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Though critics of the Nintendo Wii are eager to point out the system's failings as a DVD movie player - i.e., it isn't one -, Sonic Solutions recently let slip that DVD movie playback in Wii is, in fact, in the pipeline.

As announced last week, "Nintendo has chosen Sonic CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator to bring high-quality DVD movie viewing to a future version of the company's Wii... in the latter half of 2007."

Better known for its Roxio line of CD and DVD ripping and authoring software, Sonic's announcement was just confirmed by Nintendo of America's Public Relations Manager Matt Atwood in a GameDaily interview.

No price was announced for the alternate Wii w/DVD, though Attwood confirmed that Wii without DVD would continue to be available alongside a higher priced model, with no pricing yet set.

Nintendo has long asserted that omitting DVD playback functionality in Wii - even though the device can accommodate the format physically - helped to keep productions costs down. Nintendo also maintained that most everybody and their dog already has a DVD player in the house, seeing as DVD technology is well beyond market saturation with entry level players costing as little as $30 while premium players can be found for under $200, so Wii DVD seemed redundant. As of next year, of course, redundancy will be optional.