Nintendo is launching the Wii Mini. The crimson console is billed as a Canada-exclusive for now -- we're reaching out to confirm if and when it might go elsewhere -- and is clearly meant to catch those families that find the Wii U (or even a regular Wii) too pricey. To get there, though, they'll have to make some big sacrifices. The Wii Mini cuts out both GameCube compatibility (seen in some regular Wii variants) and, more importantly, internet access; unfortunately, this won't be your budget Netflix box. Still, when gamers in the Great White North can pick one up on December 7th for $100, it might be the ideal fit for that TV in the basement or the occasional party.
I say this will confuse a lot of people even more when picking up Christmas gifts.... Last week, for example, I saw this guy buying NSMBW thinking that it was the Wii U game...
i'll just refer the US as "Reggieland" from now on.
Edit: Since there is a Nintendo of Canada, why isnt NoA "NoUS" instead...? i could have avoided this whole embarrassing forum posting business entirely. This was clearly Nintendo's fault.
I thought the Wii was already Mini. I guess this is a way for Nintendo to save money on the slot drive while continuing to sell the Wii going forward. Anyway, I don't think it even matters much at this point. The Wii stopped selling substantial numbers years ago. I won't even comment on the lack of internet access.
Honestly, removing the network functionality would make sense if this came out a year from now, or so, when nobody is really going to be playing Wii games online anyway. Sony's had success releasing new models of old hardware after their next gen console is out, so, I don't think the concept itself is weird.
Really, only the timing here is odd to me. There's a new console out. Has anyone been waiting 6 years to get a low cost Wii? Is anyone that interested in a "backup" Wii going to be motivated to buy close to Wii U launch?
If this had online (for Netflix), I'd put one in the kid's playroom so they wouldn't always be wanting to watch movies and play games in the living room.
@meh I've seen parents pick up 3DS games and take them to the counter thinking they are DS games, it's a problem with Nintendo's whole branding scheme (naming conventions, graphic design, marketing, etc.). As a graphic designer with a bit of experience in branding it drives me absolutely bonkers to see how hard they make it for consumers to tell what the hell is going on,.
@deathly_hallows I agree. I know it's not hard stuff to figure out but they should make the information obvious, instantaneous for the casual consumer. One of my friends is a huge PC gamer, he never plays consoles so he doesn't pay attention to them but he loves everything from Skyrim to Battlefield 3 to Borderlands 2, and last E3 he watched the Nintendo conference and told me "Why are they doing a new controller for the old system?". This is still happening to this day, why doesn't the commercial say it's a new console?
I think Canada is the guinea pig for this. I also think it is retarded to remove online functionality from it. However, it may not hurt to put it in the kids' room. ⊙~⊙
I didn't even see the Canada part. Now it all makes sense. maybe they'll put this out on Australia and other regions like Brazil where the tariffs are ludicrous
Well, looks like it may be a top-loader... but the lack of Internet means no-go for me. It also looks like it doesn't have USB ports, so even the USB adapter can't be used for it.
