Nintendo will launch a redesigned Wii gaming console in Europe by the end of 2011.
The updated console will be part of a new Wii bundle, which will include "the newly configured Wii console in white, a Wii Remote Plus controller, Nunchuk, and copies of Wii Sports and Wii Party," the company announced Wednesday.
The device will be cheaper and slimmer than the original Wii. Nintendo did not announce the bundle's price or release pictures of the new Wii. The console also will be designed to stand horizontally rather than vertically like the current Wii. Additionally, the new Wii will not be backward compatible with Gamecube games.
While Nintendo didn't say anything about releasing the console outside of Europe, the video game maker told CNET that it has no plans to release the slimmed-down console in the U.S.
Perhaps Nintendo thinks the current Wii bundle is already cheap enough (it dropped the price for a Wii & Mario Kart Wii to $150 in May), but we suspect a slimmed-down console would sell well stateside.