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.

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.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.