Nintendo declines to confirm DVD Wii for US and Europe

By Tom Bramwell Published 16 November, 2006

Despite strong suggestions.

Nintendo has declined to confirm whether a new version of the Wii with DVD playback feature will go on sale outside of Japan - despite a "worldwide agreement" with tech provider Sonic.

Plans to launch the new model were first announced last month, with Nintendo suggesting it was unlikely the machine would make it to the US and Europe.

But earlier this week, digital media software company Sonic Solution confirmed that its CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator will be included in the new Wii, which is due to arrive "in the latter half of 2007".

Now a Sonic spokesperson has told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz that it has signed a "worldwide agreement" with Nintendo, stating, "In terms of the specific details of the relationship, Sonic provides an SDK, which Nintendo users to incorporate DVD playback into their system.

"As the enabler of technology in Wii, Sonic does not define the implementation. Sonic provided Nintendo with its DVD playback SDK, which will be integrated by them to their specifications."

A spokesperson for Nintendo UK said, "We have previously confirmed that an enhanced version of Wii capable of playing DVD's would launch at some point in the future in Japan.

"This release simply confirms Sonic as the partner in that venture and that the new version of Wii will come to market in the second half of 2007. It does not confirm where it will launch. We are simply not making any further region specific announcements at this time."

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • chupachups #1 5 years ago

    Of course they'll decline to confirm it, they don't want people waiting to buy the DVD edition instead of the first non-DVD edition.

  • Super_Zee #2 5 years ago

    Interesting. DVD players are so cheap now so it shouldn't be a huge selling point, but still would be nice to have it included.

    Any ideas whether it would be available as a download as it seems to be a software rather than hardware issue?

  • #3 5 years ago

    It'll happen, it's a cert.

  • The_Programmer #4 5 years ago

    Japanese company sh*ts on Europe shocker.

  • peterfll #5 5 years ago

    Does anybody care - bar the japanese? I bought my sister a DVD player for £49.99 from Asda 4 years ago. Has this sort of mass discounted hardware missed Japan completely?

  • Steroyd #6 5 years ago

    heh heh heh the tech provider is sonic. :)

    don't know why ninty are keeping hush on a superficial feature.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #7 5 years ago

    @Super_Zee: I always wondered that too. The hardware for reading DVDs is already there, there's simply a decoder missing but the Wii has more than enough processing power to playback DVDs via Software. But I don't really need DVD playback with my Wii, I have a DVD player, I have a PC hooked up to my TV, I have a 360 - and I never used the TV or the 360 to playback DVDs, just my DVD player. So I could not care less about DVD playback with the Wii - and I bet 98% of Americans and Europeans do not care either because they already have a DVD player or any other device that plays DVDs.

  • varsas #8 5 years ago

    Isn't this company supplying a software solution? In which case couldn't Nintendo supply it to users at a later date via a download or firmware upgrade?

  • lambtron #9 5 years ago

    Pffffft. Who cares!

  • smoison #10 5 years ago

    Well I stil play my DVDs on my computer or PS2. So I would defenitly have loved it to play DVDs.

    But that said, I won't be waiting for this, I need a Wii NOW!

  • the_sas_man #11 5 years ago

    That pathetic - that's like creating an all American football tournament and calling it a world superbowl...

    oh wait...

  • Psi #12 5 years ago

    dvds through a console? you don't care much in image quality then. i wouldn't dream of using a console to watch dvds on....

    plasma £1600
    5.1speakers £1600
    amp £1600
    dvd player to watch my movies on, ill just use a console with shit or no scaling.

    fair enough if its a one box xmas solution for some kid out there who hasn't already got a dvd player or just can't bare to use another plug :p

  • Nobuo #13 5 years ago

    Couldn't a Worldwide agreement simply mean that Ninty are bound to Sonic as their provider, regardless of whether they actually use them or not?

    I'm pretty confident Wii will have DVD playback eventually. Not that it effects me in the slightest.

  • jack_klugman #14 5 years ago

    But should I cancel my pre-order? :(

  • JetSetWilly #15 5 years ago

    Whilst I take the point that DVD players are dirt cheap, space under my TV is at a premium. So DVD playback in the Wii is nice to have from my point of view. I certainly hope it's a software solution that can be incorporated into the current unit cos I don't want it so much that I'd shell out for more hardware.

  • jonsaan #16 5 years ago

    There weas also a dvd version of the cube. I didn't care about that either. For Gawds sake, dvd's are old hat. Get Sky plus and shut up.
    Edited by 1 at 16/11/06 @ 10:20

  • Nova5lag #17 5 years ago

    I really dont think that the Wii's DVD playback is an essential feature. I have about 10 different machines under my TV of which half can play DVDs... The playback on Consoles I have found to be VERY patchy at best so I would never choose to use my Wii to play a DVD anyway!

  • skillian #18 5 years ago

    Yeah £40 for a DVD player or £40 a month for the dross that's on Sky+.

    Sign me up!

  • SeesThroughAll #19 5 years ago

    Let me guess what happens: Nintendo goes do negotiations to Philips on their back, and Sonic releases their own console the following year.

  • JetSetWilly #20 5 years ago

    I can't seem to find the slot on my Sky+ box for loading DVDs.

  • TheSaint #21 5 years ago

    @ the_sas_man

    Do you mean the world series? As that is baseball not football.

  • Darren #22 5 years ago

    Ah who cares whether Nintendo add DVD playback to the Wii, it's only ever going to be 480p/576p anyway.

    Buy an Xbox 360 and you can watch upscaled DVDs via VGA upto a resolution of 1920x1080. OK so it's not as good as having HD-DVD or Blu-ray but it's certainly an improvement over RGB SCART that's for sure.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #23 5 years ago

    Darren: The Wii output resolution is the highest resolution the DVD codec supports. So the resolution does not pose any quality loss.

  • MadMirko #24 5 years ago

    Or to put it the other way round:

    There is no way I would pay more for a Wii with DVD playback. Ok, there is one and that would be if it is cheaper than the original package.

    I want a games console, not yet another movie player.

  • Rambaldi #25 5 years ago

    NEWS JUST IN:

    Nintendo have declined to confirm whether or not their new console will ship with DVD but they have confirmed that it will play casettes and is full compatible with portable black and white televisions.

    ;)

  • chupachups #26 5 years ago

    "Does anybody care - bar the japanese?"

    They shouldn't care, but you know what gamers are like, if there's a new model with similar or even identical functionality but a new case they somehow feel like they're being "forced" into buying the new model.

    How many existing PS2 owners rushed out to get the slimline PS2 despite it being technically identical to the original PS2? It's not like it saved any space either because it was a toploading instead of front-loading model, so you had to allow even more room for it than you did with the original.
    Edited by 1 at 16/11/06 @ 11:21

  • el_pollo_diablo #27 5 years ago

    Sky is not only expensive and rubbish, but you really don't want to be giving money to Rupert Murdoch.

  • spongebob #28 5 years ago

    Nintendo fanboys say:
    Who cares, Wii is for gaming only.

    Everybody else say:
    What the hell? I am not buying Wii before it's properly beefed up. Look what happened to early adopters of DS. DS Lite is much better. Who knows what else they'll include in the Wii Plus.

    ps. The new Wii just might output HD as well. Wait and see.
    Edited by 2 at 16/11/06 @ 12:09

  • JetSetWilly #29 5 years ago

    Look what happens to any early adopter of a technology. Ever bought a mobile phone?

  • MadMirko #30 5 years ago

    Sane people say:
    Who cares, Wii is for gaming only.

    Crazy people say:
    What the hell? I am not buying Wii before it's properly beefed up.


    There, fixed. ;)

  • chupachups #31 5 years ago

    "What the hell? I am not buying Wii before it's properly beefed up. Look what happened to early adopters of DS. DS Lite is much better. Who knows what else they'll include in the Wii Plus. "

    Exactly, that's exactly what a lot of people will think when they find out there's a new Wii model on the way.

    Some people are like this, you get people who buy a new iPod or phone every six months not because it has any extra features but just because they want the latest model which looks slightly different.

    It's not logical, it's not rational, but some people worry that they have last year's model instead of this year's, even when there's no practical difference.

    And you can bet that 99.999% of people who wait for the DVD Wii will already have a perfectly good DVD player at home, and their wait is completely pointless.


    "The new Wii just might output HD as well. Wait and see."

    No, because that would require much faster processors and it would also require games developers to spend far more on graphics. The point of the Wii is that it's cheap and meant for the kind of people who don't care about HD.
    Edited by 4 at 16/11/06 @ 12:23

  • msephton #32 5 years ago

    I think this will be a paid-for software download through the Nintendo online store, in pretty much the same way as Virtual Console games.

  • Muddtallica #33 5 years ago

    Stoooooopid.

    This is an idea that is pointless, bordering on the harmful. Their reasoning for excluding DVD playback in the first place was valid; ie, no-one needs it now, and it would just bump up the price for no real reason. Why now try and backtrack in a really half-assed way? What's the benefit of confusing punters on the eve of launch by saying there MIGHT be a newer model on the way, even if (or perhaps especially if) that new model's advantages are negligible? The best course of action now would be to do what they did with the Panasonic DVD GCN; just release it in Japan without a great deal of fanfare, and just don't mention it to the West.

    Nevertheless, not very smart, Nintendo.

  • Gouki #34 5 years ago

    hold on a sec. 180 notes for the console and i dont get dvd support??
    I'll wait till its the same price as the Cube is nowadays about 30 pounds.

  • Spydez #35 5 years ago

    How many DVD players do people want/need? I've got 5 of the bloody things and that's after getting rid of my PS2 and Xbox.

  • blender #36 5 years ago

    but but but nintendo make a profit on every console ;) na na an

  • NegativeZero #37 5 years ago

    Translation: USA and Japan only.

  • Gouki #38 5 years ago

    How many DVD players do people want/need? I've got 5 of the bloody things and that's after getting rid of my PS2 and Xbox.

    I'm asking where my 180 pounds would go?
    The hardware is no major leap with the hollywood chip been nothing more than an X1600 at best.

    I dont want to be a kill joy but once the gimmick of the controls rubs off is there much left?

  • AaronTurner #39 5 years ago

    Isn't the point that if it plays DVDs then you can get rid of your other player and have one less piece of hardware in the room? It's not about whether you own one or not already.

  • IMCO #40 5 years ago

    I don't understand why they come out with this info just before the worldwide launch.

  • GitSomE_UK #41 5 years ago

    Eh! GameCube DVD player... I missed that one!