Opinion: XBOX HD-DVD Drive Will do More for Wii

[teqguy]

Upon further research of the XBOX360's external HD-DVD drive, it has come to my realization that it is merely an external disk drive branded to resemble the XBOX.

Granted, up until now, most of you would be saying, "Duh, we knew this already", and I would be right there saying it with you. However, what I and most of you have failed to realize is what this could mean for the Wii(and if you want to get technical, any other device that supports USB).

At a point when everyone has already proclaimed the Wii a last generation console, a slight upgrade to the GameCube, and overall as far as HD as it gets, I've come to the conclusion that we haven't seen anything yet.

Think about it. Microsoft(or any other company with "must have" technology) fronts the cost of producing the product, marketing it, and ultimately bearing the burdon of any losses in risky ventures. Then, comes meek, little Nintendo swooping in and writing a firmware patch for their hardware, adding support for the latest "must have" technology that the big, bad other guy risked to get to the market.

If it fails, so what? The consumer is left with another CD-i, Dreamcast, or [insert other failed console] accessory, while Nintendo, being generous enough to support the other guy, comes in and says "I told you so".

However, if it succeeds, Nintendo reaps just as much, if not more, of the reward as the other guy. For one, they can still say "I told you so". This time, not only is it through not forcing the consumer to buy everything as a package deal, but also through losing the whole "last generation" image in the process.

Microsoft's HD-DVD addon isn't the only product they can do this with. iTunes for Wii wouldn't be that much of a stretch, as Mac users will oggle over the Wii's iMac-matching look.

This could definitely put Wii in a limelight for being (surprise) the most technologically advanced system.

 

[pizzaluvr]

what does ms have to do w/ this??? you confused me, and the wii will not be able to play hddvd dvd's on a wii

 

[Flip]

In the same light, the other consoles can do exactly the same thing. Thus, the consoles would be in the same positions as they are now, but all slightly higher up.

 

[Ronan]

BTW, just to say that it is an external drive, but for one major difference, it doesnt have an hd output. that is why it is cheaper (if you already have a 360) to buy one to hook up to your 360 than buy an individual hd-dvd player

 

[Jenova]

Oh my god... Now that I think about it, you're right. O_O

 

[Majinwar]

Too bad the HD-DVD drive isn't for games, it's for movies...

 

[teqguy]

BTW, just to say that it is an external drive, but for one major difference, it doesnt have an hd output. that is why it is cheaper (if you already have a 360) to buy one to hook up to your 360 than buy an individual hd-dvd player

True, but when you consider how easily Microsoft jumped on the 1080P boat, with none other than a software patch, I don't see how the Wii would be unable to do the same. Keep in mind, that resolutions are limited through software- the actual GPU is capable of a much higher resolution.

They're both able to run component, which is capable of analog 1080P. If you remember correctly, both HD-DVD and BluRay were purported to support none other than HDMI, due to requiring a "secure" signal.

Too bad the HD-DVD drive isn't for games, it's for movies...

Actually, Microsoft announced there might be a possibility that some games that are too lengthy for DVD9 might make their way onto HD-DVD format. During a demo, they even showed how the HD-DVD drive literally replaces the internal drive in both the menu and functionality.

But, even if it was strictly for movies, who would care?

I'm arguing the fact that a person who wanted to watch HD-DVDs could simply go buy an XBOX360 HD-DVD drive and have it natively supported on their Wii through a software patch. This way, they save the $400 spent on the XBOX360 they simply wanted to watch movies on.

This gives the consumer the freedom to use their Wii how they please, by providing them access to not only the features they bought the Wii for in the first place(and continue to enjoy, mind you) but also by providing access to the "other" guy's technology, too.

We can equate it to Apple's jump to x86 architecture. Before then, if you wanted a Mac, you had no choice of operating system or software you could use. Since their switch, you can now install both Mac OSX and Windows XP on the same computer, providing you with both experiences and both libraries of software.

Furthermore, who chooses one over the other when you can have both in one package?

 

[COLDshiver]

nice! I would like to see what Nintendo comes up with after launch

 

[Carnage]

Do you really think that you will able to laod up software onto them???

im not really 'in the now' so ye i jus tohught it would be hard....

and couldnt you jus plug a external hddvd player into the usb port?

 

[teqguy]

and couldnt you jus plug a external hddvd player into the usb port?

Well, the Wii has generic support for USB storage solutions, but for a particular piece of hardware, you would need to add support or else the drive would be unrecognizable without it.

 

[Equis]

Nice, but im sure nintendo will have a couple things plan with the usb port.

BTW 1st post!!!!

 

[littleflipper]

I was also thinking: Remember everyone was complaining about the DSs fat figure compared to PSP "sexiness"? Then they made the DS go on a diet? Now look at the DS. PSP has nothing on it. I was also thinking maybe Nintendo somehow can support higher resolution? Maybe one day 1080p or does that require different hardwar? just a thought

 

[teqguy]

Maybe one day 1080p or does that require different hardwar? just a thought

No, the hardware to support higher resolutions is all inclusive with current and past generation systems. The problem, however, is that taking advantage of higher resolutions requires hardware that can keep up.

For video, I doubt this will be a problem, as high definition playback doesn't require a tremendous amount of resources, provided the GPU is doing most of the work. If it's done through software emulation on the CPU, that's always a problem.

Games, on the other hand, will require being treated with kid gloves, because developers must adhere to strict framerate and performance guidelines. This is especially true with multiplayer and fast-paced action games.