I will not take this to PMs, because this is a point that you put in the OP (which is not thread derailment, since it also indirectly addresses your criticism of the sound), therefore it is relevant. The thing is you are not addressing my actual point. I'm discussing the consumers, NOT developers. You want this to be done with, address the point I actually made, which is my claim of why Nintendo stuck with PLII for the Wii. Nothing else. Then we can settle this and move on.
"This is a convenience"
You obviously don't understand the term "ease of use", because that is one of the meanings. 5.1 does not have a convenience on the user end over PLII. No wonder you are dragging this out. You don't even understand the terms I am writing. Ease of use relates to how easy it is to use something. That means something can be hard to use, as in have poor ease use, and something can be easy to use, as in have high ease of use.
VHS has decent ease of use when it comes to playback. You can just stick it in and play, but only if it's rewound. That means either before or after you watch, you have to spend five to twenty minutes, depending on the speed of the player, specialized rewinder. DVD obviously does not do that, so therefore its ease of use is high.
5.1 and PLII have the same playback for users, but both require surround sound speakers. PLII doesn't do surround sound as well, but the fact is that both require extra equipment to use properly (DVD and VHS don't compare, because that extra equipment is needed, not optional). It doesn't matter if the developers get more, the consumers can't just get it inherently on their TVs.
That is why I say Nintendo felt no need to upgrade their sound this generation, and why even if they do next time, consumers might not even care about any kind of surround.
A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.
Plus, just for the hell of it: Kelly Brook at the 2008 BAFTAs
