The Wii almost did have DVD compatibility!
I think it would have been interesting at the very least if it actually happened, but I already had a DVD player anyway so it wouldn't have been necessary to me.
Where I learned this:
tcrf.net
I also already have a Blu-ray player, so I don't really need that either.
As for digital media, I am not really interested in that, so I can't say much.
And don't forget the
Panasonic Q, a special edition Nintendo GameCube that could also play DVD's as well as audio CD's! Not to mention, has a design that is so delightfully 2001 that it's hard to not be charmed by it!
During the GameCube and Wii days, I rather bemoaned that Nintendo insisted on not having any of the bells and whistles that made PlayStation and Xbox more competitive options. These days, I think it serves as a strangely effective counter-marketing strategy. The lack of any utility for the device outside of playing Nintendo games keeps the price reasonable compared to the offerings of Sony and Microsoft.
This is irrelevant in the age of streaming, however. The apps for streaming service requires pretty much no change to system architecture, and as a result, the price is largely unimpacted by it. I used to use the Netflix app on my Wii U a lot back when I still had it, and it still perplexes me that although services such as Hulu and Crunchyroll are available on the Switch, Netflix is not.
I think that it would be mutually beneficial for both Nintendo and the streaming services to have their services accessible on Switch. It's not something I would make heavy use of, but as consoles essentially just become "really big and powerful smart devices," it seems silly to not want to maximize the utility of your console, and for streaming providers to not wish to maximize the reach of the brand. I'm not sure how contracts for these things work, however. I presumed that it would be the streaming service that would pay Nintendo to have their service accessible through the eShop, but that may not be the case.
But for things like, Bluray support and the like, I really just wouldn't really care. Even as someone who vastly prefers physical media, I can't see myself using it over a proper home media solution. And if it raises the price of the hardware, that makes things even more bothersome.
How much does it cost them to keep the online features working? Because I see them shutting down various online features periodically, so clearly without some partnership with a larger streaming service, it must be hard to keep that all up.
It wouldn't cost Nintendo anything. These services would be maintained by the streaming company themselves, not by Nintendo. All the apps do is provide what is effectively a browser that connects to the streaming providers' servers and instructs them to transmit the data available for the appropriate system architecture, just as it does on your phone, tablet, or PC-based internet browser. Aside from the download of the app itself (and possibly some creative input from Nintendo on how to develop an app for their system; though I'm not sure that's entirely necessary considering how much of a poor fit the Netflix app was for the Wii U), Nintendo is more or less entirely uninvolved.
The more likely problem would be that, as old hardware ages further and new hardware is released, the developers of the apps themselves would simply stop supporting those devices once the userbase dwindles to the point where they become insignificant, as is what happened with the Wii Opera browser overtime, and what I presume will happen to the 3DS and Wii U if it hasn't happened already. And that's not even getting into the nature of contractual disputes. So it's not at all a comparable situation to, say, the closure of the 3DS eShop or whenever they announce a new temporary game on NSO that will be shut down in six months in order to capitalize on consumer FOMO.
I would also argue that for the services that are maintained by Nintendo, cost and difficulty of maintaining aren't really a factor. The phrase "planned obsolescence" comes to mind. But that's a separate conversation altogether.
