Wii Mini to launch Dec 2012, AKA "Whaddaya mean this wasn't the new Wii thing you wanted for...

Well, looks like I'll be importing a red Wiimote from our lovely neighbors up north at some point.

No GC compatibility and no internet? This thing is next to useless then . . . buy a "normal" Wii for the same price or upgrade to Wii U. It's not like the Wii is a huge block of a console anyway.

Same here.

Why? Nintendo, you keep shooting yourself in the foot!

Shouldn't they be focusing on Wii U instead of this? It is the same thing with DSi lineup. I can understand why Sony keeps PS2 and PSP alive but puzzled about this.

Not sure why everyone is so down on/surprised by this. Clearly it's not meant for the sort of person who would frequent this forum, but shrinking down/redesigning a console at the end of its life to squeeze some money out of the budget demographic is hardly uncommon. And it's only releasing in a single market for now. Not like they're flooding the world with these things.

Doesn't hurt that the thing looks awesome. Might be my favorite console design in years. I wish the Wii U looked like this -- the colored portion of the casing even forms a vague "U" shape.

This is only for Canada... who cares?

I don't understand why people every single time a new revision comes out late in a console's lifecycle question what the point is when the answer is an obvious one. Cutting your production cost through slimming components, stripping things out that aren't absolute necessities, and such allows you to lower your price while maintaining (Or perhaps even growing) your profit margin. That allows you to go after customers that weren't biting at the previous price point yet still make money. It's essentially Business 101...

The budget conscious customers going after this will be the segment that was least likely to ever really take advantage of online connectivity. Many won't have home WiFi networks, they're less likely to be the type that goes overboard with having every last piece of electronics they own connected to the internet, they're less likely to embrace DLC, and much of what little online multiplayer there was on the platform is either now offline, was dead even on day 1, or has had the crowds now die out. So the lack of internet connectivity really isn't a big issue. The Nintendo customers that cared are those that bought a Wii years ago and have bought or will purchase a Wii U over the next few years. Not the budget customer at the tail end of a console lifecycle that is buying this to experience a few 1st party exclusives that intrigued them now that it's dirt cheap, not those that want to briefly check out the fad from half a decade ago, not those that perhaps left the console world generations ago and might check this out now since it's cheap, and not those buying this as a child's first console. Those of us at a place like this that might buy this will be doing it for one reason... the extremely small size of it appeals to our geek sides and we just can't resist trying it out before returning to our Wii U's or more fully featured older Wii's.

I'm not even convinced that this will lack online connectivity. There are no rear shots of this yet and information is sketchy. So I'm thinking there's a chance that the lack of WiFi has people thinking such since I think the wired USB option flew under many people's radar. So I wouldn't be surprised if there was a single USB port on the rear for those that just have to take this thing online.

You're puzzled why they want to make money?

The Wii and DS markets are far from dead and there are still millions of dollars to be made there. Just look at how many of each that they sold so far this holiday from the numbers they released a few days ago (Which i think were just for the US). That both still exist is hardly a hindrance to the Wii U and 3DS and I don't understand why some over the years want to portray legacy support as a problem (I've seen people as recently as the past two years act as if Sony was shooting themselves in the foot with the PS3 by still supporting the PS2). The people that are likely to make purchasing mistakes don't even know exactly what a Wii looks like anyways and will be going by the name on the boxes rather than the pictures so I don't think many kids will wake up Christmas morning to find a stripped down Wii waiting for them mistakenly unless they ask a Wal-Mart clerk for the new Wii and get handed this.

And there's still nearly a month to go before Christmas for them to sell hundreds of thousands of more units of both and several million games. The Wii is going to pass 100 million units this Christmas and likely have a solid few years left as a budget platform if they keep driving the price down and keep providing a selection of popular budget classics via their Nintendo Selects line to fuel the software lineup available to customers. Future additions like Skyward Sword and Super Mario Galaxy 2 will continue to attract new buyers that find the cheap MSRP of the console and AAA games for $20 attractive (And they also sell plenty to their existing install base and to Wii U owners that may of not been Wii owners over the past 6 years).

If anything, supporting both by keeping their classic and popular releases on the Wii and DS available at budget prices is helping the backwards compatible 3DS and Wii U.
Edited by Leo_Ames - 11/28/12 at 3:33am

It looks like a styrofoam takeout box.

I think it's neat, but I also think it's ugly. Looks like a old flatbed PC scanner to me.

With all the times I've heard things like Sony Xbox while in stores over the years, I don't think that these companies can win. An ignorant videogame purchaser is still going to find a way to make purchasing mistakes as they're buying gifts for family members no matter what you do. I certainly don't think giving up potentially millions of console sales of a older platform is worth it just to help clarify matters for a few individuals.

The Playstation 2 redesign was launched in 2004, but the console was originally launched in 2000. They certainly kept working on things throughout the years. My new slim from earlier this year is significently different from what I bought at launch. The lid mechanism's motion is different as the lid opens (It opens much faster than the older slim's), the power and open buttons are very different, and most of all, the power supply is now internal. And the original Playstation 2 model's also went through many revisions over the first five years with some desirable and reliable models and some that you shouldn't touch with a 10' pole due to so many common issues.
Edited by Leo_Ames - 11/30/12 at 3:21am

Haha. Okay, that's pretty funny. This is still my favorite console design in some time. I actually thought the original Wii was very well designed for its time, as the minimalist look really fit the philosophy of the system, but I'd like something a little more striking/colorful now.