I disagree, the PS3 is making hay on the 360 right now because it has Blu-Ray whereas the 360 doesn't and for $299 especially that's seen as a great value proposition.

Where does it say it's because of that and not the Playstation brand name?

Just because Nintendo didn't do something in the past doesn't mean they won't do it in the future. This isn't 2006 and they could probably stick a bluray drive in a new Wii for relatively cheap by 2010 or beyond.

Actually putting a Blu-Ray drive in the Wii would be basically the same thing they did with the Wii, where essentially they used regular ol' DVDs.

They planned initially to allow for DVD playback, but cut it out because by 2006 that was too late to really be worth the trouble.

I think it'll come down to cost ... if Blu-Ray is the cheapest option, I think they'll be hard pressed not to choose it, and it probably could be at the rate its dropping in price right now. 

A propietary format, only made for Nintendo, only made by one vendor likely is going to be more expensive, especially as time goes on. Blu-Ray will cost peanuts by 2011/2012/2013 etc. 

"A propietary format, only made for Nintendo, only made by one vendor likely is going to be more expensive"

That hasn't stopped their systems from costing little before.

They haven't really used a propietary format with their consoles since the N64.

The GameCube and Wii both use DVD, they just made a few modifications to it.

Just like the XBox 1 ... technically the sytem out of the box did not play DVD Video either, you had to buy the remote control + dongle to open the DVD playback. That was the same thing Nintendo was going to do with the Wii but by 2006 it became pointless to offer it.

It's quite possible the next machine will be the same type of deal just with Blu-Ray. This time they might actually release the dongle accessorie though. 

Those were still proprietary variations. They count.

And the problem with wanting a blu-ray drive seems to be that many want it because of for the sake of the tech, not whether it will help the system. It's more because many of you want it on there to prove HD was right rather than it will help make the games better.

Not really. Nintendo can go to another vendor and get a drive for a cheaper price because it is essentially a DVD drive. 

I think actually the truth is it's a vocal minority (yes, minority) of Nintendo fans that get caught up in all this nonsense to begin with. 

HD and Blu-Ray aren't the "enemy" anymore than optical discs were evil just because Howard Lincoln said so in 1996, or that online play is bad like Nintendo tried to sell during the GameCube era. 

Higher definition graphics with increased horsepower can create better game experiences. Period. 

Would you want to play Super Mario Galaxy at half the resolution on the N64 instead of the Wii? Of course not. Even with a pointer controller, no one would want to play that version over the Wii version. The downgrade in visual fidelity would cause the game to lose a lot of its visual charm which is part of the enjoyment. 

One day (and probably relatively soon) Nintendo will release a higher end console with HD, and you will not miss your existing Wii for anything other than nostalgia, I'd gauruntee it pretty much 100%. 

More opinion myopia about tech. And strawman arguments (not going HD does not mean reverting to original Gameboy resolution).

You're assuming HD comes with no drawbacks. They increase cost. Even when Nintendo ups their systems they will make sure it's in a way that cuts down on development, for both them and the developers (which is one trend they have been consistent with after the N64 lost them third parties). If blu-ray can facilitate that, only then would they include it.

And assuming I'm against this because I somehow think they are the "enemy" shows you don't really read my posts.

Any new feature increases cost initially. 

A touchscreen increases cost. A disc drive increases cost. Built-in WiFi to access the internet raises cost. 

HD and Blu-Ray are hitting the point now though where they can be sold in a box for $250-$300 and become profitable. That's really all that matters. 

Once you see/play Mario/Zelda/Samus in HD with higher end horse power behind them, you won't want to go back after even 5 minutes. I'd bank on it.

As for Blu-Ray it is quite possible that format wise other than DVD it probably is the most cost effective solution for Nintendo going forward. It's made by all the major companies and dozens of other companies in China too (read: dirt cheap). It's going to be a technology that scales in price nicely as a result over the next 4 or 5 years, just like DVD.  Now whether Nintendo wants to make a few minor mods and label that "propietary" is their business, but at its core, it's quite possible Blu-Ray is the best option for them price and performance wise going forward.