Nintendo say Wii U will have no DVD or Bluray playback

The WII U won't make for an ideal media console as it won't support either DVD or BluRay technology, according to Nintendo. Currently the Xbox 360 supports DVD and the Playstation 3 both DVD and Bluray discs.

Nintendo spoke to analysts at a question and answer sessions at the E3 gaming expo and Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata has said that the upcoming WII U will not support DVD and BluRay playback.

His answer has caused a bit of an uproar because he said that people already have devices which support both platforms. He said “The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn't warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.”

The WII U will allow for Netflix streaming however, but both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 also offer this technology support. Whether the lack of optical disc support damages the Wii U long term is open to debate, but it certainly wont help the console sell, as many gamers like to use their high definition console for media entertainment as well as for gaming.

It all depends on the individual's views on the console market and whether streaming support is more important that optical disc playback. DVD is certainly dropping as a media platform in popularity, but more people are adopting Bluray in their homes as the benefits of high definition movie quality becomes more apparent.

Kitguru says: So far, the biggest selling point for the Wii U, looks to be the fantastic controller system, which has a built in 6.2 inch touch screen. It is expected to ship next year.

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