Nintendo kills the Wii U, at least in Japan
Nintendo has quietly updated its Japanese website to say that production of the Wii U, at least domestically, has ended. As spotted by Kotaku, the listings for the console now include the phrase “Production End (Within Japan.)” We’ve known since last November that executives were sharpening the axe, but not when they’d actually swing it. Either way, if you’ve been holding out on buying a Wii U, it’s probably worth getting a wriggle on.
The Wii U wasn’t a bad console by any means, but it never made as much of an impression with the public as its older sibling. After all, the Wii sold upwards of 101 million units, while the Wii U, as of the end of 2016, barely scraped 13.6 million. With the Switch landing globally on March 3rd, it’s clear that the company wants to usher off its less successful device now as to not draw attention from its replacement. Although, interestingly, the Wii wasn’t killed off until almost a year after its successor had launched — another ignominy the Wii U will have to put up with.
Update: Nintendo of America has confirmed that production has stopped worldwide. If you’ve been planning to buy a Wii U, now’s the time to get one. Or you could just wait a month and pick up that other Nintendo console.
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