The Wii U can do a lot of cool stuff; it can work as a tablet, it’s controller can become a portable gaming device, it can even do video chat. Apparently though, it won’t be able to play Blurays or DVDs, much like the two Nintendo consoles before it.

The news was confirmed this morning by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata during an conference call with investors. “Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities,” Iwata said during the call.  Not surprisingly, Iwata cited price as the reason for not including the functionality in the new system citing that “enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray.”

The Wii U will however connect to social media networks. “”We are no longer in a period where we cannot have any connection at all with social networking sites,: Iwata confirmed. Though he wouldn’t elaborate on just how the system do this, he did say that the company was “always looking at ways that will convey to this audience which games are fun and, ideally, in a way that will enable people who are playing those games with others, to share that information socially.”

So, does it matter that the Wii U won’t be able to play your blurays? Let us know!

When Microsoft announced earlier this week that they were testing a new disc format for the Xbox 360, the internet went into a tizzy. It had to be blu-ray! It’s just gotta.

Nope. Sorry.

The new format, announced on Major Nelson’s blog is the same type of disc, just with an added 1GB of storage built in. According to a well placed industry source at Digital Foundry, the extra space would give developers a lot more freedom when developing for the platform. “ The maximum space allocated to game data on the current disc format is just 6.8GB out of a maximum of 7.95GB on a standard dual layer DVD, with over 1GB dedicated to a DVD-Video partition that also contained anti-piracy security sectors.”

Just how bad is the Xbox 360 storage issue? Real bad. Like, last generation bad. “”Astonishingly, this meant that the last generation PlayStation 2 had a higher level of raw storage available to games developers than the newer Xbox 360,” the source told Digital Foundry. It seems that this video partition has either been drastically reduced or omitted completely in the new format Microsoft is looking to roll-out.”

Want to be one of the first to check out the new disc format? Major Nelson announced an open beta to anyone who registers and is accepted. Those who are qualified will receive a free copy of Halo: Reach in the new format. Check out all the details on his blog.

Sony today revealed new and advanced Blu-Ray disc functionality allowing consumers to enjoy a more streamlined movie transfer experience for their PSPs.

No longer will the digital copy files be housed on a separate DVD, rather they’ll be packed right in on the disc easily transferable through your PS3, and will begin November 10 with the release of Godzilla and will continue with “select releases” moving forward including The Ugly Truth.

“Blu-ray is already known as the best way to watch movies at home, and now SPHE & SCEA are also making it the most convenient way to watch movies on the go” said Rich Marty, Vice President of New Business Development at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Marty continued, “This latest enhancement to Blu-ray and Digital Copy demonstrates the versatility of the format and its ability to deliver a multi-platform video experience. It also showcases the unique advantage that the PlayStation 3 brings to the Blu-ray consumer.”

Anybody do this? I never have. Though I likely should, with my shiny new PS3.

Engadget has put out a list of the top 10 things you can do with your newly defunct HD DVD player.

My favorite: 4. Buy the Blu-ray player of your choice, put it in the box, attempt to return it as “defective.” or 9. Lock it alone in a room with a few lethal weapons… let it die honorably.

Congrats to Sony for winning the format war on their fifth or sixth try. They have gained a much-needed victory in the history of format wars.

Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, in a statement released Friday, announced they will completely back the Blu-ray format and phase out existing HD DVD products. The news is potentially a death blow to HD DVD, following the news that Best Buy and Netflix seem to be headed in the same direction.

“We’ve listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases,” said Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Wal-Mart, U.S. “With the customers best interest in all we do, we wanted to share our decision and timeline with them as soon as possible, knowing it will help simplify their purchase decision, increase selection, and increase adoption long term.”

“We anticipate enhancing our selection with continued great values in hi-definition Blu-ray products, so our customers can further enhance their entertainment experience at home.”

By June, Wal-Mart and Sam’s stores will only offer Blu-ray hardware and DVD’s. 2008 has not been kind to HD DVD. Toshiba rang in the new year by getting the devastating news that Warner Bros. would produce all of their HD titles on Blu-ray.

Warner Bros has announced they will drop support for the HD DVD format and produce high-definition titles exclusively for Sony’s Blu-ray.

This will serve as a huge problem for the HD DVD format. Warner Bros sells 18 to 20 percent of all home videos. This now leaves only Universal, The Weinstein Company and Paramount (and their child companies like Dreamworks) supporting the now falling behind HD DVD format.

Paramount switched to HD DVD only when they received a $150 million payoff last summer.

Conversely, the Blu-ray camp now has Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Lions Gate and now the Warner exclusivity.

Sony owns MGM and Columbia TriStar. Disney Owns Touchstone, Pixar and Miramax. This gives Blu-ray a much stronger position as far as this generation’s format war is concerned.

Prediction: If Paramount goes back to both formats or somehow decides to make just Blu-ray when their HD DVD contract expires, the war will be over quickly.

Toshiba was quick to respond, and they’re pissed off.

“Toshiba was quite surprised by Warner Bros.’ decision to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray, despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning
the support of HD DVD,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps.”

The next step appears to be a step back. The HD DVD group canceled its CES press conference.

The reason behind Warner’s move — it looks like they’d rather support one than risk both next-gen HD formats failing.

People seem to like downloadable content from places like the iTunes, and Xbox Live has done well so far at selling videos. If the format wars continue, it looks like consumers could skip both Blu-ray, and HD DVD and go straight to downloadable.

“The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger,” Barry Meyer, Warner Brothers chairman, told Yahoo! Tech. “We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Consumers just don’t want to buy the same movie — often a movie they may have had on VHS — a second, third or fourth time. Warner says that both formats are having an impact that caused consumers to say, “let’s wait a bit to buy anything, even a standard-definition DVD.”

Well, we can’t have that now, can we?

Paramount Home Entertainment, which includes Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation SKG, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, has announced its decision to use only High Definition DVD, over competing Blu-ray technology.

The decision was made after company research said HD DVDs had the necessary technology on the market, low manufacturing costs and best value and quality for consumers, they said.

On August 28, Blades of Glory kicked off this new program as the first release. Transformers and Shrek the Third follow.

These three movies represent more than $1.5 billion in worldwide box office sales, and company executives believe the sales will keep increasing.

“The combination of Paramount and DreamWorks Animation brings a critical mass of current box office hits to consumers with a line-up of live action and animated films that are perfect for HD DVD,” said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, the leading studio in domestic box office revenue. “I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount.”

Regular DVD players are hardware-based, while HD DVD and Blu-ray systems rely on software. That means updates and movie extras can be easily downloaded from the web. Even with this similarity, many movie and technology powerhouses support Blu-ray technology since it offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs while still having great image quality.

The price between HD DVD players and Blu-ray players, however, is what interests consumers the most. The cheapest HD DVD player retails for approximately $300, while the cheapest Blu-ray devices sell for at least $599.

“We decided to release Shrek the Third and other DreamWorks Animation titles exclusively on HD DVD because we believe it is the best format to bring high quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg CEO of DreamWorks Animation. “We believe the combination of this year’s low-priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home.”

Paramount Home Entertainment will issue new release dates for upcoming films and will also sell catalog titles in the future. Steven Spielberg films remain uncommitted to either format.