In a strange update from Nintendo, they announced a new smaller, compact model of the Wii. This isn’t the strange part. The strange part is the fact that the Mini Wii, as they’ve dubbed it, will not be able to connect to the internet. It also doesn’t have a USB port, so you can’t even connect a USB Wifi adapter. To make things even more strange, they’ve also eliminated Gamecube backwards compatibility. I don’t understand what Nintendo’s goal is with this unit, but it seems like a waste of time. Half the value of the Wii was that it can play Gamecube games and Virtual Console games. Despite it’s attractive red casing, without those things you’ve basically got a 100 dollar game system with a smaller than average library. You can pick up a regular Wii for 20 dollars more. Fortunately, the Wii Mini appears to only be produced for Canada, so those poor canucks should pretty much steer clear of this lapse in Nintendo’s judgement. You can find it on Best Buy Canada’s site if you don’t believe us. The Wii Mini’s release date is December 7, 2012.