New Super Mario Bros. Wii Message Board

As Nintendo begins winding down the Wii and pivoting towards Wii U, the company has at least one more major holiday push.

To help capitalize as the holidays approach, Nintendo will be releasing a tweaked Wii console on October 23 that’s colored black, bundled with some goodies and...without support for GameCube.

Those “goodies” include a copy of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a black Motion Plus remote and accompanying nunchuck, and a Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack CD that won’t be sold separately.

The standard Wii price was dropped to $149.99 with a copy of Mario Kart Wii back in May, but Nintendo’s also releasing this bundle for $149.99, making this an awfully nice deal, even as Wii is on its way out.

Also, this version of the hardware is meant to sit horizontally, not vertically, for unspecified reasons.

Wii’s last gaming hurrah will come this year with Kirby: Return to Dreamland, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and the still undated Rhythm Heaven.

After keeping us in suspense for a couple of weeks, Nintendo of America has finally announced the Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary hardware bundles for North America. Both the red Wii and DSi XL systems will arrive on November 7.

The $200 Wii bundle includes New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports, and a red Wii Remote Plus. Neither the package nor the press release mentions anything about the special versions of the NES Super Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong included in other regions. The $180 DSi XL bundle includes Mario Kart DS, and comes pre-loaded with two Brain Age Express games and Photo Clock.

The Wii Remote Plus, combining a Wiimote and a MotionPlus, will be released the same day for $40, in white, black, pink, and blue. It will be the standard Wii controller from now on, included in hardware bundles. FlingSmash will also come packed in with a Wii Remote Plus -- it's out the same day for $50.