Wii Mini is Real, and a Canadian Exclusive (For Now)

budget console. ps3 wii hopefully xbox not going to do this

@headcase: I think that while there is a market (which isn't me) many of the Wii's best retail games are sadly out of print.

@GenghisJohn said:

So this is for the person who:

• Didnt already have a wii but wanted one
• Has no interest in virtual console games
• Isn't buying a wii u
• Wants to pay $100 or less for a video game console

FTFY

@maverick_76 said:

I need a $99 paperweight!

Said no one ever.....

http://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html?site=wii&cat=0&year=0&numrev=0&sort=0&letter=&search=

Yeah, no.

I need a $99 paperweight!

Said no one ever.....

@codyjgallant said:

Glad that Nintendo some what showing love to Canadian!

Cheap half assed love is better then no love at all...god I'm so lonely...

Wait, what?

Glad that Nintendo some what showing love to Canadian!

wii miini.

That one's free, Nintendo.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/tech-news/canada-tops-globe-in-internet-usage/article551593/

Has anyone mentioned that as of March 2012 it has been determined that Canada tops globe in Internet usage. Those crazy Kanooks, spend the most time on social networks and the Internet on earth. They beat out China and South Korea for the most hours spent on the internet or on social networks. Therefore, Nintendo is giving the MOST CONNECTED people on earth the LEAST CONNECTED system. (slow clap for Nintendo)

@Bizzama: Exactly. I have no idea for the use for this. Here in Canada , we never get the awesome deals you guys get, but we get the Wii Mini!

It'd be nice if we can see this thing for real, Also it'd be nice if it still could access the net. If not WiFi either built in Ethernet or the USB thing.

@Scotto said:

This is the kind of device, and price point, that would appeal to "non-gamers" (grandmothers, middle aged adults) who just want a Wii Sports box. Except... all of those people bought a Wii three years ago at the latest, played it, and have long since moved on by now.

So who is this thing for? And I say this as a Canadian - why in God's name are they only putting it out here right now? I can't imagine it's as a "test market", because they've already spent the R&D money designing and fabricating the fucking thing by (presumably) the thousands.

And do they know that we have readily available cable and fibre-optic broadband internet up here?

Can't wait to buy a plastic-y looking, kneecapped version of a console that was already pretty technologically blinkered compared to the XBOX, PS3, and Wii U. And they routinely put bare-bones Xbox 360 S's on sale up here for $99 these days, too.

Except last black Friday 300k Wii's were sold, so no, not everybody has one. I think this thing is going to do pretty well for Nintendo.

A "console" that won't connect to the internet. GREAT idea.

If it came with component cables and the ability to upscale I'd think it a great move.

But it's just the same predictable 'meh' at this point.

@Puaru: Hey bud, news flash. Empires fall. While sure this particular example I think might be cool and work out for some of the reasons you stated (and Sony doing it with the ps2 forever) overall Nintendo looks like they dont know what the hell theyre doing with the WiiU and they're enterprise in general Stuck in the past with allot of their interface choices and game options (0 third party games that have ever been appealing to me).

Its the #1 reason reason business fail after so many years. If you really think that Nintendo knows what they're doing because they have X- years of experience, even though they continue to make choices that in this day and age don't make sense, you need to look at the bigger picture. Hell the general atitude on GB seems to be that of questioning NIntendo for what they're doing for better or worse wich I think is great. I kind of hope this is a wake up call to Nintendo, that they head further down that road until they realize they have to grow up and start thinking about How they can innovate beyond interesting but sometimes gimmic-esk control schemes.

They expect people to buy a Wii after we all found out how terribly supported it was?

Should probably note in that update that November 30th is the European launch of the Wii U not the Wii Mini. Confused me for a second.

I've almost never used my Wii, so taking away the Virtual Console, Gamecube compatibility, and internet functionality doesn't sound worth it at all. To be fair, neither does the Wii U at the moment; until there are several great original Wii U (and E-Shop) games, a handful of Wii games I missed, and the Virtual Console (namely Gamecube) games too choose from.

It's a depressing notion that it takes Nintendo's legacy to justify buying their latest consoles, for me at least. Without original DS games, the Virtual Console and E-Shop, I'd regret my late purchase of a 3DS.

Is it a top-loader? In other images, I can't see a disc slot and the eject button looks like it pops open the black surface. Sorry of this was already covered.

This is the kind of device, and price point, that would appeal to "non-gamers" (grandmothers, middle aged adults) who just want a Wii Sports box. Except... all of those people bought a Wii three years ago at the latest, played it, and have long since moved on by now.

So who is this thing for? And I say this as a Canadian - why in God's name are they only putting it out here right now? I can't imagine it's as a "test market", because they've already spent the R&D money designing and fabricating the fucking thing by (presumably) the thousands.

And do they know that we have readily available cable and fibre-optic broadband internet up here?

Can't wait to buy a plastic-y looking, kneecapped version of a console that was already pretty technologically blinkered compared to the XBOX, PS3, and Wii U. And they routinely put bare-bones Xbox 360 S's on sale up here for $99 these days, too.

100 isn't super cheap when used ones goes for like 20, but I'll admit, I kinda like the design

EDIT: ok 45$ :)

@McGhee said:

@Orbitz89 said:

@McGhee: And I love our gun toting, flag waving, bible thumping second cousin's to the south!

Really? I can't stand it here. ha

Lol. All joking aside, from the very few times I've visited the States the people were very nice. Although I did only visit one place in both trips.. I would love to see more of the U.S.A though. Short on traveling funds.

Can't play gamecube games and can't connect to the internet. Yeah..no thanks!

All the boys and girls love a mini Wii.

There's a lot of people that are out of the loop when it comes to videogames and the $99 price point is magic. I remember seeing a lot of people buying PS2s right after the PS3 launched.

I love how everyone seems to be a market analyst and knows better then Nintendo on how to run a business. They've been in business for over a hundred years, I think they know a thing or two about business. This thing isn't for tech savvy people like us. It's for young kids, it's for casual gamers, it's for poor people. I got my first gaming system, a NES, when I was like 4 or 5, which would of been 1991. The Genesis was already out, but did I care? Hell no! I had a lot of fun with it. That's where this thing fits in, and at that price point, fits in nicely.

I worked at a GameStop in a really ghetto area a couple years ago, where most people lived below the poverty line, and probably 80% collected welfare or some kind of federal aid. When they would go Christmas shopping, you think they were buying 300 dollar playstation bundles? When they could have a brand new Wii for 100 bucks and had an absolute shit ton of dirt cheap titles they could get? Hell no. This thing will probably fly off the shelves, and Nintendo knows it, that's why their doing it.

They have people who made decisions like, "Hey, instead of chasing the competition, let's do something different" a few years back with the Wii. How'd that work out for them? Pretty damn well. So I think it's hilarious that you people who most likely have 0 business sense or experience sit on your high horses and criticize Nintendo for this move. Go invent your own damn console, become a global power, and then come talk shit.

You can get a proper Wii at Walmart right now for $89.

I wish it either wasn't as dumb or didn't look as cool.

don't get that. Get a Gamecube instead

Nintendo releasing a smaller redesign of one of their consoles close to the launch of a new console? What could possibly go wrong?

This would be a killer little machine with internet connectivity. A Netflix machine with the ability to play a ton of Wii games and Virtual Console classics. A Nintendo Roku if you will. Without that, it's pretty gimped.

Still, as someone only with an Xbox 360, and no plans to get any of the next gen consoles at launch, I'd have a use for this and a tight collection of AAA Wii exclusives. The two could tide me over until the next gen stuff comes down in price a bit.

Wow, what a terrible waste of hardware. Unless the plan is to release the "Nintendo Wireless Adapter for Wii mini". Which will cost more than the console. SUCCESS! :D

There is no reason for this is exist... like at least the internet still being in, would of been cool to at least run Netflix, but can't even do that?

And it's gonna sale, and it's gonna keep happening, I am shocked at how much Nintendo can coast by.

For $30 more, I could get a regular Wii that still has backwards compatibility and Virtual Console with Wii Sports packed in.

I really don't see the need for this to exist

Nintendo must have no concept of what brand confusion is. They must actually be out of their minds over there.

I do find it hilarious though that they deem the entire country of Canada insignificant enough to deem it as a test market for the rest of the world. That in itself is crazy.

Why is it when we finally get something, it's this. What we need is that sweet new google internet. But google hates Canada.

Who exactly is going to buy this? What market is it aiming for? Why does it exist?

Finally,I hit the Jackpot.No...seriously,why does this exist?To each his own.

This appears to be some sort of wee Wii...I'm done now.

What a great day for Canada, and therefore, the world.

@Finkmeister said:

@Deusx said:

@GenghisJohn said:

So this is for the person who:

• Didnt already have a wii but wanted one
• Has no interest in virtual console games
• Isn't buying a wii u

What the hell is nintendo thinking?

There are millions of people in that position. $300 is a lot of money, $99 is not. Nintendo is making a good move by releasing this. Most people don't play virtual console games on their big plasma TV anyways, that's why SNES/NES/N64 emulation is so big. This is going to sell well, I don't see anything wrong with it.

Have to admit I'm one of those people. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid: Other M, and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword are a few games I've missed out on being an Xbox 360 owner. After following along with the Giant Bomb crew on Wii U launch day and getting an idea of what to expect going forward, I don't think the Wii U is for me. At least not yet.

Don't say it like it's a bad thing. I want to play those games too and a WiiU is too expensive right now. It's either buy one of these or wait until I get enough money for the Wii U. Both are good options.

Little known fact:

In the concept meeting for this, Reggie dressed up as Dr. Evil and said...

"I shall call it - Mini Wii. If you want it, it will cost you 1 MILLION, no, 1 BILLION Dollars! Mwahahahaha!"

Not gunna lie but I really like the look of it. Looks sleek and sexy.

But it is still the wii, and with more features stripped out, and canadian only. Looks like a collection piece in a few years.

I just care about if it can be hacked and play burnt games, including GC... if it can, Nintendo's efforts have been in vain. I see no reason why it won't be able to do this.

Wii Mini? How much smaller can they make it?! o_O

If it hasn't already been said....Canadians have small Wii's with limited functionality.

This looks cool, but Nintendo can keep it. It's too gimped to be worth anything. Then, buy a game and it's back up to $150, which is where it's at now in many places plus with a couple of cool games.

@Deusx said:

@GenghisJohn said:

So this is for the person who:

• Didnt already have a wii but wanted one
• Has no interest in virtual console games
• Isn't buying a wii u

What the hell is nintendo thinking?

There are millions of people in that position. $300 is a lot of money, $99 is not. Nintendo is making a good move by releasing this. Most people don't play virtual console games on their big plasma TV anyways, that's why SNES/NES/N64 emulation is so big. This is going to sell well, I don't see anything wrong with it.

Have to admit I'm one of those people. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid: Other M, and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword are a few games I've missed out on being an Xbox 360 owner. After following along with the Giant Bomb crew on Wii U launch day and getting an idea of what to expect going forward, I don't think the Wii U is for me. At least not yet.

Hmm...I like the color.....I like the price....I've never had a Wii....NO MORE HEROES 2....

If it comes to the states ill buy it nintendo

So, what, the top flips open on a hinge for the disc? Looks like a square-shaped Discman.

Seems fine for what it is, I guess. I haven't turned on my Wii for years but if I did now, I can assure you it wouldn't be for anything I'd need an Internet connection for. I dunno. Maybe it's a decent idea?

@ep_driver said:

@Bananashirt

Way to add to the market confusion, guys.

I think comments should have been closed after yours, because it's all that needs to be said. Spot on.

See, I personally think the much lower price, the distinctive colour palette and the incredibly small frame was probably part of Nintendo's effort to reduce market confusion while continuing to sell Wii consoles. Especially the red. Wii U has almost exclusively used blue and white, or blue and black. Red is a directly clashing colour. And ain't no-one gonna think the Wii U gamepod is an accessory for that thing.

I could be wrong, but I'm confident this should distill any leftover confusion. The packaging, the pricing, just the way the new machine looks. It is evidently not a Wii U, not by a long shot, while the vanilla Wii looks fairly similar as far as the gloss and featureset goes. That's just my perspective; I may be being overly optimistic, since Nintendo is currently the only company doing stuff in the console market I can actually bring myself to care about. Even if it's not any good, they're the only ones at least trying to do something fresh in the console space that is overtly gaming-related. Microsoft seems content with turning the 360 into a media hub, and Sony... Sony are Sony.

I'll pick one up for a collectors item :)