After nearly 100 million sold worldwide, Nintendo’s Wii console is getting a new look and a new price. On Dec. 7, the new Wii Mini home console launches in Canada at a suggested retail price of just $99.99 and puts the focus squarely on Wii games. The system can play more than 1,400 disc-based Wii games. Wii Mini is smaller than the original Wii system, and comes in matte black with a red border. The system comes with a red Wii Remote Plus, a red Nunchuk controller and works with most Wii accessories.
“There are games in the Wii library for every type of player,” said Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada’s vice president and general manager. “Wii Mini is a great gift for the holidays that brings everyone in the family together to play. Wii Mini has a mini price, but it’s all about big fun.”
Wii Mini is designed exclusively to play Wii games. Its family-friendly design has no Internet capabilities and does not play Nintendo GameCube games. It’s a great value for first-time Wii owners who just want to jump in and experience all the great Wii games that helped usher in a revolution in motion-controlled gaming. Wii games are available at a variety of price points for every kind of shopper. Some top Wii games during the past six years include:
• A whole range of value-priced Nintendo Selects games, including some of the top-selling and best-reviewed Wii games of all time, at a suggested retail price of $19.99
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (suggested retail price of $29.99)
• Donkey Kong Country Returns (suggested retail price of $29.99)
• Mario Kart Wii (suggested retail price of $39.99)
• Wii Sports Resort (suggested retail price of $39.99)
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii (suggested retail price of $59.99)
• Wii Fit Plus with the Wii Balance Board (suggested retail price of $99.99)
Wii Mini is available exclusively in Canada during the holiday season. No information is available about its potential availability in other territories in the future. Remember that Wii Mini features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit nintendo.com/wiimini.
Link
RSS Feeds:
Well, I guess this thing isn't for me. I thought they were going to streamline the system, not rip core components out. They'd better not try to replace the older console with this gimped thing. I guess if you only want disc games and for some strange reason feel intimidated by all optional internet-related features, you might like saving a few bucks, but it doesn't even seem much cheaper, and it doesn't look much smaller, either. Also, it's kind of weird looking. Seriously, the angles on the sides make it resemble an old phone answering machine.
Not quite. It looks exactly like the old cases of the Game & Watch
WiFi would of been great, something about this being just a Virtual Console device would of been nice.
Okay, I didn't realize that. I still think it was a weird idea, though, as the angled protrusions give it a vaguely 70's/80's look, and also make the system's footprint bigger, which kind of counteracts the whole um, mini thing.
I don't know if you're joking around, but Canada in not part of the US. Canada, the United States & Mexico are three different sovereign countries in the continent of North America.
I really like the way this guy looks. It feels like an old school videogame console. If I had all the money in the world, I'd get one. Cool to see Nintendo going back to the idea of turning their old consoles into budget consoles.
The way you're saying, it's as if you include the Canada as a US territory... When it's not.
Well, in my eyes guys, you're all the US [like England, Wales and Scotland make up my UK - no, I don't count Ireland as part of it].
But hey, the world sees you as three separate places [for some reason], so my opinion is null. *shrugs*
Oh, just thought of another thing. This isn't even really cheaper overall than the regular Wii. It might have a slightly lower price, but it doesn't come with any games.
In Canada you can get a Wii (without gamecube support) with online, Wiimotion+, Soundtrack CD, & NSMBW for $149.99. NSMBW on it's own in Canada is $59.99, so the already existing Wii bundle in Canada is a better price for a more full featured system. This Wii Mini seems like it's for collectors & people who don't know any better.
Edit: Does Wii Mini have an SD card slot, I'd guess not.
The world see's us as three different places because we are three different places. Do you not know what sovereign nation means? You must be so confused during the Olympics.
Nope [nor do I care to]. And nope.
I just don't see why you're regarded as three physically separate places when you aren't not physically separate. Just seems schizo, imho [which, as aforementioned, means nothing here].
You're one [divided] nation in my eyes. Always will be.
("aren't not" is a double negative.) So Russia, Kazakhstan & China should be grouped together because they touch? Don't worry though, be proud of your ignorance.
So basically u choose to live by your ignorance? Carry on mate! No one shall take you seriously now.
only the collectors will buy this. 100 dollars for that pile of junk? I can get normal wii's for that much these days, with wii sports resort included!!! Worst thing ever, lol.
Walmart's currently offering non-gimped Wii systems for $89. Makes the gutted new version not look so hot (not that it did anyway).
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... 33&veh=aff
I posted this in a different post about the Wii mini but I think it belongs here more. So with that.
It's amazing to me how many people, both here, and especially all over the interwebs still read news like this and think only of themselves and how it relates to them and not the bigger picture at hand. Nintendo is still in business as a hardware and software maker for a reason. They study the market, they know ways to continue to extract every last viable amount of income from the consumer to help their bottom line.
This isn't directed at or for informed gamers, this is for the casual crowd who even the previous gamecube-less Wii downgrade just wasn't for at that price. This is basically the bottom of the barrel entry level system for anybody who just wants a cheap unit for the games that came out for the Wii over the course of it's six year tenure. Nothing more.
Translation to everything I just said: It's a business and Nintendo knows how to stay in business. It'll be cheap as hell to produce to boot. This is a smart business decision. Period.
NO online capabilities? Don't most people that would be interested in a Wii at this point want it for Netflix? What is the angle with this thing? Or is it just more stupidity like the Game Boy Micro?
And are there any other angles of it?
Probably for the people still amounting 300k Wii sales recently [who probably don't care for any of the titles with online].
A very budget system [with a range of titles], which will allow Nintendo to close the Wii Shop down in the future [and put more of it's resources into the other eStores], whilst still selling Wii's and Wii U's.
Just my two pounds.
No, this isn't what I was expecting.
They could have sold it as a Netflix/Hulu/Youtube box that plays those "popular Wii games that Opra was talking bout".
Under the right circumstances I can see this being an awesome modded portable.
Your point is basically negated by the simple fact that Nintendo could have easily released the current system without any games included for the same price, as it's currently selling for $30 more with two games. For that matter, they have been recently selling the current system by itself for only $89. Customers aren't benefitting since they're getting a system with useful features removed (including compatibility with a lot of software) for no real discount overall. The only party benefiting here is Nintendo, since they've gutted the system of any and every thing they could get away with, and have therefore made it slightly more profitable for themselves. I don't see how, as any kind of customer, I'm supposed to be impressed, unless I'm a big fan of dual-tone color schemes.
@Jerome
You just further proved my point, not negate it. Nintendo is a "business". They are thinking about their bottom line, not the customers. It's another option and a simplified one for people who don't care about anything beyond popping a game in and pressing power and playing. It's also cheaper to mass produce. It's a smart "business" decision.
I think this might confuse people even further about "which was the new console Nintendo just release?".. But that's me
Maybe, but since I am in fact a customer, and not concerned with the company's bottom line above all else, I think this move is pretty crummy. This view should be perfectly understandable, so my question is, why are you seeming to advocate a move that is by your own admission putting the company's bottom line over their consideration of customers? Are you not a customer? Do you own Nintendo stock or something?
You just said they weren't doing this for their customers, but now you're trying to point out how they're being considerate. For one thing, it isn't simplifying the experience in any appreciable way to remove options that are completely unobtrusive and never get in anyone's way. For another, they're probably not going to keep a $129 full-featured system with bundled games, and a $99 gimped, game-less system on the market at the same time. This will become the new main SKU. You can like this decision for whatever strange reason you like, but that doesn't mean others are silly or ignorant for disagreeing.
View the full discussion!