Nintendo Announces Wii U To End Production

With Christmas around the corner many people will be looking toward gaming systems as gifts for the gamer in their life. Video game and console sales go up around this time every year. If your loved one has been asking for a Wii U, however, you may want to grab one off the shelves while they are still being sold.Wii U sales have been falling for some time now and Nintendo recently announced that it plans to cease production on the Wii U console. This news came not too far behind Nintendo announcing the release of a new gaming console (the Nintendo Switch). To avid gamers the end of Wii U production comes as no surprise.

The Nintendo Switch

Nintendo decided to produce more of the new Nintendo Switch instead of continuing production on the Wii U. Although the Wii U consoles are easily the most power-efficient of the Nintendo consoles, there is potential for better graphics with the Switch. However, Nintendo would need to double performance per watt just to offer the same level of graphics and game performance as the Wii U in a tablet form factor. Only time will tell if the company is able to pull that off.

Ending Wii U Production

Last week Nintendo announced the end of production of the Wii U and the end of production has likely already happened in different parts of the world. The company confirmed that it has shipped out all of the consoles to retailers for the 2016 holiday season. Once those are off the shelves, the Wii U will not be produced or sold again.

“We can confirm that as of today, all Wii U hardware that will be made available in the North American market for this fiscal year has already been shipped to our retail partners,” a spokesperson at Nintendo of America said. “We encourage anyone who wants Wii U to communicate with their preferred retail outlet to monitor availability.”

Nintendo sent the following letter to IGN last week detailing the end of production:

As recently posted by Nintendo on the Wii U website in Japan, Wii U production will end in the near future for the Japanese domestic market. We have nothing to announce in terms of exact timing.

We can confirm that as of today, all Wii U hardware that will be made available in the North American market for this fiscal year has already been shipped to our retail partners. We encourage anyone who wants Wii U to communicate with their preferred retail outlet to monitor availability.

The End of the Wii U

The end of any gaming console can be kind of sad, especially if you enjoyed the games offered by the specific console. However, the Wii U will likely not go down in history as a Nintendo favorite. Instead the console will likely go down as a complete failure. It only had a few good games and Nintendo didn’t really gain anything from producing the console for as long as it did. It may be better to keep your eyes on the future of Nintendo: the Switch.

Nintendo stock is down overall, however, the company has made progress. It is up from its 52-week low of $15.34. It closed the market at $28.74 on Friday.

Photo: ze_bear