Re: WMC removal?
"It would have been great for my kids to have the Wii play DVDs, rather than attach ANOTHER device to their TV. :("
But as the PS2 showed, using a gaming console to play movies tends to wear the drive out faster, and once it breaks, you can't play games OR movies.
PS. News to me on the Japanese Wiis. I'm pretty sure this was the exception, though, as Nintendo made the lack of movie playback very clear otherwise.