Nintendo UK has officially announced that the Wii Mini will not be released in Japan. Instead, their focus will remain solely on the Wii U.
“We have no plans to launch it in the UK. Our focus here is all about Wii U.”
This is not a surprise, considering the loss of internet connectivity and Game Cube ports on the slimmed down device. The birthplace of Nintendo would cringe at such a de-evolution of the console. However, why release the console in Canada, and not the USA?
One factor in the Canada only release might be the sales figures. On November 26 CNET reported, that the week after the Wii U Launch, The Wii U sold 400,000 units and the Wii sold 3000,000 units. The fact that the original Wii held its own with the Wii U is amazing! Looking at the numbers, it doesn’t appear that teh stripped down and naked version of the Wii is needed in the USA.
So, why Canada? There are actually a couple of possible reasons. One could be lackluster sales in Canada compared to other markets. Another possible reason was brought forth by Netflix’s Chief Content Officer. He feels that the removal of the Internet functionality may be too big of a deal for the USA. However, he feels that the internet connectivity is not that big of a deal for the majority of Canadians.
“The problem in Canada is… they have almost third-world access to the internet,” said Netflix’s chief content officer in September, as reported by GigaOm.
Now, The above quote was stated in September. However, it could be a very legitimate reason for the slimmed down version. Sure, the Wii is still available, however the slimmed down version could be a much better seller in areas of poor internet connectivity. In Canada, 25% of Netflix subscribers watched via their Wii console.
Honestly, I would love to get my hands on the Wii mini, I like the design and would just like to add it to my collection (as of now it would be console/handheld #41), but I fear by the time I get my hands on one, it will far exceed the $99.99 price tag.
For our Canadian readers, do you agree with Netflix’s assessment of the Canadian only launch? Do you possibly have any further theories?
Don’t forget to visit our Wii U Give-a-way (sponsored byNintendosForSale.com). If you haven’t checked out their online store yet, I urge you to do it!
