Wii Redesign Given European Release Date

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Nintendo has given a European release date to the Wii redesign they’ve been touting. This announcement comes on the heels of news that North America will be getting the same redesigned models and then the news that Europe is also getting a special edition blue Wii bundle with Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Someone at Nintendo has gone a little bundle-crazy, methinks.

Joking aside, these new Wiis will be out in Europe on November 4th, a couple of weeks after the same models launch in the US. I hate to contribute to some kind of culture war here, but it looks like North America is coming out on top with deal – their bundle comes with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and a copy of the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack, while the European bundles come with Wii Party and Wii Sports.

It seems that the only point behind these redesigns is to remove Gamecube functionality, since these new horizontal Wiis sport the exact same dimensions as the regular Wii. These new bundles are priced exactly the same as the previous Wii model, too. So, if Nintendo isn’t rolling back functionality to make a budget-priced console, their only goal behind these new models must be to kill off the Gamecube, especially considering that Nintendo said they would phase out the previous Wii model once these puppies hit store shelves.

So, now that these redesigns have release dates in both Europe and North America, we can say that the Gamecube’s days actually are numbered. Of course, considering the sheer amount of Wiis out there, it won’t be hard to find a Wii that still supports backwards compatibility once newer models are on the market.

What are your thoughts on these new models? Will you buy one, or will you stick with the older models than support backwards compatibility? Is anyone out there even in the market for a Wii anymore? Head down to the comments section and share your thoughts!