Wii DVD cases... *Rumor*

[Atari Master]

Are white!... Well, if it's true, anyway.

 

http://gonintendo.com/?p=6208#comments

 

I have to say, I like the whole simplicity thing Nintendo is going for.

[Room 34]

Can't really tell from this picture of course, but with that white "Wii" identifier at the top of the game labels, it seems to just be begging for a white case.

 

Besides, Nintendo's definitely taking plays from Apple's design book these days. I would be extremely surprised if the Wii game cases WEREN'T white.

[Atari Master]

Indeed.

 

I think they should do white, also. Microsoft is doing green, and Sony is doing blue. It just seems right.

[jbanes]

Reader J.M. sent me 3 pictures of what he says are Wii software cases. They look legit to me, but you guys know I am a horrible judge at stuff like this.

Well, he's right about one thing, but it's not that they're legit. The photos he has in his possession are just dressed-up Amaray cases:

 

 

While it's possible that Nintendo will use standard Amaray boxes for their non-standard discs, it just doesn't seem very Nintendo-y to me. (I hearby declare 'Nintendo-y' to be an actual word, retroactive to the beginning of time. ) Nintendo has always liked to stand out from the crowd, so I find it more likely that they'll build their own, custom cases. If anything, I expect them to be a bit shorter than regular DVD cases, possibly even at a different height/width ratio.

[Room 34]

Well as long as we're on the topic... is the Wii going to use 12 cm discs?

 

If so, I'm a bit confused. As far as I can tell, it uses a slot-load drive. But it's also supposed to play GameCube games. (Isn't it?) But I've never seen a slot-load drive that can accommodate 7 cm discs. So...?

 

(Or am I completely off-base here?)

[jbanes]

Well as long as we're on the topic... is the Wii going to use 12 cm discs?

Yes.

 

If so, I'm a bit confused. As far as I can tell, it uses a slot-load drive. But it's also supposed to play GameCube games. (Isn't it?) But I've never seen a slot-load drive that can accommodate 7 cm (ed: 8 cm) discs. So...?

 

From the Wikipedia article on MiniCDs:

 

Slot-loading CD drives are generally incompatible, (the iMac of 1999 is an exception), but adapters are available that one can snap an 80 mm round miniCD into to extend the width to match that of a 120 mm CD, and thus work in many slot-loading devices.

So it's possible to create a compatible slot loader, it just that most manufacturers don't try. They leave that to after-market solutions. Since Nintendo is manufacturing the drive, they had the opportunity to make it compatible.

 

P.S. It's interesting to note that 8cm discs don't actually exist for any other drive. The standard MiniCD is only 6cm, with the business-card type cutting the edges off. So Nintendo had a rather intricate anti-piracy scheme with the Gamecube. The switch to 12cm discs suggests that they have either added precautions in other ways or that they have relaxed their posture.

 

Edit: Scratch that. I guess the MiniDVD format is 8 cm. I've never seen one of these discs, but I guess nothing has really changed in Nintendo's anti-piracy positiion.

Edited September 29, 2006 by jbanes

[MCHufnagel]

 

Edit: Scratch that. I guess the MiniDVD format is 8 cm. I've never seen one of these discs, but I guess nothing has really changed in Nintendo's anti-piracy positiion.

Mini-DVD's are used in some digital video cameras. They can be easily found in places like Best Buy.

[carpecarne]

Well as long as we're on the topic... is the Wii going to use 12 cm discs?

 

If so, I'm a bit confused. As far as I can tell, it uses a slot-load drive. But it's also supposed to play GameCube games. (Isn't it?) But I've never seen a slot-load drive that can accommodate 7 cm discs. So...?

 

(Or am I completely off-base here?)

 

The Wii has a slot loading drive that accepts both 8cm and 12 cm disks. I don't know how it works, but it apparently does.

Edited September 29, 2006 by carpecarne

[Room 34]

I would imagine it has some spring-loaded "fingers" that catch the disc as it comes in and guide it to the center. I suppose if I (of all people) am capable of imagining this, then someone must be able to build it.

 

P.S. I knew I was wrong when I just guessed at 7 cm.

Edited September 29, 2006 by Room 34

[jbanes]

I would imagine it has some spring-loaded "fingers" that catch the disc as it comes in and guide it to the center.

That's kind of what I was thinking, too. All that's really needed is to center the disc over the spindle, so the guides wouldn't even need to be very complex. Once the disc is situated, the guides can withdraw. They're probably mounted on the same mechanism as the spindle head, so that they clamp down and withdraw as the head moves up and down. At least, that's where I'd start if I were building it.

 

P.S. I knew I was wrong when I just guessed at 7 cm.

I figured as much.