I was scouring the internet for news the other day when I came upon an old post regarding DVD functionality for the Wii. For the moment it seems like Japan will be the lucky ones but actually this reminded me … DVD functionality would really help me out!

I have Sky+ connected to our main television which I use instead of a VCR. I also have my Wii downstairs as it has the largest available playing space. However this means I have very little space on my stand nor an available scart socket for anything else.

If I was really desperate to watch something, I have lots of computers and my daughter has her own TV/DVD player in her room, so at a push I could use that; but DVD functionality would still be better!

One of the main reported reasons that we won’t be getting the DVD version was the influx of cheap DVD players to have entered the European and American markets recently. Have you ever actually bought one of these though? I unfortunately did and it lasted exactly 6 months before the poor thing decided it wasn’t going to spin the disk anymore. As the old saying goes “You get what you pay for”!

Cost was also another issue that Nintendo were wary about. Supposedly the introduction of a DVD drive might hike the price of the console above Nintendo’s price point. But is £15 (£30) all that much when you consider the UK version was automatically higher due to the bundled Wii Sports. I mean is the difference between £179 and £199 all that great? As long as it’s under £200 Nintendo are on to a winner!

The other option would be to sell the drive as an add-on either an external drive or some sort of VC mod thus meaning that only those who wanted the DVD playback would actually get it. This would be great for those who didn’t want the DVD playback, as they wouldn’t be forced into features which can already be found on many devices within the home. However this strategy would not return the greatest revenue for the effort it would require. Nintendo would be on to a looser without even starting.

Even with all this being said, unfortunatly for me I don’t think DVD playback is really on the top of Nintendo’s list when it comes to must have features. With the Blu-ray/HD-DVD war only just starting, Nintendo are doing well to stay clear multi-functional fascinations and concentrate on just being a games console!