The Wii Mini Is Out DEC 07

[claud3]

Just Announced: Nintendo Wii Mini



PaulH (Blogger) 5:00 AMLabels: gaming Nintendo Wii

Nintendo will release a brand new version of its flagship Wii console called "Wii Mini" on December 7th, for the low price of $99.99, the company has just announced. The redesigned console will have a red casing with a textured black matte finish on top, and will come packaged with red Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers.

The form factor of the Wii Mini is noticeably smaller than the original Wii model, and the square frame has been replaced with tapered edges (see side view photo below). The altered form factor requires the Wii Mini to lie flat, as opposed to the vertical orientation of the original Wii when using the console stand.

Also new is the large Wii logo centered on top which features a glossy finish in contrast to the matte black surface that surrounds it. The bottom-left corner features a triangular Power button that when pressed, lights up with Wii's signature blue colour, and on the opposite side is an Open button which implies that the Wii Mini is a top-loading device.

Wii Mini side view

As mentioned, the unit comes with a Wii Remote Plus controller, which combines a Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus technology in one controller. Wii MotionPlus allows for greater precision with 1:1 motion detection that replicates your actions accurately on screen.

With the low price tag comes a few sacrifices. Most notably, the unit is stripped of its Wi-Fi capabilities, so the Wii Mini cannot connect to the internet and does not support online features in games. Furthermore, the Wii Mini will not be compatible with Nintendo GameCube game discs, and the GameCube controller ports and memory slots have been removed.

The Wii Mini comes one year after Nintendo's last redesign of the Wii, called the "Wii Family Edition" which was also designed to sit horizontally and removed the Nintendo GameCube features.

This is not the first time Nintendo has released a red-colour Wii, as Nintendo released a Limited Edition Red Wii Bundle for Mario's 25th anniversary back in 2010.

Wii Mini box

While we assumed Nintendo has shifted their home console attention almost entirely to their new Wii U system, the release of Wii Mini sends a strong message that company feels there is still plenty of life left in the aging Wii console.

The $99.99 price point is typically viewed in the gaming industry as the magic number to reach critical mass, as it was this price that gave the PlayStation 2 a tremendous long-tail sales cycle that lasted years beyond the release of its successor, the PlayStation 3. With 97.18 million Wii units sold worldwide (as of September 30, 2012), surely Nintendo is hoping the Wii Mini will help push the console past the 100 million units sold milestone.

The Wii Mini is certainly an outstanding value, even with the stripped out features, considering the low cost and great selection of games available on the Wii. Nintendo says the Wii Mini is compatible with over 1,300 Wii games (but cannot access online features) which likely includes retail-only games since the console is unable to connect to the Nintendo eShop to access downloadable video games. Future Shop has a range of Nintendo Selects games, which represent some of the best games ever to grace the console, available at a value price. These games range from hit titles such as Super Mario Galaxy, Pikmin 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (see full selection here).

Future Shop will be accepting pre-orders of the Wii Mini starting today, with the Wii Mini becoming available on December 7, 2012.

Wii Mini - Red SKU: 10232970 This red Wii Mini includes everything you need to play, right out of the box. It includes a red Wii Mini console, red Wii remote Plus and nunchuck, Sensor bar, AC adaptor and AV cable. With the deep control enhancements of Wii Remote Plus, veteran Wii users and newcomers alike can enjoy unprecedented gaming

http://community.futureshop.ca/t5/Te...ni/ba-p/397656

[justintheman87]

The fact this has NO Internet ability, and NO Gamecube backwards compatibility makes this one poor system choice. The fact the Wii was backwards compatible made it that much more special. Plus the ability to go online and download from a huge Nintendo classic library.

I am also shocked to find out this is Canada exclusive, which is ODD.

We shall call him........Mini Wii.

[DeviousOne]

Wii Wii...maybe they dont care about that in canada when it comes to the Wii?

Would be a great value had this been wifi and gcn compatibility...Hell I would pick one up for my extra room for netflix and games

[justintheman87]

Same.

If it were the same as the Wii (features) for that price I would buy one for my son's bedroom.

[DarkVincent07]

That is a a very strange and unnecessary redesign, and removing wifi and gamecube compatibility is a shame... it does look good though

[Nitey]

Hopefully it comes out in other regions. I love the design and I never owned a Wii this gen. The library definitely has some must-plays. Not too fussed about no internet, but it's a strange choice. Had it been internet enabled then I'm sure a bunch of people would have just purchased as a Netflix box!

[DeviousOne]

I do like how it looks if it had all the features like my wii at home i wouldve got one

[Dave-The-Rave]

If I knew for sure that I wouldn't pick up a WiiU at SOME stage down the road I would probably opt for this to play some of the games I missed like Zelda and Mario Galaxy.

I can see myself getting the WiiU after the first price drop..not before the PS4 though.

[Lethal_NFS]

lol no WiFi, and not backwards compatible with the GC? This is $99 new, and the original Wii is $129.99 brand new packed with Wii Sports Resort.......

Good luck selling this garbage lol

[DeviousOne]

you never know its in canda eh!

[Soldier 95B]

No loss on the backwards compat, but seriously, no internet? Toasters have WIFI.

[F34R]

Terrible machine, feature wise. smh

[Lethal_NFS]

No loss on the backwards compat, but seriously, no internet? Toasters have WIFI.

Furthermore, the Wii Mini will not be compatible with Nintendo GameCube game discs, and the GameCube controller ports and memory slots have been removed.

[RaY_210]

This has gotta be the most useless thing ever

[Kuro]

Why make a smaller wii!? Even the other concoles i.e Gamecube,N64 didn't have one. Lol no wifi ok nintendo burn your money!

[AaronSOLDIER]

They removed GCN compatibility years ago, how did you guys not expect this? Surprised on the wifi though.

[Soldier 95B]

Furthermore, the Wii Mini will not be compatible with Nintendo GameCube game discs, and the GameCube controller ports and memory slots have been removed.

Yup

Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk 2

[Kuro]

Still rockin that launch wii just so I can play my old games. lol.

[F34R]

Still rockin that launch wii just so I can play my old games. lol.

Yep, same. I still have my launch wii filled with soldered wires.

[Lethal_NFS]

If this was $50 then I would understand releasing it. But you are only saving $30 and losing the eShop and all streaming services, and the Gamecube compatibility.

However, I can see how this could benefit parents if they wanted their young child to have a Wii, but do not want the hassle of worrying about the web browser and other online capabilities.

[F34R]

After going over it more and more in my head... the things that are removed from it, aren't that bad a deal I guess. If you want the other features, pay the other $30. I've rarely ever played this Wii online. After how many years? I've NEVER used it for GC games either. I guess it's not that bad a deal.

[AaronSOLDIER]

That extra $30 would still not get you the GCN compatibility unless you managed to find a model from 2 or 3 years ago (good luck lol)

[chrisw26308]

The japanese love their mini wiis


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[MjW]

To be absolutely honest, the majority of Wii owners don't use the features that got removed.

As long as they can put a disc in and swing the wiimote, they will be satisfied. This is what the Wii is.