Hasta La Gadget!

Planning to replace that aging Blu-ray player with a Wii U? Not so fast. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says the gaming console won’t play DVD or Blu-ray discs, due to patent licensing fees.

Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities. 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.

So there you have it. Iwata doesn’t want to hand over a bag of cash for baby Blu’s “bag of hurt.” By the time the Wii U hits store shelves in 2012, we may be buying Blu-ray players just for their Netflix capabilities, so here’s to hoping the console at least carries over that functionality from its predecessor.

Wii U will not play DVDs or Blu-ray, Iwata says originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Kotaku  |  Nintendo  | Email this | Comments

The HD collections of past game series have proved popular for Sony. But it looks like the raiding of back catalogs isn’t just going to stop with consoles games, Sony is now looking to its handheld titles for new releases. A new range entitles the PSP Remaster collection will bring exiting PSP titles to the […]

We’ll tell you what: if you even blink these days, you’re gonna miss a special guest on the Engadget Podcast. This week we’ve got Joystiq‘s Chris Grant in the house to shoot the shizzle on Sony’s network hurt and the Wii 3D IMAX rumors bubbling up all around us. And we lure Richard Lawler to step out on his old lady, the Engadget HD Podcast, for a romp on the possibly slightly wilder side of the tracks. Let’s do it: let’s talk tech.

Host: Tim Stevens
Guests: Chris Grant, Brian Heater, Richard Lawler
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: You Shook Me All Night Long

02:15 – Apple iMac hands-on, with dual 30-inch displays! (video)
03:00 – Apple iMac refresh official: Thunderbolt and next gen quad-core processors
03:45 – AT&T officially announces HP Veer 4G, available May 15th for $100 (update)
04:55 – Star Wars Blu-ray set ships Sept. 12th/16th (world/NA), has 40 hours of special features
06:35 – Dish Network, EchoStar will pay TiVo $500 million to settle DVR lawsuit
07:55 – Latest Windows 8 leaks reveal cloud-based settings, more app store evidence
09:35 – Droid Charge review
11:16 – Verizon document suggests LG Revolution will have Netflix pre-installed
13:47 – Sony promises ‘phased restoration’ of PlayStation Network and Qriocity starting this week
20:22 – Sony woes continue as SOE confirms data breach (update: 24.6 million accounts affected)
31:03 – Sony responds to Congress: all 77 million PSN accounts compromised, finger pointed at Anonymous
33:52 – BlackBerry Bold 9900 hands-on (update: video)
34:30 – BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 (Bold Touch) official
34:45 – BlackBerry Bold Touch makes brief appearance on RIM’s website
35:05 – Android apps on PlayBook eyes-on (video)
35:48 – RIM announces BlackBerry 7 OS with better browser and BlackBerry Balance, but no legacy support
38:10 – Nintendo drops Wii price to $150 from May 15th, throws in a free Wii Wheel and copy of Mario Kart
48:05 – Nielsen estimates show first drop in TV ownership in 20 years, Mayans nod approvingly
50:40 – We won some Webby Awards, and now you can win a BlackBerry PlayBook!
51:44 – Listener questions

Hear the podcast

Subscribe to the podcast

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

Contact the podcast

Send your questions to @tim_stevens.

Twitter: @tim_stevens @bheater @chrisgrant @rjcc

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 238 – 05.06.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 May 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

LucasFilm has chosen Star Wars Day (May The 4th) to finally reveal more information about the upcoming Star Wars Blu-ray releases, due to hit shelves September 16th. The three editions include The Complete Saga with all the movies included, or the original trilogy / prequels by themselves. When the counter hit zero the official website has dropped the curtain on… absolutely nothing since it’s down, likely crashed by the refreshing of a billion fans around the world. Before it crashed completely we snagged the release dates (September 12th internationally, 16th in the US) and a list of special features (included after the break along with the Blu-ray announce trailer) that breaks down the commentaries on each disc plus several new documentaries. Currently the site is refreshing to the standard Fox page, the plan is apparently for a promotion where fans share the page on social media networks which unlocks additional artwork as more people continue to visit throughout the day. We’ll let you know if R2-D2 can get the servers back up, until then we can all just imagine what the three new documentaries might be like.

Update: There’s also a short (really short) YouTube trailer meant to push the “Feel The Force” content unlocking promotion on the site, it’s embedded after the break. [Thanks, Taylor T Farmer]

Update 2: It appears the site is up now, calling on fans to unlock more of an embedded video with various “exclusive imagery” by sharing the page on Facebook and Twitter. Of course, you could also not do that, wait a few hours for someone else to finish unlocking it and avoid ending up on our block list along with everyone who plays Farmville. Your choice.

Update 3: As of about 3 p.m. Eastern the site has been fully unlocked, so feel free to click through and check out the entire video, or just peep the box art for all three packs in our gallery here.

Continue reading Star Wars Blu-ray set ships Sept. 12th/16th (world/NA), has 40 hours of special features

Star Wars Blu-ray set ships Sept. 12th/16th (world/NA), has 40 hours of special features originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  MayThe4th.StarWars.com, YouTube  | Email this | Comments

Europeans have been able to bag this speedy external writer for a few months now, but it’s only just received its Green Card — turning up in the US with a suitcase full of dreams and a price tag of $239.99. A quick check of its CV resume reveals a choice of either USB 3.0 or eSATA connectivity, 12x write speed, and the ability to burn up to 50GB of data on a dual-layer disc. The drive is being pitched as an “all-in-one Blu-ray device” because it also handles 3D playback and has a low vibration system for quieter operation. Admittedly, it only offers half as much storage as BDXL writers, but those burn slower and onto judderingly expensive media. Closer competition comes from Buffalo, which arrived early to the USB 3.0 table, but whose current MediaStation model omits the eSATA option.

Continue reading Plextor PL-LB950UE Blu-ray burner lands in the US with heady mix of USB 3.0 speed and double-layer storage

Plextor PL-LB950UE Blu-ray burner lands in the US with heady mix of USB 3.0 speed and double-layer storage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  CrunchGear  | Email this | Comments