Skip to content

Nintendo Explains Why It’s Launching Wii Mini

wii_mini_box

Nintendo of Canada’s spokesperson Matt Ryan has discussed why the company is releasing the Wii Mini which lacks, Wi-Fi, SD Card functionality, and Gamecube support. The Wii Mini, which is currently exclusive to Canada, is a smaller, budget version of the Wii console. Here’s what Ryan had to say.

“They are two very different products for a different type of player. It really depends on the experience that players want and their preferred investment in their gaming console. If a player just wants to play Wii games, Wii Mini is a great choice at a great price. If the player wants more from their system, Wii U is the latest innovation of fun from Nintendo.”

57 thoughts on “Nintendo Explains Why It’s Launching Wii Mini”

    1. That’s how literally every successful business operates: producing goods and services to make money. Why do Nintendo fanboys always forget that Nintendo is a business?

    1. No, I feel the samw way. I hate that it’s a Canada exclusive (at the moment). Though I could probably order one from a canadian website or something.

    2. Is it bad that I kinda want to buy this because I think itll be rare one day?(GB Micro was a smaller version of an older console when the bigger version was still available as well as a newer generation console)

    3. I want it because I most play Wii games with my friends and family. Not interested in playing any of those games online (those who support it, of course)

  1. “and also we needed to get rid of faulty chips from the wii-u production”

    at least i could imagine that this had something to do with the sudden appearance of the wii mini this close to the wii-u launch^^

  2. Stupidest product ever. Lacks Wi-Fi? Tell me how much fun you’re going to have when you unlock everything in Mario Kart Wii.

    1. Considering they’re discontinuing Nintendo WFC support, no wi-fi sort of makes sense in that respect.

      Though, why they’d also be ditching Virtual Console and WiiWare is beyond me.

    2. Or Brawl. Even lacks SD card support, no homebrew, no pictures…

      No Virtual console, no Wiiware (there are some decent games on there).

  3. Actually looking online, I was surprised to see stores like best buy only displaying the Wii Mini to buy, it looks like they are replacing the New Super Mario Wii Bundle for this. The only new bunde I seen for Wii is at Toys R Us the blue wii with skylander, most retailer says online the Super Mario Wii is sold out.

    1. how would that be the case? ouya is an open platform (*with* internet access btw) which covers a whole other area than the wii ever did
      that being said the ouyas graphics performance isn’t going to be much better than the wii’s

  4. Just how unprofessional is it going to look for the retards who buy this product see online options in games that aren’t going to work. Not to mention, this product needs to make it a LOT more clearer that is missing the features it does compared to the Wii original.. How many innocent parents are going to buy this heap of shit for Christmas not really knowing how shit it is.. Nintendo are truly laughing at their fans whit this nasty cash in piece of shit.

    1. Except for the fact that Nintendo fans KNOW this is a piece of shit. If anything it’s a cash grab from casual parents buying casual crap for their casual kids.

      1. The Wii in general was just casual crap. Mine collected massive amounts of dust. Looks like the Wii U won’t suffer the same fate.

          1. Lol, not enough free time :P Most my hours went into my PC this generation, the Wii U though when I get it, chances are will have a lot of hours put into it too :P

  5. This seems very much like a poor man’s Wii. Although for families in Canada who can’t afford much but still would like to have a family entertainment machine that’s not a bad thing. There are a lot of good family Wii games out there that don’t need internet. Affordability seems to be the goal of this thing.

  6. Nintendo seems like it’s trying to reach further than just the casual gamers by reaching into the lower class. They made a Wii that can fit anyone’s budget, thus filling in family rooms of those less fortunate. Very smart and very considerate thinking on Nintendo’s part. Besides, everyone deserves to have fun :D

  7. Profit deal!
    That’s all it is.
    One last hurrah to get the Wii out there, at an attempt to sell more Wii software to get them whatever last bit of cash through their doors and basically milk this thing to its bones. As the online capabilities of it are ceasing anyways, there’s no need for Wifi (if it has a USB port, maybe the lan adapter will still work?)
    and Also again, with no Wii Shop, no point in an SD card slopt either as you won’t need the extra space for all the Virtual Console games. (besides pics and music etc…but I don’t know a single person who owns the Wii that uses their console for this).

  8. Yes, Nintendo. Because people wanted a console with absolutely Nothing going for it: no BC, no Wi-Fi, no SD Card support. Hell, might as well have said the console’s unhackable ;)

    But I agree with some here that it is definitely to drive in more sales for their latest, so…I c wat u did thar, Big N.

  9. This release shouldn’t surprise anyone. Sony has already redesigned its PS3 many times since launch. What I do find baffling is the lack of SD card support. SD cards are so common and so affordable these days I can’t imagine it being a costly feature to add, though it does prevent purchases from hacking the system. A lack of online connectivity is pretty weird, too, especially given the Wii Shop Channel’s very existence. Still, Nintendo has a history of releasing slimmer versions of its consoles, home and portable. The item’s cute, but unless it’s insanely cheap you’re better off with a used Wii, preferably an original model that plays Gamecube titles.

  10. “If a player just wants to play Wii games, Wii Mini is a great choice at a great price.” Perfect logic, especially since the WiiU ‘lacks backwards compatibility’.

  11. Definitely something to get if you’re a collector. Limited run, only in 1 country, smaller design, different color…etc. Would be interesting to see what it’s worth in 30 years.

  12. Pingback: NewsXpress: Édition matinale du 04 décembre 2012 | Facteur Geek

  13. I like the idea of a Wii Mini tbh. My younger cousins are video game deprieved. Their first systems were DS and they were ONLY allowed to play on the weekends once all their homework was done, they were not allowed to play through the week. And only last year did my aunt and uncle buy them the 4GB Xbox 360.
    If I had the money I’d get them this for Christmas. They have no idea what a Gamecube was, and my aunt and uncle would never let them use the online feature anyways. For families in similar situations this is a great deal imo.

    1. Ignore the random did in there, or any other grammatical or non-sense. I’m sick and tired and my proof-reading lacks.

Leave a Reply

Discover more from My Nintendo News

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading