How excited are you to go camp out this weekend for a chance to get a Wii launch unit? What if we told you a new Wii would be out next year?
It now official, as Nintendo has commented that they will release a new version of the Wii sometime next year. The date of it's release is not set, but Nintendo has said it will launch in both Japan and United States.
Now I'm sure you're wondering what addition this Wii will have that your 06 launch unit doesn't. The answer is DVD playback software and navigation. Nintendo has contracted with Sonic Solutions to developed DVD playback and navigation software to be included in Wii's next year model. The rumor started last week when Sonic Solutions made a press release that they were going to make the software for Wii. Some speculated that it would only be available in the Japanese Wii units next year and with Nintendo not saying anything, the rumors began to spread.
Today however Nintendo spoke to GameDaily BIZ and made it official, they confirmed Sonic Solutions is making the DVD user interface software and that it will be available in the second half of 2007 in both US and Japan. Matt Atwood of Nintendo said pricing hasn't been announced for the DVD playback enabled Wii's, but did say it will come at a higher price. DVD playback was originally listed as a feature of the Wii and was later dropped when final specs were released. The reason could be similar to Microsoft's issue when dropped DVD playback with the Xbox because of licensing fees they didn't want to pass on to the consumer. Later they released a DVD playback kit which included the license, remote and IR receiver.
You would think that in today's era of digital distribution and upgrades on the fly that if you buy a Wii now, you can just download a 'patch' and get DVD playback. Matt Atwood made it clear that this will not be the case, DVD playback requires more than a simple software patch to the current generation of Wii's.
So with today's announcement, it seems all three console makers have gone the multi-sku route. Microsoft with the Core and Premium Xbox360, Sony with the 20GB and 60GB Playstation3 and Nintendo with the regular and DVD playback edition Wii's.
It now official, as Nintendo has commented that they will release a new version of the Wii sometime next year. The date of it's release is not set, but Nintendo has said it will launch in both Japan and United States.
Now I'm sure you're wondering what addition this Wii will have that your 06 launch unit doesn't. The answer is DVD playback software and navigation. Nintendo has contracted with Sonic Solutions to developed DVD playback and navigation software to be included in Wii's next year model. The rumor started last week when Sonic Solutions made a press release that they were going to make the software for Wii. Some speculated that it would only be available in the Japanese Wii units next year and with Nintendo not saying anything, the rumors began to spread.
Today however Nintendo spoke to GameDaily BIZ and made it official, they confirmed Sonic Solutions is making the DVD user interface software and that it will be available in the second half of 2007 in both US and Japan. Matt Atwood of Nintendo said pricing hasn't been announced for the DVD playback enabled Wii's, but did say it will come at a higher price. DVD playback was originally listed as a feature of the Wii and was later dropped when final specs were released. The reason could be similar to Microsoft's issue when dropped DVD playback with the Xbox because of licensing fees they didn't want to pass on to the consumer. Later they released a DVD playback kit which included the license, remote and IR receiver.
You would think that in today's era of digital distribution and upgrades on the fly that if you buy a Wii now, you can just download a 'patch' and get DVD playback. Matt Atwood made it clear that this will not be the case, DVD playback requires more than a simple software patch to the current generation of Wii's.
So with today's announcement, it seems all three console makers have gone the multi-sku route. Microsoft with the Core and Premium Xbox360, Sony with the 20GB and 60GB Playstation3 and Nintendo with the regular and DVD playback edition Wii's.
