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[Pociask]

To the person asking about channels - there is a Wii Disc channel and a Mii channel. I think they kept the Channel menu system because a few games can install their own channel. Google for some pics - they didn't change the menu otherwise, so it just looks like a big empty slate.

Nintendo does not get a pass because this is a "budget" version of the system. Budget cars have plastic rims, and luxury cars have steel rims, but all cars have tires. The Wii Mini is cutting basic features of the Wii. After so many years, they could easily sell regular Wii's at this same price point and still make a profit. They didn't cut features to bring the price point down - swap out the leather seats for cloth, for example - they developed an entirely new system, and figured out how to maximize the profit from that. It's a "suckers" version of the system that they're passing off on dupes.

Even if it were a China/India/South America version, why does that make it okay? The Wii was a 480p system. The Wii Mini is a 480i system. Do only Europe, America, and Japan have televisions that can display better than 480i? Do only those three areas of the world have the internet, to play games like Mario Kart Wii online and watch Youtube on their tv? Of course not. Nintendo would be stupid to make their system less attractive to a foreign audience that has never experienced the Wii yet, anyway. That would make them lose sales.

Of course, the Wii-Mini-is-for-export-to-poor-peoples-and-they-are-testing-it-in-notably-poverty-stricken Canada! was just unsupported speculation anyway. What's really happening has already been reported - The Wii Mini is replacing the Wii in Canada. More than likely, it will be replacing the Wii worldwide.

 

[Dreamwriter]

It's baffling. It's like getting angry because Ford unveil a new entry trim level for the car you already own.

You assume everyone on GAF has a Wii already. Didn't I read that in Canada the other Wii models were getting hard to find in stores? If Nintendo is discontinuing the normal Wii model and only offering the Mini, that's definitely a good reason to become angry about this thing.

 

[Kokonoe]

Wii "Mini"

It will still probably sell a lot.

I was wondering if I was right about it being around the same size, I guess this proves it. This console is pointless to purchase when you can get a Wii for the same price.

 

[Mariah Carey]

"I need a Nintendo for my child. You got Nintendo for my baby?"

"Yes, Ma'am, we have the Wii U at $300 and the Wii mini at $99. The Wii U is a successor to the-"

"Hold up there. You got Nintendo for 99 dollars?"

"Well yes, but you should know that--"

"Does it got Mario and Tennis?"

"Mario Tennis? Well sure, there's a..."

"I SAID...DOES IT GOT...MARIO and the TENNIS? You know, with the swinging and the baseball."

"You'll have to buy that separately."

"Get me Mario and the Tennis and the Nintendo for 99 dollars."



....Never underestimate the ignorance of the average consumer.

Um, that consumer sounds pretty darn sure of what she wants and assertive enough to get exactly that and not be upsold anything unnecessary. That's a good consumer.

An ignorant customer, in your scenario, would have been upsold the Wii U in the mistaken belief they would need it in order to play "Mario Tennis," believing that to be a package with both Super Mario Bros. and Wii Sports...

 

[Dereck]

"I need a Nintendo for my child. You got Nintendo for my baby?"

"Yes, Ma'am, we have the Wii U at $300 and the Wii mini at $99. The Wii U is a successor to the-"

"Hold up there. You got Nintendo for 99 dollars?"

"Well yes, but you should know that--"

"Does it got Mario and Tennis?"

"Mario Tennis? Well sure, there's a..."

"I SAID...DOES IT GOT...MARIO and the TENNIS? You know, with the swinging and the baseball."

"You'll have to buy that separately."

"Get me Mario and the Tennis and the Nintendo for 99 dollars."



....Never underestimate the ignorance of the average consumer.

lol

 

[Burai]

You assume everyone on GAF has a Wii already. Didn't I read that in Canada the other Wii models were getting hard to find in stores? If Nintendo is discontinuing the normal Wii model and only offering the Mini, that's definitely a good reason to become angry about this thing.

The console has been out for six years, has been available for sub-$150 for a long time now, including sub-$100 for the past two Black Fridays. GAF is an enthusiast forum so I'd be amazed if there's anyone on here who wants a Wii that doesn't own one by now. There's barely been any software released on it in the past two years so there's unlikely to be any more reasons to suddenly take the plunge if you haven't already.

 

[jooey]

It wouldn't be so bad if we weren't being made to buy one. I got my draft letter saying I had to be at Future Shop by 10:30 AM today. Had to explain to my boss what was going on so I could duck out of work for a while. The Nintendo officers at the store acted like dicks too. There goes $100 I could've used for groceries or something :/

 

[SovanJedi]

Honestly, I'm not sure why any of you lot would bother with it. It's ugly as sin and has so many missing features - no internet is just horrible. Having a lack of decent display options is just adding insult to injury.

If you wanted a Wii, I bet you could find one easily enough this day and age for that price.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

I was wondering if I was right about it being around the same size, I guess this proves it. This console is pointless to purchase when you can get a Wii for the same price.

Or get a used one with GC support for $40-50.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

Wii "Mini"

It will still probably sell a lot.

lol is that real?

 

[Big Papa Husker]

lol is that real?

Yes, it is very real..... LOL! It's a Mini for sure! ;P

 

[electroshockwave]

At this point the regular Wii should be <$100. I really can't see the point in this thing existing at all.

 

[jediyoshi]

Wii "Mini"

It will still probably sell a lot.

Will wait for the wii micro

 

[Zee-Row]

Dear god that console is ugly , I don't think anything out there can top its ugliness. It looks so cheap also like it was produced by a Chinese knock off company.

 

[Raist]

Well I guess that thing costs them about $5 to produce then. Nice margin.

 

[Projectjustice]

I dont understand why anyone would care about this. Just buy a normal Wii.

 

[Agent Unknown]

Wii Mini: The worst thing to ever be released in Canada since the Final Sacrifice.

Seriously, this thing is a piece of junk and a complete rip off. You can't even use the "Well it's for little kids" argument anymore. No GC support, no internet/no VC, composite only, apprx the same size, yuck. Keep it up there in Canada, please.

 

[Amir0x]

It's the side angles.

Yeah. When I first saw the announcement I saw a top down view... looked like a sleek black Wii box with a red perimeter. Thought it looked sexy. Then I saw the angled sides and nearly vomited in my mouth. To me, it really killed the design altogether. I honestly like it less than most console designs I've seen, except for a few really obscure systems.

Anyway, it's not important since I have a Wii U and don't need a Wii anymore, but it is odd. Just makes it look cheap imo.

 

[Glass Joe]

Console is very ugly in pics, looks a bit like a Fisher Price toy. And with all the nerfed features, that's probably the intent -- a cheap console for the kids.

They also failed to actually make it "mini." It's pretty clear why they confined the launch to Canada only. For anyone upset, don't forget that the regular Wii is still available in abundance.

They should go the opposite route and make a Virtual Console player. Strip away the disc drive and Wii features. Just a cheap box with a classic controller and bunch of preloaded software.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Way to pick the right angle to "suggest" it's not smaller

It is smaller, but not by much.
Edit: holy hell that's a big image.

 

[Meesh]

Well history repeats itself.

No composite on the NES redesign.

No S-video on the AV Famicom (which wasn't too surprising but it did use the same SNES/N64/Cube port which normally supported it).

No S-video on the SNES redesign.

No component on the Cube redesign.

Obviously there is some sort of recurring idea within Nintendo that this is a good idea... but I just can't even imagine that the cost savings is significant at all.

Future Wiiu slim redesign incoming, no hd and no games confirmed.

 

[outunderthestars]

Do you really think the people who will buy this thing will care?

They'll MAYBE notice the lack of Netflix...and that's about it.

Netflix ran thousands of ads for several years about using a Wii to get on Netflix. It's a pretty big feature to lose to save a couple of dollars.

 

[jooey]

Wii Mini: The worst thing to ever be released in Canada since the Final Sacrifice.

HOLY SHIT WE GET IT YOU LIKE MST3K

 

[AlphaTwo00]

What Nintendo needs? A CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP!!!

The current guys have basically lost the plot and are so out of touch with what a gamer wants these days.

Right, because that gamer you speak of has waited 6 years for the Wii.

 

[outunderthestars]

What Nintendo needs? A CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP!!!

The current guys have basically lost the plot and are so out of touch with what a gamer wants these days.

Maybe iwata needs to go back to making games or at least get a sense of what is seen as the in thing by gamers.

No internet, SD card, component cables, progressive scan in a console released in 2012??? They could've wasted the effort on making a better WiiU.

I have a feeling that this console is designed to eventually be priced below $75. They are going to ride out as many sales as they can get at $100, wait for the regular wii supplies to slowly dry up, then drop the price on this one a few times to keep it on shelves for the next few years.

 

[Dreamwriter]

The console has been out for six years, has been available for sub-$150 for a long time now, including sub-$100 for the past two Black Fridays. GAF is an enthusiast forum so I'd be amazed if there's anyone on here who wants a Wii that doesn't own one by now. There's barely been any software released on it in the past two years so there's unlikely to be any more reasons to suddenly take the plunge if you haven't already.

So you think everyone on GAF (and in the world I guess?) buys every game console, regardless of price? Maybe I didn't want to buy one at $200, and hate Black Friday. Maybe I didn't want to get multiple game systems because I could only afford to buy games for one, and any of the three consoles had plenty that I wanted. But maybe now I think that one for under $150 would be good to finally play all the good Nintendo games and VC games I can now get for really cheap, especially as the really good games are starting to dry up for the other consoles.

It just seems silly to me that we shouldn't be angry about Nintendo screwing people over, replacing the good $130 Wii in stores with a $99 Wii that can't even play Wii VC games.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

So you think everyone on GAF (and in the world I guess?) buys every game console, regardless of price? Maybe I didn't want to buy one at $200, and hate Black Friday. Maybe I didn't want to get multiple game systems because I could only afford to buy games for one, and any of the three consoles had plenty that I wanted. But maybe now I think that one for under $150 would be good to finally play all the good Nintendo games and VC games I can now get for really cheap, especially as the really good games are starting to dry up for the other consoles.

It just seems silly to me that we shouldn't be angry about Nintendo screwing people over, replacing the good $130 Wii in stores with a $99 Wii that can't even play Wii VC games.

But they haven't taken the others away yet either. a)This revision isn't even in the US, and b)it's still VERY easy to find any other Wii bundles that does all of the above (VC, Internet) at a decent price.

 

[outunderthestars]

So you think everyone on GAF (and in the world I guess?) buys every game console, regardless of price? Maybe I didn't want to buy one at $200, and hate Black Friday. Maybe I didn't want to get multiple game systems because I could only afford to buy games for one, and any of the three consoles had plenty that I wanted. But maybe now I think that one for under $150 would be good to finally play all the good Nintendo games and VC games I can now get for really cheap, especially as the really good games are starting to dry up for the other consoles.

It just seems silly to me that we shouldn't be angry about Nintendo screwing people over, replacing the good $130 Wii in stores with a $99 Wii that can't even play Wii VC games.

Especially when that $130 wii comes with two games.

 

[Agent Unknown]

HOLY SHIT WE GET IT YOU LIKE MST3K

OH HEY, LOOK! ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE THOUSANDS OF JOYLESS, CRANKY ONE-LINE REPLIES FROM JOOEY!!!!

Don't like my hook? Whine me a river.

 

[Graphics Horse]

It's a lot higher than I expected, thought it would be half that like a PStwo.

Well history repeats itself.

No composite on the NES redesign.

No S-video on the AV Famicom (which wasn't too surprising but it did use the same SNES/N64/Cube port which normally supported it).

No S-video on the SNES redesign.

No component on the Cube redesign.

Obviously there is some sort of recurring idea within Nintendo that this is a good idea... but I just can't even imagine that the cost savings is significant at all.

Stand by for No HDMI on Wii U redesign.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

It's a lot higher than I expected, thought it would be half that like a PStwo.



Stand by for No HDMI on Wii U redesign.

Stand by for Gamepad optional SKU.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Stand by for Gamepad optional SKU.

Most people already have a Game Boy Ultra, so we decided to leave the Gamepad out of the Wii U mini.

 

[Dreamwriter]

But they haven't taken the others away yet either. a)This revision isn't even in the US, and b)it's still VERY easy to find any other Wii bundles that does all of the above (VC, Internet) at a decent price.

I thought I read that it's been getting hard to find the normal Wii in Canada.

 

[DarkFlow]

Does anyone know if it supports S-Video at the least? If not that'd make this yet more absurd, at least S-Video would make the video output look OK.

I actually wonder if this is why it's Canada exclusive: they were trying to make it cheaper, but in the end had to cut too much so they'd just havea trial run to see if it caught on there. That, or with the Wii U seemingly better at defending itself from hacking and giving a way to play Wii games online and get Wii Shop stuff without the original Wii they're taking a scorched Earth approach to dealing with homebrew and piracy on the Wii. But then why component cables too?

It won't matter, someone will hack it. They always do.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

I thought I read that it's been getting hard to find the normal Wii in Canada.

I didn't have problems spotting both the Mario bundle and the Skylanders bundle. Even saw the old Mario Kart bundle at Shoppers Drug Mart. YMMV, of course.

 

[Aroo]

This console feels like a knock off. First of all, 100$ is not cheap enough. Second, I would love to read the box to see if all these reductions in features is spelled out big and clear on the box. For some reason I believe anyone who buys this is being cheated. At 100$ it feels like this was intentionally designed to rob people.

 

[Anth0ny]

Worst redesign ever. The stuff they decided to take out baffles me.

 

[SirIgbyCeaser]

It would be great to know the manufacturing cost of this wii... Sounds like it costs nintendo 30 bucks.

 

[dallow_bg]

Well. Never mind.
I wanted one but I'll pass.

No internet I could live with, but at least give me progressive scan...

 

[Dipswitch]

I was actually considering one of these. The lack of internet functionality didn't phase me whatsoever.

Taking out component output functionality is mind boggling however. It's like they've tried to remove all components that aren't absolutely essential. Which would potentially be forgivable if this thing was $49.99. But it's not.

Looks like I'll be catching up on some of the Wii titles when I eventually pick up a WiiU for short money.

 

[relaxor]

Well because it's top loading rather than slot-fed like the Wii it takes up much more volume anyway.

What a baffling object. I do like the matte, pebbled material it's made of.

 

[Mike M]

It's a neutered Wii !!!!

Kudos on not going with "circumcised."

 

[consoul]

Prediction: This device will be released in China under the iQue brand.

 

[FStop7]

It's a neutered Wii !!!!

So a Gamecube that doesn't play Gamecube games?

 

[Nafai1123]

They should have called it the Pii Wii.

 

[Mlatador]

Calm down guys.

This is a console for people who don't care about internet and are perfectly fine to use it with the standard cables that come with it or don't know what component is and therefore don't give a crap about it.

No need to complain. It's not meant for "core gamers" (ugh, I hate that word).

 

[Ty4on]

What is up with console redesigns? The PS3 second was slightly squeezed, the third a bit more. The 360S is a bit shorter and now the Wii Mini.

What about actually making them small?

Is the thermal output really that high?

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Well me and Nintendo have a different defintion of the word...mini. That thing needs to be like 4 or five inches smaller in length.

Darn it people, just go to a pawn shop. There are so many Wiis to be had for 50, it's sad.

 

[Dereck]

I need to find a video of this thing in action.

 

[AstroNut325]

Nintendo... Where hardware and technological regression means saving the industry.