Blu-ray Enabled Wii Coming?

[Josh]

I can't report this as new... yet.

An unsuspecting informant accidentally stumbled upon a Blu-ray enabled Wii while visitng Nintendo's R&D facility. Apparently the bathroom wasn't that easy to find.

While searching for the bathroom, the unnamed informant took a wrong turn Willy Wonka style and opened the wrong door. Upon entering the room, he noticed a small group of Nintendo employees (engineers?) watching a movie on what looked like a Nintendo Wii. The informant recounted the details to the Sarcastic Gamer, but made it unclear if the movie playing abilites were a hardware add-on, a software upgrade, or a brand new Wii model. Regardless, he took several mental notes about the situation:

* The remote control to control movie playback attached itself to the Wii-mote nunchuck style.
* The drive slot glowed blue while the disc was in but faded to black when the disc was removed
* The Nintendo employees quickly ejected the disc and placed it in what was undeniably a Blu-ray disc case
* There was an extra Wii channel titled "Wii Watch" emblazoned with a Blu-ray logo

This discovery comes after Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime hinted at an upcoming surprise for the Nintendo Wii during a Gamehead interview. "The surprise is coming," he teased, "by the end of September."

"I can't help but wonder," says the Sarcstic Gamer, "if Sony's Peter Dille knew about this upcoming feature roll out when he made his now famous 'HD-DVD dead within months' claim a short while ago."

http://gamer.blorge.com/2007/07/27/n...y-enabled-wii/

[dialog_gvf]

Holy ****!!!

Well, that would completely and totally obliterate HD DVD if it came to pass. And clearly it would be a smart move for Nintendo to go right to the latest gen.

Funny, I always saw the Wii as complementary not the competition.

[MrBogey]

The Wii only outputs 480p. It's not made for high def. If anything it'd be the next generation of Wii.

Which if anything proves Sony's methodology to be correct.

[dialog_gvf]

Notice the one comment could be considered an attempt to have the page removed?

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by MrBogey

The Wii only outputs 480p. It's not made for high def. If anything it'd be the next generation of Wii.

Which if anything proves Sony's methodology to be correct.

Maybe a Super-Wii? A second SKU with HD output and the BD compatible drive?

[MrBogey]

That would fit. The Wii is a money machine for Nintendo. They could easily cut back the price of the Wii Basic and introduce a second BD profile 1.1 with only basic 1.1 ability at a fairly low price point. It'd be priced below the PS3 probably but above the Xbox. That way they could still get the low price point (relative) and have something that whole still having 100% Wii ability would be a steal for bargain hunters. Though I think it'd be far cheaper if they rushed it and got out a 1.0 profile machine.

[dialog_gvf]

ARP (average retail price) on the Sigma Designs chip is $20 according to their last conference call. That, and the BD compatible drive is pretty much the only additional thing needed for a BD player that isn't already there in some form in the Wii. So, a combo Wii/BD player could be very reasonable.

It's well known that the Japanese have a space crunch and hence tend to love boxes that do many things. This would give the Wii that much more leverage into the Japanese home.

And come to think of it, the Sigma Design guy seemed to be sitting on something implying a huge score might be possible for Q4. I remember saying he was smoking the same weed as Fuji-san (Toshiba), but what if THIS is what was brewing?

Gary

[Lord_Stewie]

if that happens, that would be a definitely the most interesting move by nintendo.

[monkyman]

With 1.1 due for all BD players in Sept, now would be the time to jump in and not be left out at christmas. If they do, lets hope it's at least available in quantity this time!

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

ARP (average retail price) on the Sigma Designs chip is $20 according to their last conference call. That, and the BD compatible drive is pretty much the only additional thing needed for a BD player that isn't already there in some form in the Wii. So, a combo Wii/BD player could be very reasonable.

It's well known that the Japanese have a space crunch and hence tend to love boxes that do many things. This would give the Wii that much more leverage into the Japanese home.

And come to think of it, the Sigma Design guy seemed to be sitting on something implying a huge score might be possible for Q4. I remember saying he was smoking the same weed as Fuji-san (Toshiba), but what if THIS is what was brewing?

Gary

So, there is no need for a processor over 1 GHz to play Blu-ray movies anymore?

[MrBogey]

I still think they'd need to beef up some of the guts. The PS3 is way overpowered for Blu-ray but IIRC, the Toshiba HD-A1 had a 900Mhz processor. I imagine a beefier processor would ensure 1.0 compliancy. While 1.1 would entail greater redesigns.

[Manco]

I was literally ready to plunk down $500 for a Wii bundle at Walmart.com while they have 'em in stock before the xmas rush.

Although this is mere speculation, I'm going to hold off and see if this pans out.

What a great a way to end a week of awesome news for Blu!

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Ascended_Saiyan

So, there is no need for a processor over 1 GHz to play Blu-ray movies anymore?

The Sigma Designs SoC (system on chip) is pretty much that. It needs some external DRAM, flash, and perhaps the security chip/HDMI transmitter. But, kjack has already said the BOM (bill of materials) for a BD player using the SD chip is:

SoC + drive + $75.

And most of the $75 in parts could be shared with the regular Wii parts.

HD DVD still needs an external CPU for the HDi (it's like a browser rendering pages).

[jubaiweaponx]

with the cost of the upgrades they would still have a great price point ,never a bad thing for blu-ray ,we`ll have to see what pans out on this ,thanks for the chip stats dialog!

[mshulman]

I'd say this is highly doubtful. Take off the blu glasses for a minute.

Wii is doing great for 2 reasons. 1) Its unique and 2) its price. Adding a blu-ray capable wii would drive up the price, taking away its big advantage. And what benefit does this provide Nintendo? If someone wants a wii, they'll get it - they don't need blu-ray to be convinced of that.

I really can't believe anyone is taking this seriously.

[DrinkMore]

Whoever thunk this up over at nintendo is going to get one hell of a raise when it hits shelves.

All those mid-level families buying up the WII for their Kiddies - the floodgates would break open for Disney!

[mshulman]

Originally Posted by DrinkMore

Whoever thunk this up over at nintendo is going to get one hell of a raise when it hits shelves.

All those mid-level families buying up the WII for their Kiddies - the floodgates would break open for Disney!

Are you kidding? Even if it was true, its not capable out of the box. It would need a new sku. you think it would be $250? Try $350 minimum, more like $400-450.

[DrinkMore]

Originally Posted by mshulman

Are you kidding? Even if it was true, its not capable out of the box. It would need a new sku. you think it would be $250? Try $350 minimum, more like $400-450.

Doubt it dude. You know just as much as I do. Its all speculation at best. We won't know ANYTHING until it happens.

So lets hope for the best?

[MrBogey]

Originally Posted by mshulman

Are you kidding? Even if it was true, its not capable out of the box. It would need a new sku. you think it would be $250? Try $350 minimum, more like $400-450.

The thing is the 250$ Wii was turning a profit on day one. N, I'm sure has all their production for the Wii completely paid off. Economies of scale dictate that they're making an even bigger profit on each one because the cost goes down with each subsequent large production run. The cost of a Blu-ray drive and components would be added to their base production price. From there they could easily sell it at a near break even point and still do well. Just from their lower priced model they'll be turning a profit which will supplant the null revenue stream of their higher priced model. Though it will allow greater market reach which will help their overall market share which will help push more games which will help increase revenues overall.

It's not a no-brainer move. But it's not a horrible move either. If anything it's bad news for the PS3 as far as it loses it's sole major advantage in this gen. Which would be good news for Nintendo.

[WickyWoo]

They refuse to lose money, so you're talking $500 minimum.

They need a lot more RAM, second CPU plus the Blu drive.