Nintendo's $100 Wii Mini Coming to U.S. This Month

By Jane McEntegart
published

Nintendo's cheap and cheerful Wii console is finally coming to the United States.

Nintendo might be ramping down Wii production, but the Wii Mini is still alive and well. The Wii Mini was never actually launched in the United States. It went on sale in Canada in November of 2012 and was priced at $100. The Wii Mini focuses just on Wii games. As a result, those purchasing the Wii Mini will be sacrificing the ability to play GameCube games as well as internet access. At the time, Nintendo said the Wii Mini was exclusive to Canada. Though it launched in the UK earlier this year, Nintendo remained quiet on plans for a USA launch. However, it seems the Wii Mini is finally going to make its American debut.

Nintendo today announced that the Wii Mini will arrive in the United States in time for the holiday season. The launch is expected to happen in mid-November, and it will retain its $100 price tag.

"Wii mini offers the same fun experience as Wii, which has been enjoyed by millions of people around the world," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "And it comes packaged with Mario Kart Wii, a multiplayer Mario racing game that is one of the best-selling Wii games. At such a great price, it is an extraordinary value for shoppers this holiday season."

Nintendo is also offering Nintendo Selects Wii games for a suggested retail price of $19.99 to go along with the Wii Mini. This collection includes Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Sports Resort - will also be available at $29.99 each.

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Jane McEntegart
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • NightLight
    i had a wii, and it was very funny at the beginning, but you get tired of it so darn fast...
    Reply
  • internetlad
    Only bought a Wii (second hand for fifty bucks with a couple of wii-motes) to play Super Smash brothers, and wouldn't you know it, my kids drop it 1.5 feet onto hardwood floor and the disc drive goes right to shit. You could drop a N64 off the roof of a house onto concrete and it would be like "lol as if I give a fuck"

    Yea I know that's not a QC issue and has much more to do with the technology behind it, but still, considering who Big N is catering to, you'd think they would make it as sturdy as the GCN was. I guess I can still play VC games on it, but most of them are overpriced (sure, i'm going to pay 5 bucks for Super Mario Bros, I only have 5 other copies lying around my house)
    Reply
  • whiteodian
    I agree with Night. Why get this when the Wii is just a tad more and you get all the features. Backwards compatibility, and the Nintendo game store were very nice to have access to. They had a lot of old games I liked playing again.
    Reply
  • xiinc37
    Its kinda sad when a free emulator offers a superior experience to the actual console concurrently.
    Reply
  • Vigilence
    I fear Nintendo will go the way of the Sega Dreamcast if they don't get their shit together and finally release a nextgen system when its actually supposed to be released, not 1 or 2 generations behind the current systems.
    Reply
  • _zxzxzx_
    The Wii is already reduced to $80 in Australia...and it's not like this can play Wii U games.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    I'm OK with no Gamecube compatibility... but no Internet? Wow, talk about pinching pennies. Better off getting a used Wii.
    Reply
  • bombebomb
    Can buy a N64 for the same price, and still have better graphics.
    Reply
  • Darkk
    My gamecube still works. Not the greatest and latest but technology-wise it's still like the Wii. Love the black cube shape.

    The Wii Mini probably by good for the low end who don't want anything extra. But how much does it cost to have WiFi? $3?
    Reply
  • chosen12k6
    I think this is more catered to collectors, generally Nintendo has release a mini version of most of their consoles. They have gone on to be the most valuable, Nintendo NES Top loader, Super Nintendo Mini, are both valued at least $80 more than there first iteration counterparts. It is because they release these minature systems in limited quanitity. I assume they skipped doing this to the N64 because they were a little behind or too focused on the gamecube. The game cube was already extremely small in comparison to the PS2 and Xbox. I personally will purchase one it is only $100 since they will probably do what they did with the red console and only release it for the holiday season and then Wii's will soon cease production. Making this a pretty sold collector's item.
    Reply