Nintendo releasing the Wii Mini on December 7

New console will retail for $100, but will only be available in Canada

Fresh off the heels of the newly released Wii U, Nintendo made another announcement Tuesday regarding its flagship console. One that probably that will probably get you excited…and then slightly disappointed.

The good news: Nintendo has announced that it will be releasing a Wii Mini, beginning on December 7, for a suggested retail price of $99.99.  Pretty cool, right?

Here comes the bad news, for most of you anyway: it is only being sold in Canada, at least for the time being. Nintendo specifically noted that, “No information is available about its potential availability in other territories in the future,” so when the console will be available in the United States is anybody’s guess.

The console will be able to play over 1,400 Wii games, though it does not play GameCube games and has no Internet capabilities. The console will be black with a red border, as per the picture below:

As the picture also shows, it comes with a red Wii Remote Plus, and a red Nunchuk controller. The console will work with most Wii accessories, Nintendo says.

“There are games in the Wii library for every type of player,” Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada’s vice president and general manager, said in a statement. “Wii Mini is a great gift for the holidays that brings everyone in the family together to play. Wii Mini has a mini price, but it’s all about big fun.”

The Wii U

Nintendo is set to release the Wii Mini only two weeks after the Wii U, which debuted this past weekend.

As I have written before, there was a lot riding on the Wii U, since a major console had not been released in a number of years and gaming had begun to shift to mobile tablets and phones. With the Wii U selling out a day after it was released, though, Nintendo is likely feeling good about the future prospects of its gaming consoles.

In the lead up to the console’s debut, Nintendo had said that it would be unveiling Nintendo Tvii, an app that will integrate with the Wii U, and will essentially become the users entertainment platform. Nintendo Tvii will allow users to bring all of their video content, including streaming, live TV and recorded shows, together into a single interface.

When the console was unveiled, though, not only was Nintendo Tvii missing, so were streaming options for YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu Plus, which Nintendo said would become available over the next few weeks.

Some of the problem has been rectified, with Nintendo adding both Hulu Plus and YouTube streaming options since.

The Wii was first introduced in 2006, and was immediately seen as a giant leap forward for video games. One that would finally motivate kids to get off the couch.

The system was a big success, selling over 600,000 consoles in its first eight days. It became the worldwide leader in sales less than a year after being released. At the time, Nintendo stock was worth $56.85. It would hit a hit of $78.50 in October 2007.

Wii sales have recently stalled, though, with handhelds outpacing sales in 2011. In January, the company projected its first annual loss in 30 years. 

(Image source: https://www.nintendo.com)