34 replies to this topic

[Mendon]

According to Official Nintendo Magazine, Nintendo has announced they are releasing a redesigned Wii console this Christmas. The redesigned Wii will have a new shape so that the unit sits horizontally rather than vertically and GameCube support will be eliminated. Pack in games are Wii Party and Wii Sports, and several bundle variations will be available.

Announced only for the U.K. so far and Nintendo also stated that the current Wii model will be discontinued.

ONM Story Here

IGN Story Here


Hmmm.... could this be a new $99 Wii??


Mendon

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Edited by Mendon, Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:17 AM.

[raskar42]

my wii already sits horizontally.

still if its $99 it might be time to buy a new one.. i never did update to motion plus.

[wood_jl]

Was the Gamecube less-popular in Europe? Or are they eventually going to do the same thing in N. America, but pretending that they don't know?

I guess the days of the $49 game console are over. PS2 Slim is still double that, and so will be this new cheapened Wii.

[DracIsBack]

I'm thinking this may indeed morph to a $99 price point in North America. I wonder if it will appear on shelves for Christmas? I can certainly see that as a possibility.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

I think I read that Nintendo are mostly making money on new Wii sales these days as opposed to software releases so my guess is this is their last ditch effort to squeeze the last drop of revenue out of the Wii before the WiiU takes over next year. Probably the marketing people sat around trying to figure out a way to get non-Wii owners to finally buy one (because adding new colors seems to be desired by existing Wii owners from what I keep hearing) and so they struck upon the cheapest model possible, ergo no GC support, no port along the top for GC controllers, and therefore a lower price point than before.

That's my guess anyway.

[Atari Joe]

I wouldn't write off an $89.99 drop. I know it's been discussed in Redmond.

[desiv]

That gives me an idea...
Something like:
For Sale: Ultra Rare Wii WITH Gamecube compatibility BUILT IN!!!!!



desiv

[Vic George 2K3]

I wonder if that means Gamecube controller support will also be eliminated. Possibly.

[Reaperman]

Sounds like they want to sell vertical stands as an accessory.
I suppose this one doesn't do something cool like upscale to HD. Generally when N releases handheld variants, they make an attempt to improve something to try and get a segment of current owners to rebuy--but I'm not seeing that. This is more like the revision of the gamecube without progressive scan support. Cost cutting only.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Vic George 2K3, on Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:30 AM, said:

I wonder if that means Gamecube controller support will also be eliminated. Possibly.

I am sure if Gamecube BC is eliminated part of the cost reduction will be eliminating Gamecube Controller ports and Memory card ports.

[wood_jl]

Vic George 2K3, on Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:30 AM, said:

I wonder if that means Gamecube controller support will also be eliminated. Possibly.

From the IGN story, linked-to in the first post....

http://wii.ign.com/a.../1188346p1.html

Quote

Strangely, it will no longer play GameCube games and does not support GameCube controllers.

[Rex Dart]

I wouldn't be shocked if these could be hacked to re-enable now-unplayable-without-controllers gamecube support

[Draikar]

Nintendo Wii looks the same, just the name Wii and power/eject is horizontal.

[svenski]

This is just a cost cutting exercise designed to extend the sales life of the wii . So far has been announced as Europe only but I doubt they'll leave North America out of the loop.

The recent 3DS price drop seems to be working in some places too.

[Atariboy]

Draikar, on Sat Aug 20, 2011 3:58 PM, said:

Nintendo Wii looks the same, just the name Wii and power/eject is horizontal.

Mine doesn't have that blue colored disc drive slot.

[nathanallan]

Sale at Christmas time? They're already for sale in my area, I saw it at Kmart the other day. I can't remember the price, though.

It was next to the slim Xbox 360, with a sign on it saying it was 4GB. Woohoo! It has a memory card! The clerk and I laughed and I asked him to leave it like that so I could get a picture later.

Edited by nathanallan, Sun Aug 21, 2011 2:01 AM.

[Wntermute]

I thought they posted a followup article.. the redesigned Wii is EU-only. All North America Wiis will have GC ports.

http://kotaku.com/58...inus-in-america

[Mendon]

Europe is getting another Wii bundle... this time a Blue Wii that comes bundled with Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.


Mendon

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[MagitekAngel]

I'm noticing a trend of stripped down hardware releasing in Europe. As far as I know, there was never a PS2-compatible PS3 in Europe. Couple that with this new GC-less Wii and the Wi-Fi-less PSP E-1000, it seems to me that Europeans are getting more and more second-rate equipment.

[Vic George 2K3]

Well, isn't that smurfy? RELEASE THE BLUE ONE HERE!!!

[Rex Dart]

Just buy a $10 chinese case

[pimpmaul69]

Chines cases are horribly spray painted. You see the wite around all the edges

[Atariboy]

The launch systems in Europe had Playstation 2 compatibility.

NOA has announced they're releasing this stateside later this month with New Super Mario Brothers Wii and a Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack CD for $150. Will be black and include the usual Wiimote Plus and Nunchuk in the same color.

Goodbye to GameCube support.

Edited by Atariboy, Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:32 PM.

[Mendon]

Yep, just read about it on Go Nintendo: http://gonintendo.co...story&id=163373. It was also reported that Australia would be getting the bundle and it wouldn't surprise me if its release wasn't worldwide.

I'm really surprised at the price point as I had thought Nintendo might drop it down closer to $100 rather than staying at the usual $150 asking price.


Mendon

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Edited by Mendon, Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:08 AM.

[Metalwario64]

Wow... Wasn't the standard Wii + Mario Kart bundle already at $150?