So, did anyone actually sit down and think about why Nintendo might do this before criticising them for it?
This is quite clearly there for the families that would like to buy a console for Christmas, but don't have the money for a Wii U (believe it or not, if you're a middle income family with kids, a Wii U is f'ing expensive). At $99 it's the perfect family gift to themselves, since they can play Wii Sports or any of the other social games quite cheaply now thanks to the low cost of Wii games.
And as a product for that market, it doesn't need Internet. The audience for this console couldn't care less about WiiWare or playing Call of Duty online. It's a family entertainment device.
Whether it will be successful or not I don't know, but then I don't have access to Nintendo's market data.
It did only take me one minute to figure out what market this product is targeting though. It's quite obvious :-/
While I see your point, this could've so easily been so much more. I mean, how much does a Wi-Fi chip cost? $1? If it had Internet it could double as a set-top box, competing with Apple TV and Roku on price (if not picture quality and accessibility). Still capture the market you're describing and draw in those who want a Netflix-player that has 1,000 games too. Boom.
So, did anyone actually sit down and think about why Nintendo might do this before criticising them for it?
This is quite clearly there for the families that would like to buy a console for Christmas, but don't have the money for a Wii U (believe it or not, if you're a middle income family with kids, a Wii U is f'ing expensive). At $99 it's the perfect family gift to themselves, since they can play Wii Sports or any of the other social games quite cheaply now thanks to the low cost of Wii games.
And as a product for that market, it doesn't need Internet. The audience for this console couldn't care less about WiiWare or playing Call of Duty online. It's a family entertainment device.
Whether it will be successful or not I don't know, but then I don't have access to Nintendo's market data.
It did only take me one minute to figure out what market this product is targeting though. It's quite obvious :-/
While I see your point, this could've so easily been so much more. I mean, how much does a Wi-Fi chip cost? $1? If it had Internet it could double as a set-top box, competing with Apple TV and Roku on price (if not picture quality and accessibility). Still capture the market you're describing and draw in those who want a Netflix-player that has 1,000 games too. Boom.
Nintendo wants those people to buy the Wii U. The people inclined to use Netflix and the like are also more likely to be in an income bracket that allows them to buy a Wii U. Simple as that. By not including such a chip, Nintendo is basically telling those people "nah, you want this bright shiny new console."
I think people are misunderstanding this product. The Mini Wii is really there for the most budget of budget consumers - the low-income families who may well not have had the money for a Wii previously.
It is a very limited product, but that's because Nintendo only wants to sell it to people who have no means to buy a Wii U.
I suppose I wasn't considering the Wii U. The only way this makes any sense to me is if it's actually advantageous to Nintendo to leave out a $1 chip in order to deter a segment of customers, which sounds backwards, but I guess they're making a much bigger profit on Wii Us and this might entice people to buy those. Still, though--ubercasuals might enjoy Internet too, and it's not even a good deal for low-income families; regular Wiis are so cheap now and so often bundled that you're probably spending more to buy a mini and Mario than you would on a regular console bundle with Mario built-in. None of this is to say it won't look more attractive to the demographic Nintendo's targeting, but this is uncharacteristically anti-consumer of Nintendo. Also, what the heck is up with launching only in Canada?
I suppose I wasn't considering the Wii U. The only way this makes any sense to me is if it's actually advantageous to Nintendo to leave out a $1 chip in order to deter a segment of customers, which sounds backwards, but I guess they're making a much bigger profit on Wii Us and this might entice people to buy those.
Bingo. That's exactly what I think is happening here and it's a fairly common strategy. Encourage people to buy the premium product if at all possible, but if they really don't have the money, well, sell them something at least.
This is a new console too, which will help the low income families, psychologically, feel like they're buying something new and not just a seven year old creaky old piece of tech. And, given how old the innards are, I reckon Nintendo would make a very nice profit from the sale of each one of these. It's win-win for a product that is going to have a minimal market impact.
Still, though--ubercasuals might enjoy Internet too, and it's not even a good deal for low-income families; regular Wiis are so cheap now and so often bundled that you're probably spending more to buy a mini and Mario than you would on a regular console bundle with Mario built-in. None of this is to say it won't look more attractive to the demographic Nintendo's targeting, but this is uncharacteristically anti-consumer of Nintendo. Also, what the heck is up with launching only in Canada?
With a "new Wii" on the market now, I suspect no one is going to want to buy the old Wii. So it's quite smart when you think about it to release a new Wii model, since, again, it's going to feel like you're buying a new console entirely.
Regarding Canada - it's possibly a test market, or potentially Nintendo hasn't hit the market penetration it was looking for in Canada and figured a new Wii model might just get the numbers up to where they should be.
Sony releases a PSP model in Europe-only for the same reason.
So, did anyone actually sit down and think about why Nintendo might do this before criticising them for it?
This is quite clearly there for the families that would like to buy a console for Christmas, but don't have the money for a Wii U (believe it or not, if you're a middle income family with kids, a Wii U is f'ing expensive). At $99 it's the perfect family gift to themselves, since they can play Wii Sports or any of the other social games quite cheaply now thanks to the low cost of Wii games.
And as a product for that market, it doesn't need Internet. The audience for this console couldn't care less about WiiWare or playing Call of Duty online. It's a family entertainment device.
Whether it will be successful or not I don't know, but then I don't have access to Nintendo's market data.
It did only take me one minute to figure out what market this product is targeting though. It's quite obvious :-/
My exact thoughts!
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Regarding Canada - it's possibly a test market, or potentially Nintendo hasn't hit the market penetration it was looking for in Canada and figured a new Wii model might just get the numbers up to where they should be.
This was something that bothered me and I couldn't figure out. But this seems logical, thank you for that.
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They probably chose Canada because our population is a lot smaller than the US or Japan, yet our buying practices will be similar to Americans. They probably don't want to risk mass-producing these things for the whole world till they're confident they will sell, and maybe can't easily with the Wii U launching at the same time.
Or maybe Nintendo heard the NHL is on strike and figured the last few people in Canada that don't have a Wii might suddenly be desperate for some entertainment to survive the long cold winter ahead.
I'd genuinely like to buy it, ok, it may not have Gamecube support or internet capabilities, but for me, it's definitely something akin to gaming back in the early days. For me, it's perfect, there are a lot of things to take into consideration, but heck, I still want it, especially if I can go back to my old routes of enjoying gaming without the fuss of an internet connection =].
Hmm, I guess it's for those people who want to keep they're gaming just where it is, on one console, playing local splitscreen games, rather than online.
Of course, let's not forget the kids too, parents might want to keep they're children safe by not allowing them to play online? Hope someone can see my point ^^
I'd genuinely like to buy it, ok, it may not have Gamecube support or internet capabilities, but for me, it's definitely something akin to gaming back in the early days. For me, it's perfect, there are a lot of things to take into consideration, but heck, I still want it, especially if I can go back to my old routes of enjoying gaming without the fuss of an internet connection =].
Hmm, I guess it's for those people who want to keep they're gaming just where it is, on one console, playing local splitscreen games, rather than online.
Of course, let's not forget the kids too, parents might want to keep they're children safe by not allowing them to play online? Hope someone can see my point ^^
I can't. It's pretty easy to just choose not to connect your console to the Internet if you don't want it to be.
Where my friends and I usually get stupid:
https://www.twitch.tv/MUDWALLHOLLER - Come by hang and visit our Discord. The link for Discord is on the Twitch page.
Where my friends and I usually get stupid:
https://www.twitch.tv/MUDWALLHOLLER - Come by hang and visit our Discord. The link for Discord is on the Twitch page.
I'd genuinely like to buy it, ok, it may not have Gamecube support or internet capabilities, but for me, it's definitely something akin to gaming back in the early days. For me, it's perfect, there are a lot of things to take into consideration, but heck, I still want it, especially if I can go back to my old routes of enjoying gaming without the fuss of an internet connection =].
Hmm, I guess it's for those people who want to keep they're gaming just where it is, on one console, playing local splitscreen games, rather than online.
Of course, let's not forget the kids too, parents might want to keep they're children safe by not allowing them to play online? Hope someone can see my point ^^
I see your point about the old-school gaming experience but, imo, people who want that experience would probably really enjoy having access to the Virtual Console.
RancidVomit86 - I hope Nintendo doesn't end online support for the Wii soon! There are still so many Wiiware and VC games I want to get, and I'm not planning to get a Wii-U in the near future.
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Topic: Even though the Wii U is here, they're doing "Mini" Wii redesign.
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