Nintendo Wii - version 2 - details already!

By budda on Friday, November 17th, 2006 comments

Although not even launched yet, Nintendo's upcoming Wii console is already being upgraded for version 2 due in the second half of 2007.

The unit will retail at a higher price point, which has yet to be defined. But for the price you'll get the added ability to play back DVD movies on the Wii.

The Wii DVD playback support is being handled by Sonic Solutions, the same guys behind the Roxio CD and DVD burning software. It will be using this company's CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator to play DVDs. This DVD-capable version of the Wii is expected to arrive in the States in the latter half of next year, which is around the same time Japan is expected to receive them.

It's worth noting that the DVD playback will not support HD or Blu-ray media, so the Wii is lagging behind in any technological advances and probably a bit late to join the traditional DVD market where you can pick up players for about £18 in the local supermarkets.

Apart from the DVD playback ability, Nintendo was asked if this new version of the Wii would feature any other hardware upgrades, such as a digital optical audio output for Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Their reply was, "There is no new info on new capabilities regarding audio."

So it (currently) seems like the Wii version 2 with DVD playback is a waste of money unless you live in a box with major space issues.

You can jump on the Nintendo Wii bandwagon by pre-ordering the "version 1" console for as little as £161.99 right now.