Nintendo has been kicking around the idea of giving the Wii DVD playback capability since 2006 but today, it was announced that the addition of this capability would be again delayed. The story appeared in the morning issue of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest multinational business periodicals, and reported on the details of a Nintendo stockholder meeting that took place on the 27th. During this meeting, the president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, stated that the new DVD capable Wii was going to be held back due to the still high sales of the current Wii model.

This is not the first time that the idea of DVD capability on the Wii has been considered and pushed back. There have been a variety of reasons Nintendo has given for the delay, which range from the need to continue providing Wiis to the gaming public from the desire not to have players pay more for a DVD-equipped Wii. With all these problems standing in the way of the idea, it seems very uncertain when, if ever, that this new upgrade will be released to the public.

While Wii owners may find their expectations currently dashed DS fans are going to have something to look forward to. Mr. Iwata announced during the shareholders meeting that a tuner peripheral would see a release this July and would allow owners of Japanese DS’s to watch pick-up digital television broadcasts. No mention of when this device might see an American release, but we here at TGR will keep an eye on the situation and report whatever new details come down the pipe.