The Wii Mini Is Real, Arrives December 7 — In Canada 139
An anonymous reader writes "Yesterday there was a rumor doing the rounds that Nintendo was set to release a brand new version of the Wii console called the Wii Mini. The new machine would be significantly smaller than the current Wii, is expected to ship with a Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuk, and Sensor Bar, and hopefully carries a much lower (sub-$100) price. Well, it looks as though this wasn't just a rumor. Best Buy Canada has it listed with an image on its front page and a December 7 release date." Also at PC Mag.
Re:No internet? (Score:4, Interesting)
A curious choice. But I suppose if they didn't want to go to any effort to future proof the process and just wanted something cheap to go up against those $60 dollar motion activated Genesis knockoffs that CVS tends to carry this time of year... And it's obvious that people buying a Wii Mini aren't going to be focused on the latest and greatest Wii U stuff they want to be promoting on the Nintendo Channel... Still, it's a moderate shame about the Wii Shop and handful of online games.
*ponder* Does the Mini have fixed system memory and no SD Card support now too? I suppose without SD Card support it wouldn't have the save space memory for as many games/downloads either.
Re:Cooling (Score:1, Interesting)
Standby (yellow) is pushing the off button quick or using off on the Wii-mote controller. Off (red) is when you hold down the power button for over 2 seconds until it turns red. It is in the manual somewhere, but if I recall it's not somewhere readily obvious.
Re:Were people really upset about the size? (Score:4, Interesting)
But the standard price is $130, any do poor people really play knockoff consoles?
The price may be $130 in the US, but it's $149.99 [bestbuy.ca] from BestBuy Canada (you know, where the Wii Mini is being sold), making the Mini 2/3rds the regular price.
I can certainly see a market here for this, particularly for use in cottage country. Often in such situations, cottages aren't equipped with Internet connectivity, and parents may want a cheaper version of the console they already have at home to allow their kids to play the games they already own while at the cottage. Many of these places still have standard definition TVs as well -- you don't go away to the cottage to sit around and watch movies (we don't even have a TV at ours, but I certainly know many people in our cottagers association who do).
I guess we'd have to see how sales go after the holiday season. I won't be running out to buy one, but with a 33% price difference I can see price conscious families who want a second console (or their first if they don't own one already -- strange how new children keep popping up in this world...) may be attracted to this as a nice Xmas gift.
Yaz