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Forums - Nintendo - Wii U won't support DVD or Blu-Ray playback... your thoughts?

glimmer_of_hope on 15 June 2011
Rpruett said:
HappySqurriel said:
By the time the Wii U releases everyone who wants a DVD player will already have a working DVD player, Blu-Ray players will be available for (around) $50 to $75 and most of the people who care about Blu-Ray will have already bought in, and Netflix will slowly be climing to be the #1 way people watch movies. In other words, there is really no value in including support for Nintendo, and if they design the system to be physically incompatible it makes piracy more difficult.

It's a typical Nintendo mistake.  The type of mistake that makes no logical sense to anyone other then Nintendo.   If what you're saying is true, incorporating (DVD/Bluray) playback should be an absolute cinch and not even a large cost of money.  Quite simply, it's Nintendo cutting corners on costs to make more profit at the consumers expense.

Nothing is  "necessary" , but in todays age it should have tons of multi-media features,  high quality online-integration,  playback of various media types (Music, Movies, etc), HD support and more.  Even though Nintendo doesn't consider itself in competition with MS and Sony, they are. 

Nintendo is afraid of pleasing what some would call the 'core' crowd on the 360 and PS3 and I have no idea why.  I've longed for a system like the SNES  for years but Nintendo continually doesn't take the necessary steps to achieve this.

Yes because SNES had sooo much movie playback and "hardcore" gamers spend soooo much time watching movies right? 



                                  Gaming Away Life Since 1985


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chapset on 15 June 2011

I don't get why wiiU must play games who doesn't have a console or phone or computer for games, wiiU should display a white screen in 3d ofcourse



Bet reminder: I bet with Tboned51 that Splatoon won't reach the 1 million shipped mark by the end of 2015. I win if he loses and I lose if I lost.

HappySqurriel on 16 June 2011
chapset said:
I don't get why wiiU must play games who doesn't have a console or phone or computer for games, wiiU should display a white screen in 3d ofcourse


Very different situation entirely ...

100% of people who choose to buy a Wii U will buy it because it plays videogames; with how ubiquitous and inexpensive DVD is roughly 0% of people will buy a next generation console because they play DVDs, and most of the people who see significant value in Blu-Ray will probably already own a Blu-Ray player.

In many ways the argument for including DVD playback could be used to support countless pointless features, after all since videogame players like to snack while playing videogames why doesn't the Wii U include a mini-fridge and a popcorn machine?



Rpruett on 16 June 2011
HappySqurriel said:
Rpruett said:
HappySqurriel said:
Rpruett said:
HappySqurriel said:
By the time the Wii U releases everyone who wants a DVD player will already have a working DVD player, Blu-Ray players will be available for (around) $50 to $75 and most of the people who care about Blu-Ray will have already bought in, and Netflix will slowly be climing to be the #1 way people watch movies. In other words, there is really no value in including support for Nintendo, and if they design the system to be physically incompatible it makes piracy more difficult.

It's a typical Nintendo mistake.  The type of mistake that makes no logical sense to anyone other then Nintendo.   If what you're saying is true, incorporating (DVD/Bluray) playback should be an absolute cinch and not even a large cost of money.  Quite simply, it's Nintendo cutting corners on costs to make more profit at the consumers expense.

Nothing is  "necessary" , but in todays age it should have tons of multi-media features,  high quality online-integration,  playback of various media types (Music, Movies, etc), HD support and more.  Even though Nintendo doesn't consider itself in competition with MS and Sony, they are. 

Nintendo is afraid of pleasing what some would call the 'core' crowd on the 360 and PS3 and I have no idea why.  I've longed for a system like the SNES  for years but Nintendo continually doesn't take the necessary steps to achieve this.

 

The reason to add a feature to a console is if the added cost to implement the feature is less than the value added for the consumer; if you don't stick to this principle you will eventually end up with hardware that costs much more to produce than consumers are willing to pay and you have to heavily subsidize it simply to sell it. While it may make fanboy's brag, a company losing a lot of money on hardware is a bad thing because it demonstrates that they have focused on things that their customers don't value.

While you may disagree with it personally, Nintendo is "betting" that the cost of adding disc-based media playback is greater than the value of the feature to consumers; you may disagree but it is an assumption that hasn't worked too badly for them with the Wii and Nintendo DS

Again, if the features are as rudimentary and simple as you mentioned above, the cost couldn't possibly be significant for Nintendo.  This is simply Nintendo not providing features that general consumers would enjoy having for their own bottom line.   Again, value is in the eye of the beholder and with a wide array of opinions and eyes on their console it's safe to say a healthy percentage would enjoy having this  feature.

Thus, they aren't diverging from any principles nor are they making hardware that they are selling at a catastrophic loss (Like PS3).   I am arguing that their consumers do value these features and that part of any good business is growing your business.  People flock to Sony and 360 for a multitude of reasons,  one of which being general media playback features that Nintendo completely neglects.

That assumption had a value difference of $250 vs $400 / $600 respectively.  If you expect to see a drastic price difference like this between the consoles this upcoming generation, I'd call you absolutely crazy.  This is the wrong strategy, at the wrong time for Nintendo given their position.   This is there chance to 'catch-up' in numerous ways, instead they're looking to be still behind half a generation. 

With an unknown 'new' market they acquired with the Wii,  a guaranteed tighter pricing battle and what appears to be the usual baffling Nintendo decisions,  I don't think that the Wii is a good comparison point at this time. 


I don't think you're understanding what I am saying ...

Including or not including any feature is the result of a design philosophy, and if your design philosophy is the "migh aswell" philosophy you eventually end up with gold plated requirments and and costs that are out of control. Even inexpensive features like adding additional USB ports, SD card readers, and additional media functions have costs that add up over time if you don't put restrictions on adding these features. What this means is that every company that expects any level of success has to draw the line somewhere.

Now, if it costs $10 per system to add this media playback, 10% of the userbase finds any value in it, less than 1% of potential users see it as a deal breaker not to include it do you include the feature? Remember that including this feature costs $100 for every user who finds value in it and more than $1,000 for every user who wouldn't buy your system otherwise.

I understand exactly what you're saying.  My point is that any sale to a competitor that sold their product on a virtue that you failed to include is essentially a lost sale.  I'm not saying you jump around from requirement to requirement allowing yourself to become Nickle and Dimed (Like Sony did with the PS3).

My point is that this is fundamentally different than a core design choice.  After all, they are using a disc reading device and the storage device they choose will most likely be some derivation of Blu-Ray in terms of specifications.  In many ways this has absolutely nothing to do with the design of the console which is why it makes no sense.   It's really not comparable to adding Card Readers or USB ports. 

It's simply being difficult for the sake of being difficult.  It's a baffling choice really.



Rpruett on 16 June 2011
glimmer_of_hope said:
Rpruett said:
HappySqurriel said:
By the time the Wii U releases everyone who wants a DVD player will already have a working DVD player, Blu-Ray players will be available for (around) $50 to $75 and most of the people who care about Blu-Ray will have already bought in, and Netflix will slowly be climing to be the #1 way people watch movies. In other words, there is really no value in including support for Nintendo, and if they design the system to be physically incompatible it makes piracy more difficult.

It's a typical Nintendo mistake.  The type of mistake that makes no logical sense to anyone other then Nintendo.   If what you're saying is true, incorporating (DVD/Bluray) playback should be an absolute cinch and not even a large cost of money.  Quite simply, it's Nintendo cutting corners on costs to make more profit at the consumers expense.

Nothing is  "necessary" , but in todays age it should have tons of multi-media features,  high quality online-integration,  playback of various media types (Music, Movies, etc), HD support and more.  Even though Nintendo doesn't consider itself in competition with MS and Sony, they are. 

Nintendo is afraid of pleasing what some would call the 'core' crowd on the 360 and PS3 and I have no idea why.  I've longed for a system like the SNES  for years but Nintendo continually doesn't take the necessary steps to achieve this.

Yes because SNES had sooo much movie playback and "hardcore" gamers spend soooo much time watching movies right? 

No but the SNES wasn't grossly ill-equipped and about 1/2 a generation behind in features compared to it's competitors at that time,  so I could easily make a case that had Sega Genesis had Movie Playback, the SNES would have as well.



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Siko1989 on 16 June 2011

even if Nintendo added a dvd playback, i can really see the fanboys yelling " pfft dvd playback for a console is an outdated joke" that is true and which is why i hope Nintendo doesn't add it to their systems EVER, as for blu-ray they will yell "SONY did it first" .. i dont really see the point in adding these, it will just cause a war with fanboys.




Rpruett on 16 June 2011
padib said:
Next thing you know they'll be asking for gold-plated controllers. Really Rpruett, is this what you're judging Nintendo's decision-making on? Blu-ray playback is a very debatable feature and the need is not certain. The only thing this could have offered extra was streaming HD to the controller, then again SD movie streaming to the controller is fine for most people and Nintendo platforms offer Netflix. Add to this that many people already have Blu-ray, especially those that really care about it, especially Playstation customers.

Customers claiming this to be a reason for not buying the system don't actually care about its games and its appeal to gamers in the first place, but are looking for side-features and cutting-edge appeal. I don't believe Nintendo is interested in that demographic as a purchasing force, since they're mainly a gaming company not a gadget company. Having said that, this is a community that Nintendo needs to manage as they are 1) vocal and 2) aggressive. Their influence is not a negligible factor in their market. It'll be interesting to see if this feat is even possible, that is, to follow internal philosophies like keeping costs to a minimum, and keeping the naysayers quiet. Or, maybe their current approach works: just ignore them. Hopefully over time customers will stop listening to them too.

I am judging Nintendo's decision making on a habitual course of action in regards to overall consumer base.  Blu-Ray playback is not a very debatable feature anymore than online gaming is a debatable feature or Netflix on the console is debatable,  or adding video screens to your controller is debatable.  None of these are 'necessary items' in any tangible way.

Many people still don't have Blu-Ray.  It's not a matter of 'care' it's a matter of price and seeing the reason to upgrade this takes time. Nintendo could do this for essentially a song and a dance but seem intent on specifically removing it.

People who purchase a console care about it's games and it's overall appeal to them, period.  Just like any product,  people want the most value and features for the cost associated.  I don't believe the cost would be even remotely higher by incorporating DVD, or Blu-Ray playback.  It's simply a baffling choice with no logical premise in it (Except maybe  trying to fight piracy).   

This is my point,  Nintendo has neglected many of the core who own the 360/PS3 by making baffling design choices that almost specifically remove things that could easily, cheaply be incorporated.  In the past, I could even give them somewhat of a pass for this as they really flubbed with N64 and cartridges.  Gamecube was more of the same.    Currently though, they have the top selling console right now and have plenty of money and opportunities to catch up with a 'This' gen equivalent console (Not the 1.5 Gamecube type of console that the Wii represented). 

In my eyes they would do several things by this,  they have the window to capitalize early adopters (Many of which who originally purchased the 360) and get a strangehold on the market before either competitor can establish itself.  They also by making a comparable product to competitors in terms of feature sets and atleast being on the same wavelength in terms of power could guarantee full third party support which is really all they need to detract people from the Sony MS camp.  Nintendo just needs to accomodate to all varieties of gamers better and they've really dropped the ball in this regard for years.

The core consumers that own PS3s/360s aren't going anywhere and Nintendo would be absolutely foolish to avoid or hide from this group like they have been doing.  Nintendo needs to learn to transition as a business and keep their core values intact while re-incorporating the people they have lost along the years. By doing this, I don't think Sony or MS could stop them on a generation to generation basis. 



scottie on 16 June 2011
NYANKS said:
I understand you make game machines first, but this just seems like a silly move.


Do you already own a DVD player? If so, stop trolling.

 

Edit: I'll actually give a proper response. Anyone who is surprised by this needs to take a look at Nintendo's other console. they always have avoided supporting things like dvd playback because it slightly reduces the cost of the console to do so.

 

As for this being a stupid move, everybody already has multiple dvd players in their house. Any computer worth the name has one.

If a person wants to watch dvds on their computer, then the Wii U having a dvd player does not help

If a person wants to watch dvds on their tv, then either they will have room for a standalone dvd player and already own one or they wont.

If they have and are happy with a standalone, then the Wii U having a dvd player does not help

If they do not have/want a standalone dvd player, then either they have already sorted out some way to stream from their pc or they haven't.

If they have, then the Wii U having a dvd player does not help

If they have a problem, but have not even put in the minor amount of effort and cost required to stream from their PC, then they are certainly dumb enough to break their Wii U the day they buy it, thus the Wii U having a dvd player does not help because it will be broken.

 

Honestly, I don't get the fuss about consoles having built in dvd/blu ray capabilities.



Shadowfest3 on 16 June 2011

Well this is Nintendo so something like this is expected.



Joelcool7 on 16 June 2011

I'm alittle late to this thread but I am not dissapointed at all. Nintendo knew a liscensed disc format like Blu-Ray or DVD would cost money. Nintendo also knows that the majority of consumers already have a BluRay or DVD player. So why should Nintendo give consumers a second BluRay player?

To be honest Nintendo makes game machines not movie players. Sure Netflix and the odd app come along to give consumers multimedia experiances. But that is not what Nintendo is about, Nintendo makes software and game machines, another device in my home. My PS3 plays BluRay's others have BluRay players this would be another device regardless.

I am happy Nintendo is sticking to software. I'll continue to keep my games and movie players seperate. Nintendo keeps costs as low as possible and I'm sure they put alot of thought into this. Remember GameCube in Japan had a DVD player (Some models) and look did that go over too well? Nintendo should stick to gaming what their best at and leave film to the film companies!



-JC7

"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer