This Week in Tech Stupidity: Nintendo Drops Backwards Compatibility in Wii after PSP Drops Wi-Fi

Has every publisher in the game industry lost their minds? Yesterday Benzinga learned that Sony SNE will release a new version of the old PSP in Europe for 99 euro. It has since come to our attention that the device may lack Wi-Fi support, which is about the dumbest move Sony could have made (especially when it is trying to push digital downloads and other online features). Contrary to what the company may believe, removing Wi-Fi from its current PSP is not a good way to train consumers to expect – or desire – Wi-Fi from PS Vita! Now the news is getting even weirder: Eurogamer is reporting that Nintendo (NTDOY) will release a new version of the old Wii in Europe this Christmas. It's smaller and comes with two games (Wii Sports and Wii Party) but lacks the ability to play GameCube games. Um…what!? Nintendo used backwards compatibility as a hyping point for the Wii. GameStop GME kept old GameCube games – both used and new copies – on store shelves because it knew that every one of the 50+ million Wii owners could play them. I personally have used my Wii as a GameCube since the day it was released. While my actual GameCube is still functional, it currently sits in a crate somewhere because it is no longer needed. This development isn't unprecedented. Sony previously yanked its backwards compatibility feature in PlayStation 3 (a feature that, like Nintendo, Sony used as a hyping point to promote the system). Similarly, Xbox 360 was not immediately compatible with old Xbox games. However, Microsoft MSFT later added that feature to select games through software updates. But considering the fact that GameCube is almost 10 years old, is this really bad news for Nintendo? Probably not. But it's a sign of things to come. If Wii U wasn't so dependant on the original Wii (its controllers, games, etc.), Nintendo would have removed backwards compatibility from that console as well. (Thanks to My Nintendo News for the tip.) Follow me @LouisBedigian