regular Wiis have been hacked to play Wii/GC games off external storage for eons, this is a very strange and silly argument. no back compat has been lost at all- GC titles and Wii titles alike are easy to run off external storage, particularly if you make backups with the original Wii console. really only MotionPlus titles become overtly unplayable with this setup, and most of you weren't playing those anyways.
lmao. "company". did you even read the article? cut-down consoles like these- even ones made into playable handhelds- have been a thing in the modding community for ages. and yes, even sold. look up "Kill Mii" if you want to see a playable Wii w/ screen fit into an Altoids tin.