Tag: consoles

Rumor: Nintendo Announces SNES Mini For Christmas 2017

by Courtney Dossett

Shortly after the discontinuation of the NES Classic, it’s now rumored that Nintendo will be releasing an SNES Mini before Christmas this year. The NES and SNES are apparently meant to be novelty items, not permanent (re)additions to the Nintendo console lineup.

If the NES was any indication of how popular this console could be, it’s a good idea to go out and get one right away to avoid missing out, or getting scalped on eBay.
We’re still waiting on an official announcement to hear what games will be available and what the price point will be. Regardless, the SNES Mini is on my Christmas wish list (I never got the chance to have one as a kid!).
What about you? Are you going to try to snag a SNES Mini to add to your collection?

The Wii U Is Dead; Product Line To Halt Manufacturing This Friday

by Shane O'Hare

It looks like Nintendo is finally giving up on the Wii U. Eurogamer reports that the final Wii U will roll off the factory line this Friday.

This news comes on the heels of the announcement of their next console, The Nintendo Switch, that is releasing in March.

This news isn’t really all that surprising, as Nintendo likes to completely move onto their next platform. What IS surprising is how soon the shutdown happened after the Switch announcement.

The numbers tell all. Gamecube reached 21 Million units sold globally, the Wii hit 101 Million, the 3DS topped out at 60.47 Million. Wii U has, as of writing this article, hit a grand total of 13.49 Million units sold globally.

The abysmal sales of the Wii U can easily be attributed to poor marketing, difficult to use and expensive eShip ecosystem and poor hardware parity. It’s apparent Nintendo is NOT going to make the same mistakes with The Switch. Direct marketing and their decision to use a unified hardware platform are evidence enough that they do not want a repeat of the Wii U.

It may be time to snag a bundle or two for you collectors out there.

The ‘Wii-Mini’ Has Been Revealed! BUT ONLY FOR CANADA!!!

by Shane O'Hare

You read that right kids. The Wii gets a facelift, err well uhhh more like invasive fat removal surgery. Take a look at the little guy below!

That does look pretty slick, doesn’t it? Under the hood we have a drastically different machine. All GameCube compatibility has been torn out, WiFi removed and a new top loading disc drive (think portable walkman CD-Player) Nintendo has been able to scrape out most of the cost off the console. At $100 you get a Wii, Wii-Mote Plus and Chuck and that’s it.

The most interesting part of all this is that is a Canada exclusive. December 7th our friends to the North (East for me) get this little guy. At first I was confused, but looking into the though process behind it, everything makes sense. A lot of the Wii’s already out there have just devolved into a Netflix machine and Netflix not being as popular in Canada like it is here in the USA makes it the perfect place to do some retail level market analysis.  Who knows, this may be crazy successful and be sold in the US shortly.

Nintendo has a history of releasing compact versions of consoles at the end of their life cycles. Top loading NES, SNES-2, GBA-Micro and GameBoy Pocket are all prime examples of their logic.

So the world will wait, see what Canada does with this device. Hey, Derek, why don’t you enjoy this rare opportunity to have some delicious exclusivity.

December 7th the lovely Canadians can pick this up along side a stack of Tim Hortons treats. Lucky bastards.