When Nintendo unveiled their Wii Mini, most of us scoffed. It’s a Wii, with no WiFi access and no Gamecube backwards compatibility. Because there was no WiFi, you can’t connect to the online store and buy games. You can’t buy those Virtual Console games. You can’t play online. There’s no SD card slot. But it was only released in Canada and it was cheap at just $99 CAD.
Well, now it’s coming to the UK on March 22nd.
Nintendo doesn’t mention a price in their press release but that $99 CAD price is currently converting to just a little over £63. With the second hand market for Wii consoles as busy and as cheap as it is, this seems like an odd proposition – especially considering all of the removed features. You can buy a new Wii on eBay for £40 and you can regularly get second hand ones, often with some games or the balance board for £50-£60.
The Wii Mini comes in black with a red border around it and you get a red Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuck in the box. Even if you’re thinking of buying a cheap Wii to catch up on some of the great platform exclusives (the system is home to the Mario Galaxy games and several of the best JRPGs of the past 5 years), the Wii Mini seems like a strange choice.
It’s being pitched as a “family friendly” console (because it doesn’t connect to the internet, where the perverts live) and there will be some additions to the Nintendo Selects range of budget games, including Mario Party 8 and Wii Sports Resort – both games which almost require more than one player, so prepare to spend another £50 on controllers, at least, to enjoy them.
There’s no pack-in game with the Wii Mini.
Source: Press release
wonkey-willy
damn no homebrew…
pointless might as well pick up a cheapy from cex.
like mine..
still sitting under the tele gathering dust..
Stef Nighthawk
Looking at the shelf space for Wii games at my local games retailer I’m wondering which games someone will get for this Wii Mini.
They’ll have to look in the second hand shelf space.