into a game console that doesn't need DVD already.
I plan to get a Wii. But, given that I already have three DVD players (two are burners) already connected to my TV, I'm not that interested in another one. I suspect that most people that want a DVD already have one. However, I can see why they would market this in Japan. Given the premium on space in Japanese households combining two devices into one might be attractive (assuming they don't already own an Xbox, PS/[2|3]).
[Insert pithy quote here]
that sounds kinda familiar.... i just can't place it
(FP!)
Don't call me back. Give me a call back. Bye. So yeah. But bye our, well, but alright we are on a shirt this chill.
I bet Nintendo will release this in Nintendo and Europe as well, about a year and a half or so after launch, along with some other modest hardware improvements, such as a hard drive or maybe some more flash memory. I have a 360 to tide me over until then, and there's nothing at launch (since I can get Zelda for my Gamecube) that I desperately need. I got burned with the DS Lite; wanna make sure that doesn't happen again.
nte
That being said, why wasn't this originally included? It makes perfect sense, given that they're trying to make it a family centerpiece with the channels and such.
Oh yeah, and hopefully the CNN thing is true. Although, wouldn't just turning your TV channel to CNN be a little easier?
"It's a reverse vampire...they....they crave the sun!"
I'd heard a rumor that NOA had one last surprise announcement to make about the Wii's features. Most people on that thread thought it would be that Wii Play was bundled, but perhaps the recent rise in the dollar against the Yen means that Nintendo can add in DVD functionality and not change the price. Of course, they could simply lower the price, but they're not really in a position where they can make more than they can sell right now. You can lower the price at any time, but with a console, you only get one good chance to add in new features.
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For not charging me for things I don't need. While I doubt the licensing fee and software price per unit is negligible at this point, let me count how many DVD players I have connected to my tv right now:
1 7-disc player
1 DIVX dvd player
1 PS2
-and-
1 XBOX
Wow, I never thought about it until now, but I could play Zaireeka in my livingroom!
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
Wii niid DiiViiDii play back in the us! Wii FTW! Someone get DVD Jon on the phone!
The console is less than a month away (at least here in the states) and the rumors are still flying.
:)
The price will drop to $199 (much like the N64 did right before launch)
It will include Wii Play in the box (along with Wii Sports)
It will have DVD functionality (not like this couldn't be added through software later)
There will be free Virtual Console games for those early adopters (much like free Opera)
The Wii-mote will have a microphone in it and you can use the console for VoIP
These are all very good and like most good rumors, they are all unsubstantiated. I just hope to be able to pick one up on launch day.
Oh, OK. I've got one rumor that I've come up with: The Wii will have iPod integration by slapping an iPod dock to one of the USB ports in back. This will not only give it media center functionality but also a hard drive for storing game saves along with the internal and SD card RAM. They are still in talks with Apple about licensing Fairplay to make this all work. I have absolutely no proof to back this up but it sounds good, doesn't it?
Zonk to Publish Rumor as Fact on Games.Slashdot.Org.
Digital cable box
Two DVD player recorders/VCRs
5-disk changer sound system
I am feeling geek envy
not enough stuff connected to my TV
I was thinking of making a myth tv box for all the tv recording.
To record 2-3 things at the same time on different channels are 2-3 cable connections needed into the computer?
It's possible that there may be plans to release a combo Wii with a more capable HD-DVD player and they're holding off until the format wars are over and Sony's Blu-Ray loses.
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I bet Nintendo will release this in Nintendo and Europe as well
Maybe, but you won't get many takers for your prediction that Nintendo will take over the United States and rename it Nintendo.
It'll probably go over about as well as that Panasonic Gamesube that played DVD's. Too expensive, not worth the effort.
The price will drop to $199 (much like the N64 did right before launch)
Unlikely, Nintendo actually makes a profit on their consoles, which is why the games are cheaper.
It will include Wii Play in the box (along with Wii Sports)
Some stores will bundle it, but if you buy an extra Wii-mote you get Wii Play with it.
It will have DVD functionality (not like this couldn't be added through software later)
In Japan. Probably HD-DVD in the US, but not until probably Oct 2007.
There will be free Virtual Console games for those early adopters (much like free Opera)
Doubt it.
The Wii-mote will have a microphone in it and you can use the console for VoIP
Doubt it, but someone will sell one.
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Has anyone noticed that Wii could be pronounced Wheee!
Given the premium on space in Japanese households combining two devices into one might be attractive (assuming they don't already own an Xbox, PS/[2|3]).
/. Unless you're using sed or some derivitave then you will also need to escape the / so PS\/?[12]
PS/[1|2] should not have the pipe. [] matches a single character. it should be PS/[12]. or better yet PS/?[12] as some people don't use the
You're assuming Nintendo can't make a profit at $199 for a Wii. For all we know, it costs Nintendo $100 to build a Wii.
Just go down to Walmart, and for $30 you can buy a DVD player with so many features packed in, it could only be assembled by the hands of a small child!
Why can't they just make DVD playback functionality a download, similar to the Opera browser? I can't imagine why they'd need extra hardware to play back DVDs, even considering decrypting CSS. This way anyone that wants DVD playback on their Wii can get it. Who knows, maybe Nintendo will include such download functionality later on down the road in a Wii update.
Recall that when asked about price this summer, they stated that the price of the dollar had slid, so they priced the Wii accordingly. Since that time, the dollar has become about five to ten percent stronger against the Yen. If the price point currently known was made assuming no significant changes in the dollar's value, it's possible they could drop the price and still make a profit. Whether they want to is another story. Like I said, you can drop the price any time, but adding new features is hard. I wonder whether HD-DVD really is a firmware update, as you seem to suggest.
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Actually, it's just going to be a fucktarded game machine for little kiddiez, why do you think they have 'wii-mote' or even named it 'wii', for the stupid little children that must have their stupid spongebob shit-in-pants or bratz or any other 4fucktardkids and sicknick toons tieins.
This would be cool with the wiimote. Press a button for FF/RW and tilt your controller to make it go faster or slower in either direction. In another mode you could zip through scenes by moving the controller back and forth, and increase/decrease the volume by moving/pointing the controller up or down. And of course you just point the controller at the menu selections you want.
I want one!
How many here have been holding off on getting a DVD player, waiting for it to come bundled with just the right game console? That's right, nobody. Everyone already has a DVD player if they want it.
Or, in this case, H.264-encoded Vorbis-audio MKV files, and all that other craziness. I've been waiting years for a appliance that isn't a computer, but supports modular video codec/format drivers. The closest I've seen is a modded XBOX with Linux installed on the hard drive... when will my small-form-factor media-center dreams come true?
I just got one, it plays everything i throw at it, whether on burned data dvd or my LAN, even 720p 5.1DD Xvids of Battlestar Galactica. My only complaints are that the UI isnt exactly designed for hundreds of folders and thousands of files, but most people dont have several TBs of TV shows, and that i cant find a good quality D4 cable, but thats because i dont speak Japanese... I guess the japanese release of it came with a DVI connector, but my TV only has one HDMI port and thats in use by my cable box, which gets used a lot more than the DVD player. Back on topic, i have $500 earmarked for the Wii, games and acessories and i took off work on the 19th... :D
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
I sometimes get behind the tech curve. Back in 2002 I was interested in getting a "next gen" game system. One of the benefits to this was being able to play DVD movies. So instantly the GameCube was out of the running. The other factor was that I wanted Halo, so you know what my decision ended up being. Back then it was a deal breaker for me. DVDs had only been out 4 or 5 years and were still the new exciting technology. Well if you are anything like me, these days you have a standalone DVD player, a current or next gen game system that plays DVDs, a DVDRom in your computer... The point is that, even considering the line I used to open this whole rant, today I have 4 ways to play a dvd. I don't see how the DVD functionality in the Wii matters even one small bit. Its just not the deal breaker it once was.
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It's random, but my posting it here is probably considered illegal to someone.
Why not offer DVD functionality in their little built-in store where you can buy Opera, etc.? The drive is there, it is just an issue of the licensing fees (PS2 ate DVD licensing fees on every unit sold, even though many (most?) didn't wind up being used as DVD players. On the other hand, Microsoft kept these fees separate by including the software on the little dongle that came with the $30 remote (a good chunk of that $30 was for the license)).
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WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
Huh. That would explain the price of the thing.
My DVD player is code-free, plays DIVX movies and has an HDMI out.
So I couldn't possibly care less about whether the PS2 plays DVDs or not - its DVD features are useless to me. They were nice when DVD players cost a fortune. Nowadays, you can buy a DVD player that does more than the PS2 DVD feature for 30 bucks.