Gaming Nintendo Wii Mini inquiries

Slyghtful

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So, I've been considering ditching my Nintendo Wii for the Mini version for a while now. I mainly use my Wii for homebrew purposes. I don't go anywhere near the online capabilities unless it's required for installs. The online is just a huge disappointment for me, considering that the xbox 360 had these capabilities back on the original xbox. What I want to know is if it can read burned games and if not could I replace the dvd drive with an older regular wii one. I also would like to know if it can be hacked for homebrew, I've assumed it can (haven't read anywhere that it's not possible too). The main reason I want the Mini is because I also want a gamecube. I'd rather not have the two mixed. It's a pain to get the Nintendo Wii to play gamecube games anyways so I figured it'd be better to separate the two.

Ps. I wasn't sure where to post this, so I figured this section would be my best bet considering it falls under "Nintendo Wii".
 

Rydian

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It cannot read burned discs, and it's a different drive type than the original Wii.

There is no wifi or SD slot, so there's no known way to hack the device. It doesn't even have a system menu, so the homebrew channel is out of the question, etc.

You haven't seen anything on it because nobody gives a damn about it. XD
 

Maxternal

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It doesn't even have a system menu.
I agree with you on everything except for this one. It actually has a system menu just because there are some games like Rabbids, Go Home and Mario Kart Wii that install channels and others like The Calling that will send messages to your message board.
There's also some system settings and data management for game saves but other than that it just has the disc channel, mii channel and a instruction channel.
wiimenu.jpg


It's much lighter (basically hollow) ... and at least cheaper than a normal NEW (not used) Wii
The console still sucks, though ...
 

Slyghtful

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It isnt that much smaller than the original wii, which makes it redundant anyway.

That's true, I meant "comptact" in the context of it's Capabilities though. I'd rather have a minimalist Wii than one with a horrendous online system.


It's much lighter (basically hollow) ... and at least cheaper than a normal NEW (not used) Wii
The console still sucks, though ...

I guess it depends on what you're after. I myself would love it if it could be hacked because I'm OCD'ish. I like keeping my gaming life organized and having a wii that can play gamecube games kind of messes that up. I feel tempted to play them on my Wii even though I'd like it to remain on my Gamecube.
 

trumpet-205

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Wii Mini uses modified system menu and IOSes.

It is a very stripped down model, no SD slot (so no hacking at all), no WiFi, no 480p support (so only composite cable works), no GC BC, etc. A used Wii will be far better than Wii Mini.
 

Chary

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Wii Mini uses modified system menu and IOSes.

It is a very stripped down model, no SD slot (so no hacking at all), no WiFi, no 480p support (so only composite cable works), no GC BC, etc. A used Wii will be far better than Wii Mini.
No 480p? No WiFi? And to top it off, it can't be hacked. Geez. What a pathetic device.
 

Frigem

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With the debut of Wii Mini, can I still see/shop for previous designs of the system (e.g. black/white Wiis)?
 

Rydian

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And how exactly would that work? Would it just be a black screen until you booted the game, and would you have no way to manage the save data and channels?
That's what I thought I read, yeah. Having nothing outside of game media isn't something that's never happened, of course.

EDIT: Specifically older systems got away with it because... what was there to manage? Save data? Games should have their own deletion option since games often have multiple saves and it's not like you're going to move the data to the SD slot that doesn't exist, and there's no GC management because there's no GC anything, no Wifi settings, etc. When i read that the system was really cut-back and outright missing most options, I assume the system menu itself had been removed and replaced with a small settings panel for TV type, wiimote settings, and whatever else could still apply.
 

JoostinOnline

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That's what I thought I read, yeah. Having nothing outside of game media isn't something that's never happened, of course.

EDIT: Specifically older systems got away with it because... what was there to manage? Save data? Games should have their own deletion option since games often have multiple saves and it's not like you're going to move the data to the SD slot that doesn't exist, and there's no GC management because there's no GC anything, no Wifi settings, etc. When i read that the system was really cut-back and outright missing most options, I assume the system menu itself had been removed and replaced with a small settings panel for TV type, wiimote settings, and whatever else could still apply.
Then how would you delete the save files after you sold a game? The Wii has very little memory, and some games have enormous save files. I've had to delete save files when I stop playing a game.
 

Clydefrosch

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i really dont get what the op was looking for in this.
you dont need to use the wiis online capabilities anyway (and what is so horrendous and disappointing about it anyway?) you can turn them off if you want i believe. if you dont want the channels, uninstal the ones you can and move the others to page 3 and just forget about them.
the new wii is not really smaller, its lighter, but thats about it, as its a toploader, it also should take op more space than a sideways wii
and why is it a pain to play gamecube disks on the wii? all you do is put the disk into the slot, attach your gamecube controller and memory card (as you would on a gamecube) and it plays the game

and its not like you couldnt put a gamecube next to your wii either...
 

trumpet-205

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No 480p? No WiFi? And to top it off, it can't be hacked. Geez. What a pathetic device.
Wii Mini follows the same approach with PSP-E1000

PSP-E1000,
* Stereo audio downmixed to Mono speaker
* No WiFi
* No microphone
* No removable battery
* No TV out
* No brightness and music note buttons
* "Flat" buttons at the bottom (similar to 3DS).
 

Arm73

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I lost any potential interest in the Mini, the moment I read no 480p output.
I mean seriously, the port in the back is exactly the same and you can use the same, old Wii component cables with it, it's just a software restriction or something.
Since CRT TVs are almost disappeared from the face of the earth, and 480i looks just pathetic on any LCD TV, I don't see the reasoning behind this choice and how much it would have affected production costs.

Anyway, I don't play many GC games these times, in fact, I played almost anything I wanted to play on the GC back in the day when the system was current.
But to me, the best solution would always be an older Wii ( with GC support ) as opposed to a GC-less Wii and a GC both plugged in the TV.
My Wii at least, had been hard modded with a Wiikey back in 2006 and can flawlessly play any GC backups, without having to make compromises with software emulation.
It's on box that can play Wii and GC games, is has ports for GC memory cards and controllers and clearly sends a better video signal to my TV at 480p. which most North American GC games seem to support.

So, I wouldn't trade it for anything ;)
 

Rydian

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Then how would you delete the save files after you sold a game? The Wii has very little memory, and some games have enormous save files. I've had to delete save files when I stop playing a game.
Is it that bad? I assumed that without any extra channels, ~500MB of memory would be enough for a ton of games.
 

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