I kind of expected this and I'm not disappointed since I already have a BD player.  No complaints from me.

I said this before, but Nintendo is missing a golden opportunity here because their new controller would mean every Wii U owner would get not just a Blu-ray player, but a portable (within the home) Blu-ray player.  If it were just another console, I wouldn't care, but they actually have something new to offer for traditional media, too, this time around.

For the applicable regions, Netfilx and other streaming options will have to suffice. A bit of a shame since I would like an extra Blu-Ray player. However, I never expected Nintendo to put themselves in a situation to be paying Sony for something.

I think only a fool would think a Nintendo or Microsoft device would support Blu-ray Discs because they would have to pay royalties to Sony (among other companies). It would have been nice to at least have DVD support (but Nintendo would have to pay royalties to the DVD Forum), but I bet most people have tons of devices already for that. I know I have my laptop, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and a dedicated DVD player.

It's unfortunate that Nintendo's not putting these features in the Wii U, but my Blu-Ray/DVD needs are already more than met with my PS3.

Predictable, but why don't they go with the Xbox solution? Then the consumer essentially pays for the movie playback license only if they want it, and it doesn't cost Nintendo anything extra. Then everyone's happy.

Nintendo doesn't have to include DVD/Bluray playback, but they should atleast allow users to pay for the license through the eShop and have the ability unlocked if we choose to use it.


edit: damn got distracted and didn't hit post right away. Now I've been beat.

I'm not surprised either. Yes I'd love if they did put that in, but I already have a DVD player and don’t need another.

It's more than just a license.  CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray optical discs all use different types of laser technology and are encoded completely different.  They'd have to include hardware that could read all of those formats in order to offer it even if it were a separate option.

In addition, as we've seen with Wii modders, the Wii drive uses a fixed-speed motor that simplifies the hardware and prolongs drive life, but when homebrewers started running DVD playback software, the constant speed changes applied to the drive caused the motor to quickly burn out.

Dumb myth. The Wii drive was designed to play movies -- remember at one time they were going to enable that feature.

The hardware is already there if it is reading Bluray Blue laser disc and DVD Wii disc.
Buying the license gets you the codecs to read the file formats that make Bluray "bluray".

Are people honestly still using optical media for movies?

Why?

I actually like physically holding and owning my movies, thanks.  They're on my shelves when I need them, they're not reliant on internet connectivity to work or be considered "legal copies", and if I grow tired of them I can re-sell them.

Netflix also sends me disc in the mail...
none of them are streaming on their service.

I wonder if a part of this has to do with piracy, since apparently removing DVD playback form Wii hardware also prevents the playing of Wii games burned onto DVDs.

Okay fine but can we have MP3 support from our SD cards back?

I doubt that since it would involve paying a license.  Fraunhofer IIS, I think? Probably along with a bunch of other companies.

Doesn't the 3DS have MP3 playback?

Given how big a deal having Netflix is on Wii for the average consumer, this kind of surprises me. I agree, Nintendo (or a third party) should release a DVD/Bluray player as an application on the eShop. I don't understand why Nintendo would be against that and yet supportive of Netflix, but perhaps I don't understand the politics.

Pietriots has more on this story.

That made me laugh more than it should.

I should point out, despite my earlier comments I can understand that not everyone is ready to embrace the future and buy digital like me and buying BLu Rays is a perfectly acceptable alternative.

But if you're still buying DVDs, sort out your life. And if you're worried that you don't have enough machines in your house that can already play DVDs...

I still buy DVDs, because most things I watch aren't improved enough by HD that it outweighs the fact that I own at least half a dozen devices that play DVDs but only have one Bluray player. I buy a lot fewer DVDs than I did before Netflix, though, and I don't personally care one bit that the Wii U won't play either of them.

I predict Nintendo will add DVD playback to whatever console they release after 2016 because that is the year when the DVD patents expire (I think). That would put it on track not to be added in the Wii U, but in whatever console Nintendo releases AFTER Wii U.

Blu-ray came out in 2005, right? So, with the length of patents being 20 years, we would have to wait until 2025 before Nintendo could add that into a console.

Then again, the patents on Audio CDs expired almost 10 years ago and Nintendo shows no signs of adding that in either. Does anyone care about audio cd support?

3 months ago, I would have said "Well, one of my favorite films in the entire world, A Tale of Springtime, is only on DVD."  Now it's on Netflix Instant, and its awesome.

With how popular Netflix streaming is becoming, all signs would appear that optical media, along with Blu-Ray, is going the way of the Dodo, Betamax, and the audio tape.  I can appreciate how much better Blu-Ray is--  for christmas, I built myself a pretty nice Home Theater PC with a nice 7.1 channel sound card and a LG Blu-Ray drive, and you know what?  I've watched only 1 blu-ray on it.  Inception.  That is it.  My family uses it all the time though, as a Hulu/Netflix/Itunes machine.

Ah, you're right. 3DS sound does support MP3s. Hmm, doesn't Nintendo have to pay a license for that? I guess the license is very cheap.

Nintendo charged $250 for the 3DS.... they better foot the $0.50(?) MP3 license with all that profit they are making per unit.

Optical media is not going away anytime soon (if ever), especially with most titles not legally available digitally. There is also the issue of stuff like Netflix and Hulu not offering any of the bonus features that are standard now and most titles on digital services don't offer closed captioning. As for DVD or Blu-ray Disc, most titles don't offer any noticeable improvement on BD (or the improvement is so minimal that it doesn't justify paying extra for it).

MP3 licensing is minimal, about $2 per device.

Actually, everything on Netflix's instant streaming has subtitles now.

I'd have to check up on that. Last I looked in to it, some titles didn't have them. Some, like Superman, had mistimed subtitles.

Everything I've seen lately has subtitles.

No it doesn't.

Subtitles on Sons of Anarchy were HORRIBLE. Sometimes they didn't even match what was being said. Other times they just skipped over stuff that was being said. The company responsible even put their name towards the end to take credit.... I would've been too embarrassed if I was them.

Like I JUST said, everything I've watched lately has had great subs. I just assumed they all did.

And I let you know that they don't. no need to get all defensive and no more need to assume.

I watch Netflix all the time and am currently watching X-Files.
There are no subtitles along with the majority of streaming content at the moment. But more and more are being added all the time.

Yeah, the subtitles are off sometimes.  I watch a lot of foreign films (read:  Eric Rohmer movies and Anime) and I've noticed that.  But it is getting better.  To be honest, when Netflix first started instant, I thought it was the stupidest thing in the world.  The quality sucked and the selection was worse than Hulu's movie selection now.  Look at it now.  It has improved a whole lot.  And the new interface that they just slapped on a week or two ago?  Brilliant.  Looks much nicer.

Oh, and if you're looking at my sig right now and thinking "what the hell is that?" then check out "Me and You and Everyone We Know."  I discovered it thanks to Netflix Instant, it should still be there.  Brilliant, great acting, really original, and so funny that it actually made me laugh out loud, which is amazing because the last thing that made me do that was Arrested Development.

"You think you deserve this pain but you don't."

One of my favorite lines in any movie.