Wii Mini Official: $99.99 Canada Exclusive Sheds Internet

Nintendo's new Wii Mini has been made official, a compact refresh to the original Wii with a few drawbacks – such as no internet connectivity – to keep the price down. The new console, prematurely leaked in the past weeks, is Canada-only – at least initially – where it will be sold at CA$99.99 from December 7. Nintendo has trimmed out all online functionality among other things.

In addition to no online playback – or, indeed, streaming media services like Netflix – there'll be no GameCube backward compatibility in the new Wii Mini. Your hundred (Canadian) bucks gets you the new black and red Wii Mini console and a matching red Wii Remote Plus and nunchuck, together with a sensor bar, power adapter, and composite cable.

If you want the HDTV component cable you'll need to shell out separately; Nintendo claims there's compatibility with "most" of the existing Wii accessories. "It's a great value for first-time Wii owners who just want to jump in and experience all the great Wii games that helped usher in a revolution in motion-controlled gaming" the company suggests.

Nintendo says the Wii Mini will work with over 1,400 disc-based Wii games, and that no further information about broader availability outside of Canada is available. Still, if the smaller, cheaper console is a hit, we can see Nintendo being eager to expand sales and help shore up its middling bottom line.

[via Engadget]