Nintendo Wii Mini sells over 35K units in Canada, and Brits still don’t want it

In less than a month, the smaller version of the Wii exclusively available in Canada sold 35,700 units – not bad for a system that a) most people already own if they want it and b) cripples some of the best features of the Nintendo Wii, including Internet connectivity and backwards compatibility.

The console, distinctive from the traditionally white Wii in a matte red and black, launched December 7, 2012, and between that time and January 1, 2013, Nintendo moved just over 35,000 units, Polygon reports. If you need a sense of scale, though, the Wii U, which was released around the same time in Japan, sold 308,000 consoles over its launch weekend.

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While the low price point was likely enticing for the few people who still don’t own a Wii, it didn’t exactly take the Canadian retail market by storm over the holidays – I imagine there was more than one heartbroken kid who asked for a Wii, only to get this instead of a Wii U last Christmas.

Still, that hasn’t quashed Nintendo Canada’s enthusiasm for the system. Nintendo Canada’s Communication Manager Matt Ryan spoke with Nintendo World Report: “The Canadian market has reacted positively to the great value the system has to offer, and we are seeing this reflected in the sales numbers.” Clearly, Ryan and Nintendo Canada didn’t have astonishingly high hopes for the system’s sales, either.

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Canadian gamers won’t have exclusive access to the console for much longer, however. It was announced last week that the Wii Mini will be coming to the United Kingdom on March 22. Reaction to the announcement has been lukewarm in Britain for the arrival of the Mini, though. According to a survey by a UK website, one third of the people asked said they don’t see the point of the Nintendo Wii Mini, T3 reports.

Then again, maybe the two-thirds who do see the point in the new system will be quick to snap it up. It wouldn’t be the first time that a gaming console met mediocre success in North America, only to do tremendously overseas.

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