Nintendo's $99 Wii Mini is coming this month, Mario Kart in tow

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Cuter, less useful Wii arrives in the US soon

Wii Mini Mario Kart bundle
The new Wii Mini bundle includes Mario Kart

The Wii Mini is currently only available outside the US - but that's about to change.

The smaller, less useful Wii console will launch stateside this month, Nintendo announced today.

Expected to arrive by mid-November, the $99 Wii Mini bundle coming to the US includes a Wii Remote Plus, a nunchuk, and a copy of Mario Kart Wii.

In addition, Nintendo highlighted the existence of $19.99 "Nintendo Selects" games like Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Paper Mario, as well as newly discounted $29.99 games that include Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Sports Resort.

Mini-Wii

The Wii Mini plays Wii games, but lacks support for GameCube games and can't connect to the internet.

The Wii Mini also lacks an SD card slot and USB ports.

Although the lack of features might turn some buyers off, the lower price point and smaller form factor make the Wii Mini an attractive buy for people who don't care about playing older games, accessing the Virtual Console, or playing Super Smash Bros.' laggy online multiplayer.

Passing the torch

The flat Wii Mini also features a top-mounted disc tray, with a manual release system that should make it more reliable over time than the Wii and its front-loading disc system.

The downsized Wii console launched last year in Canada and earlier this year in the UK and Europe, but until now a release in the US wasn't certain.

In Europe, Nintendo went as far as discontinuing the original Wii system recently. The Wii U, with its Wii system emulation, and the Wii Mini are now expected to carry the original Wii's torch there.

Michael Rougeau
Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.

Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.