Well, this is quite interesting, isn’t it? Nintendo has announced the latest Wii redesign, set to launch exclusively this holiday season in Canada. Priced at $99.99, the Wii Mini will make its debut on December 7. So, you know, people can buy Wiis for their loved ones this Christmas. Umm … Are folks still doing that?

The Wii Mini features a red and black look, as well as a top-loading disc tray. Even though it looks kind of toy-ish, I actually think it’s kind of cool. Well, I think its appearance is kind of cool — its features are a completely different story.

The Wii Mini is being dubbed as a device “that’s all about the games.” Unfortunately, it seems to be lacking some important features. First off, it isn’t backward compatible with GameCube games. Also, the darn thing doesn’t have online functionality, which means people can’t download Virtual Console and WiiWare titles on it.

The asking price is certainly friendly, but with the Wii U being Nintendo’s main point of focus right now, and with most people not really giving a damn about the Wii these days, it’s hard to really see the Wii Mini being a big holiday hit.

Follow this author on Twitter.