Nintendo Wii-Mini leaked

[Niode]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012- ... y-retailer

Thoughts?

Nintendo might be playing a dangerous game here. They will have 5 separate SKUs on the market. Wii Mini, New form factor Wii (no GC support), Wii, Wii U Basic and Wii U Premium. "mummy I want the new Wii for xmas" Mummy now has 5 possible options for this... Which one does she pick when she doesn't really have much of a clue which the 'right' model is?

[Reprise]

I don't think it's a good idea at all. They're definitely playing a dangerous game. If they had released it last year instead of the New Form Factor, it would have been better imo. The Wii is dead now and I doubt the console's popularity will last in the same way the PS1 and PS2 did.

[AppleQueso]

Not particularly interested in pretending to be a market analyst, so I'll just say that it looks sleek as hell. I kinda want one, but not really. I already have a Wii.

[isiolia]

Would really need to see if they added/changed any functionality. The addition of HDMI output could make it tempting if done right - they could probably graft the video output from the Wii U on it, and perhaps net people the same benefits that the Wii U offers Wii games.

I'd tend to assume it's just because it's cheaper to produce, but I doubt the revised Wii was particularly expensive to make either. With how quickly Nintendo seems to be dropping the Wii in terms of software support, bringing out new hardware does seem strange.

[Niode]

Not particularly interested in pretending to be a market analyst, so I'll just say that it looks sleek as hell. I kinda want one, but not really. I already have a Wii.

It's a beautiful bit of kit. Like you say though, I already have a Wii and will soon have a Wii-U. With such an installed userbase, who is this marketed at? Surely Nintendo want everyone to throw their money towards their new system?

However, based on the fact that the NDS sold more units than the 3DS (270k to 200k rough figures off top of my head) over the thanksgiving period, maybe they're onto something? I suppose we will see at the end of January.

I suppose when every man and their dog has a Wii, the only way to sell more is to redesign the old one in a desireable new shell.

Would really need to see if they added/changed any functionality. The addition of HDMI output could make it tempting if done right - they could probably graft the video output from the Wii U on it, and perhaps net people the same benefits that the Wii U offers Wii games.

WiiU uses EDRAM for its video buffer which also is part of how the upscaler works (same principle as the Xbox 360). It's not really possible to graft a hardware edition like that onto existing hardware the entire rendering chain would need to change moving forward, ie, not going to happen. The Wii doesn't support digital output so adding HDMI isn't that straight forward. Besides, adding HDMI won't make the picture any better than it already is using component, it's still only going to output 480p (576i in PAL Land). I have no idea where people have got this notion that adding HDMI to electronics instantly makes it HD. It's about as far fetched as changing the speedometer on your car that goes to 200mph and expecting the car to be able to do it. Totally bonkers.

[retrosportsgamer]

The timing is a bit odd since they just released the non-GC Wii last year around this time. With the WiiU just launching, they couldn't release this before Black Friday...and Wii sales were pretty solid this month. I'd guess their marketing is twofold:

A lower price point for consumers who haven't bought a Wii yet

As systems break (and everyone has a ton of games), consumers buy the new mini system to replace their old white brick.

[gtmtnbiker]

I think Sony has done well with the PS2 especially in emerging markets. If Nintendo continues to support the Wii, I think it could make more money selling to a different class of users, especially in developing countries.

Having nice graphics is good but it's all about the gameplay for me.

[Flake]

This worked when it was called the NES2. It worked when it was the SNES junior. But Nintendo had a much bigger market share back then.

This is looking like another Gameboy Micro. Definite collectors item in the making but bad business plan.

[Luke]

I like this move, as long as Nintendo doesn't flood the market, which they rarely do. Some parents won't be able to afford the WiiU and this allows for a cheaper alternative that is still "new".

[retrosportsgamer]

Would really need to see if they added/changed any functionality. The addition of HDMI output could make it tempting if done right - they could probably graft the video output from the Wii U on it, and perhaps net people the same benefits that the Wii U offers Wii games.

There is no added functionality, as these things go late in a console life, things are being stripped out. There is no internet built in, for example.