Borkachev on 31 January 2008
Now, Nintendo seem to have designed the Wii (and DS) with a “only a gaming device” mentality, however I’ve read before now of the potential for a DVD playing Wii - http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/09/wii_dvd_playback_delayed/ - what if this is a sign of things to come?
I don't think it's a sign of things to come. In this era, a games console without a DVD player is like a VCR without a clock. If a company came out with a revolutionary VCR that didn't have a clock, it would be awfully strange, yet people might overlook the missing feature because the VCR's other features were so impressive. And when they released a new version of it with a clock, people wouldn't say "My god, it's a VCR and a clock! They're trying to take over every appliance in the house!" They'd say "Oh. Finally they put a goddamn clock in. That's good, I guess."
In any case, I'm doubtful that Nintendo has any interest in being anything but a gaming company. They've had the opportunity to do things like this before, and they've outright refused. They've seen, maybe, that adding tons of multimedia functionality dilutes your message and usually raises your price, limiting your audience. In the end, if you've got an all-in-one box under your TV, by definition you only need one box. There isn't room for Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony under there if they're all going after that market. I think there's a good chance Nintendo will stay the course, since it's obviously working for them.
