Wii Mini Proves its Existence, Launches in December

[medv4380]

It's just a move to get the last of their inventory out the door. They probably had a fairly large stack of Wii Chips that needed to be ether sold or scraped. They've done similar moves with systems in the past. They produced a small run of a Tiny NES that is very difficult to find the pictures of. WiFi was scrapped because those chips are useful in real devices. There won't be any real good New Games on it shortly so you'll be buying used stuff for it any ways so it's targeting the very bottom of the market just to get some chips out the door. This is basically all the parts that wont work in a Wii U.

 

[AstylahAthrys]

... Why? They just released the Wii U, why would they release another Wii to cut into its sales? Why release another Wii at all, especially if it has less features than the regular Wii? (At least the redesign of the 360 had more USB ports and built in WiFi!) I could understand aesthetically, but this isn't as good looking as the Wii, and the normal Wii is already super small. Yeah, Nintendo, I don't get this one.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Y u drop backwards compatibility?
Guess I got no chance playing eternal darkness then.
But seriously, why is this a thing?
My ps2 slim can play ps1 games no problem yet current gen consoles drop backwards compatibility all the time nowadays.
Why is that, to copy sonys stupidity?

I think this is so when Nintendo release Gamecube games on the WiiU EShop that there won't be anything relatively new that a consumer could buy for cheaper and not bother with the EShop. That, and I guess they figure that if you're this late into getting a Wii then you probably didn't play the Gamecube, so they probably didn't bother implementing a feature for a crowd they think won't be interested in it.

I very much doubt it'll lead the holiday console sales but I could easily see it breaking even with a few bucks left over for Nintendo to put in a kiddy pool to swim in or something. It's a fresh approach for an old console and will move product which, even if the final sales total isn't stunning, is good business for Nintendo. This is very much a side project to the WiiU but I think it's not end up costing them in the end, though the profits from it will certainly not be breathtaking.

CAPTCHA: count your change - indeed.

 

[Eternal_Lament]

Snip

It definitely will sell some units, I'm not denying that. I just think from a financial standpoint it's a waste of money that could've gotten the same results for cheaper by moving units as bundles rather than releasing the mini unit. In my mind, it could've been used for productive things, such as WiiU marketing, as there isn't a lot, if any, right now. They could've had a win-win situation of selling off old units while invigorating interest in another unit, as it stands they're merely shipping out old units in a somewhat inefficient way.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Snip

It definitely will sell some units, I'm not denying that. I just think from a financial standpoint it's a waste of money that could've gotten the same results for cheaper by moving units as bundles rather than releasing the mini unit. In my mind, it could've been used for productive things, such as WiiU marketing, as there isn't a lot, if any, right now. They could've had a win-win situation of selling off old units while invigorating interest in another unit, as it stands they're merely shipping out old units in a somewhat inefficient way.

Could be an indirect admission of their bucking up the WiiU marketing. They didn't do enough of a job when they had time and now they they don't so they've rolled out a backburner in the hopes that they get some marketing osmosis for their new console. I mean most of these consoles will be bought in person, so they'll rely on the salespeople to tell the customers (the clueless, clueless customers) about not only the budget version of an existing product but also the brand-spanking new mack-daddy big purchase. It's a stretch certainly but eh, devil's advocate.

 

[Eternal_Lament]

Snip

Fair enough. I've said this before, but talking to my local EB Games it's really clear that Nintendo has screwed up their marketing when customers assume that the WiiU is a handheld device, and lose interest when they release it's a home console. Maybe Nintendo really is hoping that the consumers are inept enough that they won't question the whole affair.

 

[Jhooud]

So wait a minute...

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.

[a href="http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/ONIEEqvK1pbPyTbW2lWO6QnPUiqqvuuI"]Only in Canada?[/a] Color me confused.

 

[Callate]

Y'know, when the "rumor" article about this came out, I was perfectly ready to dismiss it as just rumor.

As so many others have said: Why?! It's like they've designed a new version of old hardware designed largely to appeal to suckers. Think about it: No wi-fi means no software downloads, and no firmware updates. This tells you something right off the bat about the long-term prospects of your console. Between that and the lack of backwards compatibility, you have a system that is very much of this one moment in time, and no other.

 

[Megacherv]

That...that looks hideous...it makes me want to vomit out of my eyes...

 

[New Frontiersman]

I have to admit, that's kind of silly.

Maybe there's still someone out there without a Wii, who doesn't want to buy a Wii U, but still wants a Wii that this might appeal to; but then they would probably have been fine with an older model Wii. But even then, it would probably still make more sense for Nintendo to just focus on their new console. Oh well, I'm sure someone will buy it.

That red Wii remote looks pretty cool though, I wonder if I can get that separately?

[a href="http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/ONIEEqvK1pbPyTbW2lWO6QnPUiqqvuuI"]Only in Canada?[/a] Color me confused.

That is a little strange isn't it? Maybe Nintendo of Canada's focus testing has revealed that Canadians love smaller redder versions of things that already exist?

Although I'm guessing if it's Canada only, it's going to be pretty hard to get my hands on that cool red Wii remote.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

The design is kind of interesting. It reminds me of the Atari 2600 re-release, the one that was made of black plastic instead of woodgrain plastic. Also, the lack of Gamecube support is to be expected, but what's up with removing wi-fi?

 

[Prosis]

Why are they competing with themselves? Wouldn't it have been a better idea to come out with Wiimini a couple months ago?

 

[Lucem712]

Cue some grandparents or even some parents purchasing this instead of the Wii-U.

Also, why. Sony releases the PS3 again for the holiday season (without its own console to compete with, mind you) and they are rightfully questioned. Now, Nintendo does it, and it's okay? (To be a bit fair, Sony didn't lower their price, but they also didn't gut WiFi. Yet.)

I also thought Nintendo had ANOTHER Wii bundle coming this holiday season before this was announced. Which some people thought would confuse people when they went to purchase a Wii-U (which would probably be sold out) and return home with a Wii classic. And who gives a damn about a "mini" version. The Wii is the tiniest of all the consoles, my PS3 first gen could crush it. They don't need to be tiny! THEY AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE. That's the point of a console, they sit on your media center!

Okay, rant over.

I kind of get it, they are trying to corner people who are looking for a cheap console come Christmas. But, it just seems dumb to confuse potential customers who have enough trouble between PS3, XBOX 360, Wii, Wii-U and whatever knock offs you can get.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Wait, they removed GC support? Booo. Only in Canada? Oh. No Wifi? It's a step backwards, but that's not really a deal breaker, since I don't use my Wii online anyway. Weird time to release this, even only in Canada.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Wow, a redesign of a console that's worse than the original hardware? Sounds a bit like the sort of s**t Sony might pull. Oh, wait!

From what I know, the so-called 360 "Slim" is the only redesign of a current gen console that improved on the original, adding in Kinect support, altering/"reducing" the size and losing no original features. The PS3 Slim did away with PS2 support and the Wii with Gamecube and Wi-Fi. Why the heck would I buy one of these latter two new, instead of their larger, more fully featured siblings on eBay?

 

[Darmani]

Okay its official.
Nintendo has lost it.

I get them having lose something to make the rerelease cheaper. But Wifi is one of those functions like... well it would be like removing internal memory or something. BC is okay to drop, all the consoles did and at somepoint you have to wave goodbye and it pushes an oppurtunity to resale (I never said they weren't evil corporate capitalists)

But removing wifi WITH a shrink down? What's next motion controls, SD slots? WHAT? I mean I doubt it had a port for an ethernet cord.
---
They've handed second hand retailers (Gamestop) a major piece to keep their prices up as their older models have more features.

 

[ABLb0y]

Well, the current version of the Wii goes for about £70 used, so I don't think I'll pick this up.