With the Wii U the new darling of Nintendo the Wii system has become less relevant in recent years despite beating out Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in sales. In an effort to revitalize the Wii, Nintendo has made a mini versioin to the Wii called Wii Mini and is set to launch the device in Canada on Dec. 7.
Pcmag.com reported that the Wii Mini released on the above mentioned date for just $99 but only in Canada. When the original Wii was released in 2006 it cost as much as the Wii U now, roughly around the $300 mark, but now one can grab the console for less than $200 at most retailers.
According to the tech website, the Wii Mini first popped up on the Best Buy Canada website Tuesday morning and is being described as a gaming-only system without Internet connectivity.
The device is colored red and black and will come with a red Wii Remote Plus controller and red Nunchuk controller. The Wii Mini is said to be compatible with more than 1,300 Wii games but fall short in that it doesn't have backward compatibility with Nintendo's GameCube games unlike the original Wii.
With Nintendo now focusing on the Wii U the games for the Wii prices have fallen just like the system. Top games like Mario Kart Wii are being sold for no more than $40 and Nintendo believes that the Wii Mini will do great this holiday season.
"There are games in the Wii library for every type of player," Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada's vice president, said in a statement. "Wii Mini is a great gift for the holidays that brings everyone in the family together to play."
According to pcmag.com Best Buy Canada will start taking pre-orders for the Wii Mini later today but there is no word on whether the device will be released in the United States.
