WTF is this abomination? I finally decided to get a Wii for my son and wife just so I can have more time for my PS3 and was looking forward to the Wii mini and this is how it turned out?? WTF?
I admire Ninty's support for their older consoles by making the Wii able to play old games but with this, all of that, GONE! and to make matter worst, this is 2012, but they decided to ditch the wifi too? seriously, who in the hell thought that this is a good idea?? somebody should be fired!
On the bright side the the Wii Mini looks sexy... in my opinion at least.
No surprise some features got removed given how tiny the system is now and the very appealing price drop to $99.99. Same happened with the PS3 when it dropped PS2 BC in order for a price drop although it was ridiculed for it.
Well maybe they don't want it to compete with the Wii U, so they stripped out all the extras.
And not only do you lose a bunch of features but it doesn't even seem like much of a deal, for $50 more you get the full blown Wii and a game included.
I agree, this is just an awful deal. No game, no wifi, no backwards compatibility (though, to be fair, they had ALREADY dropped BC with the last iteration of the console). What makes Nintendo think this is somehow a respectable SKU?
Plus, it looks like an emergency kit you might store under the seat of your car.
"No surprise some features got removed given how tiny the system is now and the very appealing price drop to $99.99. Same happened with the PS3 when it dropped PS2 BC in order for a price drop although it was ridiculed for it."
I don't know what is up with these downgraded consoles later in life? No thanks!
Oh, did I say it is completely idiotic!
Just get the reguler Wii and get full BC and none of the BS. Don't support this sh!t.
Considering the current SKU's come with a game (NSMBW), an excellent semi-rare soundtrack (Super Mario Galaxy) AND a wireless card for $150, you're really spending more money for less with the mini.
And the wifi is actually much more important than people are realizing, because it completely cuts people off from the eShop.
If it bothers you that they took out the Wi-Fi capability, consider this question. How much longer are any past developers of Wii games going to keep up online support for whatever games they've released? Probably not much longer. Not to mention, that if you've been wanting a Wii all this time, but had to wait until it's $99.99, chances are you probably don't have internet service in a way that would allow you to play games online. Just saying.
"But because Nintendo isn't Sony, there was no fuzz over it because Nintendo can do no wrong -__-"
Nope, BC still available where I am on Wiis I saw in-store. There were only select models of Wii that lost BC (mostly in Europe), but they got an extra game in the bundle.
Sony got flack because they pushed BC as a selling point, then backtracked and removed it on a high end console. Then they claimed it wasn't important all of a sudden very early in this generation.
They were also the first to remove major features from a console in a later iteration.
@nukeitall What other "major features"? Other OS? lol get over yourself. The majority of people ranting about that never even used it themselves. Sony has also ADDED several new software features to the PS3. A detail many biased people tend to forget.
Sony did not "push" PS2 backwards compatibility on the PS3 as a selling point any more than Nintendo pushed GameCube backwards compatibility on the Wii (or GBA on DS, later removed from DSi).
Sony never claimed it wasn't important. They cut costs AND dropped the price of the PS3. http://www.semperthree.com/... Nintendo didn't drop the price. I guess you skipped that detail too. They've both been bundling games.
Nothing about this looks appealing to me. Every reason to ever get a Wii has been thrown out the window by this iteration. This is not how you do a smaller unit, worse than the newest Ps3 Slim.
What? worse than the newest ps3 slim? Whats wrong with the new ps3 slim? It's essentially the same thing as the original, same features and all just in a smaller size. I don't get your reasoning.
Ooh. No wi-fi. That's a huge omission. The families I know who currently use their Wii all use Netflix quite often for their kids. But, if you're just looking at a basic Wii for your kids that you can just plug in a game and go without needing anything else, it's only $99. It foots the bill if that's what you're after.
That is the point. No netflix. If you want netflix mom then buy a WiiU. It's a smart move in 2 ways. 1. It gives a option to the very casual market that does not even know how to setup wifi.
2. It clears confusion between the Wii and WiiU. It will make a easy buying choice for people. The red color helps parrents id the different systems.
I used to work at bestbuy and you wont believe how many cheap people will skip WiiU if only it had netflix. We used to sell a junk TV with built in netflix and a horrible picture and people would buy it only for that insted of a better model without.
I don't think anyone on this board would qualify for the "target audience". There are still families that can't afford internet access bills and this looks like a great little system for kids. Not everything is about "core" gamers. They'll probably sell a bunch to people who really want them and that's the point.
Agreed. People can't forget that a lot of mothers can't tell shit from clay.
When my younger brother asked for Yu-Gi-Oh cards years ago, when they first came out, my Mother was asking people where to get these "UDL" cards. Yeh.....UDL is pre-mixed Vodka. *Facepalm
This will be a great hit on Christmas. People usually dont realize how much consoles with the price pont of 99€ sell on this holliday season. Its a simple an small console for gaming, just that. No internet, no nothing. Gamers maybe dont understand this but youll see the sales numbers.
stripped memory slots too will hinder this as well seeing a huge thing about the WiiU is transferring your saves from wii to wiiu and the people that will most likely buy this will only buy while waiting for the WiiU to restock.
Yeah, really surprised they did this. Wi-fi chips are so cheap (I even think your $5 is an overestimate given how you can easily find them in $99 phones now).
I don't think it's doomed as such, but having Netflix et al would have made for a more attractive package.
They're probably assuming that everyone already has their boxes in place though.
i think they should have kept the wifi feature in there or at least have some type of internet connectivity, but thats ok you can a buy the old wii for about 80 used in most pawn shops and gamestop now anyway.
What a hideous machine. The original Wii was much better looking.
No wi-fi/online features, no Gamecube controller port, no backwards compatibility. Is Nintendo trolling us? I sure hope people don't get conned into buying this.
I also think this came out at the wrong time. Parents who don't know any better might get this instead of the Wii U.
I bought a Wii last cristmas for my kids and even then we had to make sure the model we got was the one with b/c. I would think they don't sell those anymore in stores. Don't know though.
This seems kinda stupid move by Nintendo imo but I'm a gamer so I think this console is not intended for me in the first place.
It looks fantastic.....although a little redundant.
I can see many a sad child opening this on christmas morning or on their birthday...instead of the Wii U they pleaded for
:(
....Mass parental consumer confusion ensues!
*I have to LMFAO when receiving disagrees from comments like this!?
1) Are we disagreeing parents won't be confused...not even one? or a child won't be disappointed expecting a Wii U?
2) Are we disagreeing because I commented 'Redundant' releasing a completely stripped down Wii when you can get a fully featured Wii for approx same price?
3) Are we disagreeing because I commented it looked Fantastic?
What?? Huh?? ...Don't disagree just cos you can...that's just dumb?
Kid: MOM MOM MOM! I WANT THE NEW WII U!!!!! ... At Store Mom: Can I get the new Wii? Store Rep: You want the new Wii Mini that just released? Mom not knowing any better answers: Yes. ... Christmas Day Kid starts opening present full of joy. After opening... tears starts to erupt. And no, not tears of joy.
Which I doubt very many families and gamers took advantage of tbh
While I personally think the addition of a wii mini will hurt wii u and don't see the point I find the omission of online is a good move in a poor strategy.
Nintendo are trying to stop people from buying the PS3/360, which are cheaper than the Wii U, so they are releasing this for the super casuals who wouldn't have needed the online, or even knew it existed. Nintendo want Sony and Microsoft to announce their next gen consoles because the Wii U will be cheaper than them. Having the PS3/360 with 50-60 million owners each is bad for the Wii U because it's really just around the same specs as Sony's and Microsoft's consoles with a different controller. Sony and Microsoft could take advantage of that and hold off their next gen consoles for another few years. The casuals won't move from the Wii to the Wii U and the hardcore gamers won't move from the PS3/360 to the Wii U, so the majority of Wii U gamers will be the ones who buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo franchises. When the PS4/720 come out, the Wii U will be the cheap, weak console, just like the wii is now, and that's exactly what Nintendo want.
Silly Stan. Canada is a test bed to see what kind of demand it has. Nintendo don't want to mass produce the thing and have it meet the same fate as the PSP E1000. Also, if you think my comment was being negative towards Nintendo--it wasn't. If i was trying to sell a console, that's exactly what i'd do.
I think your post here as well as the one below bring up some interesting points. Whether you're right or not, I can't say. But I do know that I've OFTEN wondered what the hell Nintendo was thinking with just about every major design choice they've made since opting to use cartridges with the N64. Every announcement I hear from them sounds like folly, and yet they always turn a profit.
The way you put it, their business acumen seems quite shrewd. I hope you're right.
From looking at the small pic I thought this was just like a roku/apple tv style set top box with a cool enough red band around it. I thought it looked good.
Then I opened the link. It looks like a very cheap and hideously ugly plastic console from the 80s. I don't even think it even justifies it's price tag.
I'm a -too- late adopter for this gen, and I can say there's some market for it. For example, I just bought the $199 PS3 BF bundle, and next gear I'll buy this Wii at $99. It's not like online were a strong feature on Wii.
So yeah, I'll be buying one. The reason I Am late to this Gen, it's because I was finishing a lot of Gamecube games, so backwards isn't necessary to me. Looks great, if you ask me.
This console basically mean there are no longer supporting the Wii. Reason is how in the world will they patch it if something go wrong, you pretty much have to send it to them or take it back to the store you purchased it from.
and like someone said above no Netflix, no purchasing games from previous gens. i really think nintendo made a huge mistake. the upside though is that many kids that don’t play online will have a new wii this christmas.
if nintendo releases a external internet thing later for it for a reasonable price than this might be worth getting but i just don’t see any point in buying it at all right now.
The Wii sales made Nintendos ego big, now they think they could do whatever they want and it will sell.
The Wii brand is dead so they may have a lot of trouble with Wii u. That gen of gamers have grown up and now want Xbox and ps3 because its what the older and cooler kids play. Now Nintendo has to try and entice this young gen of gamers, and they may very well, but if Wii was rebranded it would not only attract the kids but hardcores too, because hardcores don't want anything with Wii on it. They're putting all there eggs in one basket again, they better hope it pays.
I wondering if you can just buy the USB Ethernet adapter and use that for internet? Either way I will get one of theses when I see it for like $50 max to add to my collection.
WEll they shoud have spend the money on a better hardware for the WII U than on this BS!I really dont get NINTENDO some times!A weak cpu on the Wii u AND then this BS mini Wii!
I don't care about online much. I've had no online for 3 years with a Wii since launch and had no problem! So I'm going to get this and use that extra $30 dollars on the accessories.
Anyone would be retarded to buy a Wii when the Wii U just came out. But if your going to buy the Wii maybe this won't be such a bad deal if it's at a lower price.
I finally decided to get a Wii for my son and wife just so I can have more time for my PS3 and was looking forward to the Wii mini and this is how it turned out?? WTF?
I admire Ninty's support for their older consoles by making the Wii able to play old games but with this, all of that, GONE! and to make matter worst, this is 2012, but they decided to ditch the wifi too? seriously, who in the hell thought that this is a good idea?? somebody should be fired!
No surprise some features got removed given how tiny the system is now and the very appealing price drop to $99.99. Same happened with the PS3 when it dropped PS2 BC in order for a price drop although it was ridiculed for it.
And not only do you lose a bunch of features but it doesn't even seem like much of a deal, for $50 more you get the full blown Wii and a game included.
And why only in Canada? That's puzzling.
So you're saying the mini is too small to fit wifi in? My phone which is a fraction of the size has wifi, theres no excuse!
Plus, it looks like an emergency kit you might store under the seat of your car.
"No surprise some features got removed given how tiny the system is now and the very appealing price drop to $99.99. Same happened with the PS3 when it dropped PS2 BC in order for a price drop although it was ridiculed for it."
I don't know what is up with these downgraded consoles later in life? No thanks!
Oh, did I say it is completely idiotic!
Just get the reguler Wii and get full BC and none of the BS. Don't support this sh!t.
If you want a Wii with Wifi, and Gamecube games, then go buy a Wii that can do that.
Considering the current SKU's come with a game (NSMBW), an excellent semi-rare soundtrack (Super Mario Galaxy) AND a wireless card for $150, you're really spending more money for less with the mini.
And the wifi is actually much more important than people are realizing, because it completely cuts people off from the eShop.
and they didn't even drop the price, @Outside_ofthe_Box.
But because Nintendo isn't Sony, there was no fuzz over it because Nintendo can do no wrong -__-
I can say this. Despite the criticism this will be a collectors item. Just like the nes top loader and snes jr.
The obscurity alone makes it an automatic seller.
"But because Nintendo isn't Sony, there was no fuzz over it because Nintendo can do no wrong -__-"
Nope, BC still available where I am on Wiis I saw in-store. There were only select models of Wii that lost BC (mostly in Europe), but they got an extra game in the bundle.
Sony got flack because they pushed BC as a selling point, then backtracked and removed it on a high end console. Then they claimed it wasn't important all of a sudden very early in this generation.
They were also the first to remove major features from a console in a later iteration.
What other "major features"? Other OS? lol get over yourself.
The majority of people ranting about that never even used it themselves.
Sony has also ADDED several new software features to the PS3. A detail many biased people tend to forget.
Sony did not "push" PS2 backwards compatibility on the PS3 as a selling point any more than Nintendo pushed GameCube backwards compatibility on the Wii (or GBA on DS, later removed from DSi).
Sony never claimed it wasn't important. They cut costs AND dropped the price of the PS3. http://www.semperthree.com/... Nintendo didn't drop the price. I guess you skipped that detail too.
They've both been bundling games.
What I gathered from your comment is this:
It's only bad when Sony does it.
As it is right now... meh!
I think it looks pretty cool.
1. It gives a option to the very casual market that does not even know how to setup wifi.
2. It clears confusion between the Wii and WiiU. It will make a easy buying choice for people. The red color helps parrents id the different systems.
I used to work at bestbuy and you wont believe how many cheap people will skip WiiU if only it had netflix. We used to sell a junk TV with built in netflix and a horrible picture and people would buy it only for that insted of a better model without.
No wifi, no online capabilities, no netflix, no buy -_-
And games.
And if you're ignoring that cost then you be a pirate, mate.
this is so freaking stupid
the wii sells for 89-120 as is especially when the sales come around
this shit is stupid I swear
No Amount of Fanboy Delusion helps you to agree with this product
No internet
No gamecube
No OS
No wiiware
No nothing
Just a wiiplaying dvd like machine.
It should be 49.99 really unacceptable.
this trend of downgrades is not good -_-
When my younger brother asked for Yu-Gi-Oh cards years ago, when they first came out, my Mother was asking people where to get these "UDL" cards. Yeh.....UDL is pre-mixed Vodka. *Facepalm
Very retro NES feel to it and the colors are just excellent. But with my Wii still A-OK i shall pass.
I do agree that it looks nice with the retro vibe it has.
I don't think it's doomed as such, but having Netflix et al would have made for a more attractive package.
They're probably assuming that everyone already has their boxes in place though.
No wi-fi/online features, no Gamecube controller port, no backwards compatibility. Is Nintendo trolling us? I sure hope people don't get conned into buying this.
I also think this came out at the wrong time. Parents who don't know any better might get this instead of the Wii U.
wtf? really?! .. I was just fucking happy about this ..and now I am not -_-
I think the new design is better thought
This seems kinda stupid move by Nintendo imo but I'm a gamer so I think this console is not intended for me in the first place.
I can see many a sad child opening this on christmas morning or on their birthday...instead of the Wii U they pleaded for
:(
....Mass parental consumer confusion ensues!
*I have to LMFAO when receiving disagrees from comments like this!?
1) Are we disagreeing parents won't be confused...not even one? or a child won't be disappointed expecting a Wii U?
2) Are we disagreeing because I commented 'Redundant' releasing a completely stripped down Wii when you can get a fully featured Wii for approx same price?
3) Are we disagreeing because I commented it looked Fantastic?
What?? Huh?? ...Don't disagree just cos you can...that's just dumb?
Kid: MOM MOM MOM! I WANT THE NEW WII U!!!!!
...
At Store
Mom: Can I get the new Wii?
Store Rep: You want the new Wii Mini that just released?
Mom not knowing any better answers: Yes.
...
Christmas Day
Kid starts opening present full of joy.
After opening...
tears starts to erupt. And no, not tears of joy.
The mom asked for the new Wii, didnt ask for Wii U.
It happens.
The one with the ps3 super slim is on another page
While I personally think the addition of a wii mini will hurt wii u and don't see the point I find the omission of online is a good move in a poor strategy.
Virtual Console
Online Play
Firmware Updates
Netflix
Youtube
Weather
News
Browser
Sharing/Downloading Miis
Nintendo want Sony and Microsoft to announce their next gen consoles because the Wii U will be cheaper than them.
Having the PS3/360 with 50-60 million owners each is bad for the Wii U because it's really just around the same specs as Sony's and Microsoft's consoles with a different controller.
Sony and Microsoft could take advantage of that and hold off their next gen consoles for another few years.
The casuals won't move from the Wii to the Wii U and the hardcore gamers won't move from the PS3/360 to the Wii U, so the majority of Wii U gamers will be the ones who buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo franchises.
When the PS4/720 come out, the Wii U will be the cheap, weak console, just like the wii is now, and that's exactly what Nintendo want.
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...
It's exclusive to Canada! What difference will it make when it's exclusive to one country?
Too many people jump the gun here on N4G.
Canada is a test bed to see what kind of demand it has.
Nintendo don't want to mass produce the thing and have it meet the same fate as the PSP E1000.
Also, if you think my comment was being negative towards Nintendo--it wasn't.
If i was trying to sell a console, that's exactly what i'd do.
The way you put it, their business acumen seems quite shrewd. I hope you're right.
Then I opened the link. It looks like a very cheap and hideously ugly plastic console from the 80s. I don't even think it even justifies it's price tag.
So yeah, I'll be buying one. The reason I Am late to this Gen, it's because I was finishing a lot of Gamecube games, so backwards isn't necessary to me. Looks great, if you ask me.
and like someone said above no Netflix, no purchasing games from previous gens. i really think nintendo made a huge mistake. the upside though is that many kids that don’t play online will have a new wii this christmas.
if nintendo releases a external internet thing later for it for a reasonable price than this might be worth getting but i just don’t see any point in buying it at all right now.
The Wii brand is dead so they may have a lot of trouble with Wii u. That gen of gamers have grown up and now want Xbox and ps3 because its what the older and cooler kids play. Now Nintendo has to try and entice this young gen of gamers, and they may very well, but if Wii was rebranded it would not only attract the kids but hardcores too, because hardcores don't want anything with Wii on it. They're putting all there eggs in one basket again, they better hope it pays.
I hope people don't get this confused with the Wii U.
But if your going to buy the Wii maybe this won't be such a bad deal if it's at a lower price.
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