Dude, where's my MP3s (Wii annoyance #2)

We've known for a few months now that the Wii would be able to play MP3 music from inserted SD cards, but we weren't sure of the exact form this feature would take until we actually got our hands on the system. Now that we've had a chance to try it out, we're quite underwhelmed by this undersold "feature" of Nintendo's latest system.

While the Wii easily facilitates viewing of digital photos with the intuitively named "Photo Channel" on the main system menu, there is no similar Music Channel to play your MP3s. Instead, users that want to hear some tunes have to go into the Photo Channel, select some pictures, view a slideshow, go into the options, and only then will they be able to choose from their selection of songs.

Calling this photo slideshow soundtrack an "MP3 player" is too generous -- basic features like fast forward and rewind are not even available, and the selected song will simply loop unless another one is actively selected. It's hard to believe that Nintendo equipped the system with the ability to play music without also including some rudimentary music player software, but that is exactly what has happened.

The only other way to play MP3s on the Wii is with custom soundtracks, a feature supported on a game-by-game basis. While setting up and using the feature on Excite Truck was relatively easy, we're a bit miffed that Nintendo didn't decide to build this feature into the system software, so a custom soundtrack could be added over any game at the player's choosing. Making MP3 soundtracks an optional feature that has to be actively added by developers practically ensures that the feature will be underutilized.

Nintendo could theoretically upgrade the MP3 playback function with a future software update, but as it stands now this Wii "feature" pales in comparison to similar music playback offered by Sony and Microsoft.

Wii annoyances
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