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Nintendo Wii Mini coming to the UK on 22 March

Nintendo is dropping a bunch of titles into its budget range too, so gaming is about to become more affordable.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Nintendo's Wii-on-a-budget will hit the UK in just under a month, the company has announced.

The Wii Mini was previously only available in Canada. It's smaller and cheaper than the original Wii, costing $100 (£66), though Nintendo hasn't specified a UK price. To coincide with the launch, the company will add a few games to its Nintendo Selects roster of budget titles too, so you can get gaming without breaking the bank.

Those games are Mario Party 8, Wii Sports Resort, Mario Power Tennis and Super Paper Mario.

The Wii Mini has a fetching matte-black finish with a bold red border, and a manual release top-loading disc tray. It's compatible with the original Wii's 1,200-strong back catalogue, as well as most of its accessories. It's not without its compromises though.

There's no Internet connectivity, so you can't play online or access the Wii Shop. It also doesn't have an SD-card slot, you can't play GameCube titles on it, and it only has one USB port. Still, you get what you pay for.

The Wii is approaching 100 million worldwide sales. Nintendo's follow-up console, the Wii U, is off to a less strong start, though the company is adamant it won't drop the price. I don't mean to blow our trumpet, but our very own Luke Westaway called it way before launch (as did you, our dear readers), saying the console's tablet controller would confuse the average punter. The Wii, on the other hand, was as simple as gaming got.

Sony has announced its PS4, though it hasn't actually shown off what the console looks like because it isn't finalised yet. Said to be shaken by Sony's surprise event, Microsoft is rumoured to launch its next Xbox this April. If that all sounds like a bit much, the Wii Mini will be a far cheaper option.

Will you be picking one up come 22 March? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.