BeerFiles is a sometimes irreverent blog concerning all things to do with IT, technology, people and the media from the point of view of a hard boiled technology journalist and commentator. Stan has been in the IT game for about a quarter of a century. He has seen and written about the rise and fall of more than a few IT players and made many friends, some of whom he has even crossed swords with on occasions. Everything in this blog is purely Stan’s opinion so if you agree, wish to expand upon, correct a post or tell Stan he’s a clueless know nothing, please feel free.

Why Nintendo is releasing a Wii DVD

by Stan Beer

Tuesday, 14 November 2006

The first time I opened my mouth on the subject of how stupid it was for Nintendo to release its first console standardized to the DVD format without DVD playback, the Nintendo fanboys howled in protest. Now the cat is out of the bag that Nintendo will release a version of Wii next year with DVD playback. Oh my, what are the fanboys to do? The question on the fanboys' lips will no doubt be why Nintendo, why? The answer is obvious fanboys. Money and marketshare. Nintendo is a great games console manufacturer, there's no doubt about that. However, the last time it went up against an even greater console manufacturer, it got whipped black and blue. Now there are three great console manufacturers and two of them have moved toward becoming home entertainment hubs and both play DVDs. You can almost hear the fanboys screaming in protest. "Consoles are not for playing DVDs. They're for playing games," they howl. "You can just get a cheap DVD player and hook it up to your system if you want to," they cry. Well yes, you can get a cheap DVD player and park it somewhere nearby your console but why would you? Doesn't it make sense for a console that plays DVD games to also playback DVD movies? Why do you need two boxes that both read DVD discs? It's a no-brainer really. Wouldn't a standalone DVD player be better placed somewhere else in the house like maybe even your bedroom - if you happen to like to watch TV in bed? So getting back to why Nintendo is going to release a new version of Wii with DVD playback, the answer in a nutshell is that the company wants to widen its market appeal. With DVD playback, the Wii suddenly becomes more than just a games console, it also becomes a video player. That means it gets used more often by more people. All of a sudden it has a bigger audience. This is not only a smart move by Nintendo, it's an obvious move. {moscomment} Tags See All Tags Consoles  Games  Wii  Powered By Joomla Tags Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment!

 

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