Nintendo Confirms Wii U Production Is Coming To A Close

Why deny in the first place?

Honesty is the best policy. Better late then never.

Good. They can focus all their attention on the Switch!

Still more units than the Dreamcast though i think.

Soon is subjective. Soon a week ago can be different that soon today.

The final curtain call.

So what was Nintendo's lowest-selling home system?

Hardly surprising despite the denials. For all its flaws - and it did have many despite what people say, it was a decent console. Won't miss the clunky OS but onwards...

@Inkling-Inc Dreamcast sold around ten million units...but it was also only on the market for a little over two years whereas the Wii U has had four.

Sad music plays.....

Wii shall never forget U...

@zip

The Wii-U.

Wow. I hope my friend in Hawaii gets a chance to buy one. Despite the sales being something regrettable, the Wii U has been a great system for me and I enjoyed what I got out of it. I did like the GamePad for the inventory and map managements and thought it was a great asset to the console, despite it not being used to the fullest. Thank you, Wii U. I will never forget the great things we had and I will continue to keep this system.

Here's hoping the Switch will surpass it, despite the lack of a second screen.

Why deny it in the first place? Maybe they wanted to save that announcement for later, I don't know... But doubling back in something so minor only furthers the idea that Nintendo's word doesn't mean anything, if it's gotten to the point that everything is a lie.

@Damo
Well, considering the only comparisons here are Color TV-Game and Virtual Boy, I think this was a huge blow.

It's too bad, they could had made a 3DS Player for the Wii U before they end it for good. That second screen could still be useful especially since the Switch is going back to one screen now. The opportunity to play all your DS & 3DS cartridges on the big screen is no more.

Keeping mine as long as it functions, and hope to be able to repair it after it stops (gamepad aside of course). I've got too many great games for it, and my kids enjoy it a lot too. I didn't rush to get a Wii U however (like many others, I got mine after the release of its first essential game, Mario 3D World) and I'll be as cautious about getting a Switch. Nintendo need the games on the shelves, not on Directs, before I'm investing again.

Now the only question remaining is how much longer the online serves will stay up.

Honesty is good for the soul.
Let's just hope the Switch will be able to at least download Wii U titles from the eshop or something...

I rather like playing Super Mario 3D World...

The Wii U had a lot of great games! The system itself, though... not my favorite system, but it's still sad to see production end. Hopefully the Switch will do much better!

@bubby444 Nintendo runs the servers, unlike the Wifi connection, so two, three years tops?

@bubby444 Fingers crossed it's not the same month or even year that Switch launches.It wont really affect me as I'll be getting the Switch at launch and likely wont go back to Wii U but it would be a PR disaster.I'd say 2 more years minimum they need to keep it going if they want to avoid upsetting a lot of fans.

@MegaMari0 Probably because they wanted to announce it on their own terms like most companies do, but the press wants the money from clicks. It's like the situation with the PS4 Slim back in August.

The end of a era. The WiiU was a fantastic system that was hampered by poor marketing but it had some of the most fun gems that I have played this gen.

I hope any remaining stock already in stores get a discount to unload them over the Christmas period. Im not on it every day but I still enjoy booting mine up every couple of weeks when people come over to play Smash, Mario Kart or Mario Bros U and 3D Land. Best co-op experiences this generation for me at least

So, production isn't stopping, Nintendo . . . except it actually is.

Had alot of fun with my Wii U.....still have a lot of fun to have with it too. That darn backlog. Cant wait to crack open Tokyo Mirage Sessions. I do not feel it was a failure at all but like the vita- it's not for everyone.

Goodnight, sweet prince.

I still have plenty of games for the Wii U to enjoy. So it'll still get tons of play years to come.

Still say folks will look back on the Wii U and say dam we wish we got that consoles as for all it faults it had a stellar first party line up.

Of course they're. The Switch is their next main and only platform, they're going to close business on 3DS too by next christmas.

And yet the west never had the opportunity to buy gamepads separately. -_-

Good riddance. A bunch of "pretty good" entries in normally great 1st party series. Zero 3rd party support. A 2D platformer console in 2012-2017. Clunky OS. Clunky Gamepad. Every game screaming "THIS IS FOR KIDS" even in series typically for everyone. Practically impossible for me to get any friends and family members to play it for more than 20 minutes.

This console offered so little for a Nintendo console that it's surprising. An utter disappointment all around. Thank God the Switch looks like it'll be awesome. If it was another Wii U. I would be very worried for the future of my favorite game company.

@MegaMari0 @Damo Or perhaps they just like announcing things on their own terms. Kinda like how the Switch reveal was dampened slightly by us (unwittingly) knowing about it for a year.

Either way, it's about time. I hope they pull a 3DS, recall a load of units and repackage it as a 'budget' package.

Wii U, Smash, Kart & 3D World all in one package for £199..... It'd fly off the shelves. Sadly, it's probably too late to do this for Xmas.

@MegaMari0 Because Nintendo?

Why do they do half of the boneheaded short sighted things that they do? Like the cord length of the NES controllers in the otherwise awesome NES Mini package?

@Damo LOL aaaaand beat me to it.

worst system I ever owned, not gonna miss it lol

thanks for the memories

So Nintendo basically lied to us?

Wait for 18 Nov 2016, the same day of Pokemon Sun / Moon release date, Wii U will celebrate its 4th Anniversary in Sorrow. If Wii U must be ended soon, may Wii U sleep tight in its eternity. Wii will always love U.

I hope it makes 13.37 units sold on the day production officially ends...

@SanderEvers I'm not referring to technicalities here. Yes, they did say they weren't ending Wii U production specifically that week, but that's not the impression they gave. A few months ago, we were told that Wii U support would last even after the Switch was announced. Based on our past 2 E3s, I didn't a believe a word of it. But I didn't want to be right, either.

Considering the position Nintendo is in now, they need to stop the corporate talk. It gets them nowhere. Whether it be the denial of a 3DS XL or Breath of the Wild's Wii U exclusivity, this is something that has to stop. As a consumer, I expect integrity from a company that I give plenty of money to each year. If they can't provide that? I could be looking at alternative console providers soon.

Well.. ok. And that is The End.

Had a lot of fun on my Wii U, got it near launch. Not sad to say goodbye honestly.

@yomanation No, this is really just a Nintendo thing. Sony and Microsoft are much less opaque to media and their fan base than Nintendo.

This console might be very expensive in the future...

If the game pad breaks, will the VC games still be accessible via Wii remote?

@Aaron09

How expensive is a Dreamcast? I see them online for $50-80 depending on their condition, and there are less of them available than the Wii-U.

I don't think in the future that Wii-U's will be worth any more than any other older console.

@Damo No, it's not Nintendo, it's you and the sites shoddy journalism that is at fault here. You make it sound like Nintendo is ending production of Wii U's everywhere when it's only Wii U bundles in Japan! JAPAN! Here's the proof.

http://gonintendo.com/stories/268295-nintendo-declares-ending-of-wii-u-bundles-in-japan

Maybe NintendoLife should focus less on click bait articles and instead deliver accurate information.

2nd November 2016

"There is no change to our continuing [Wii U] production. Even though the Nintendo Switch is slated to go on sale, [Wii U] production is scheduled to continue."

10th November 2016

"production is scheduled to end soon"

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! You can't deny Nintendo have a sense of humour. (Or that they have no P.R. team)

Im interested to buy a wiiu but the price is to high for a dead console. Maybe if they do a price drop.

@Damo You're reporting one thing. GoNintendo is reporting another. It just talks about ceasing production on the two bundles. That's it. There is absolutely nothing on that website that is saying the Wii U production is ending period. It only mentions the two bundles. Your website doesn't even mention that important part, it just makes it sound like Nintendo is ceasing production of Wii U's everywhere and of every kind, which is false.

So how about we come clean and provide accurate information instead of stirring the pot to piss off the uninformed. Your article is click bait, it doesn't provide the full truth and it makes it sound worse than it actually is. You sir are wrong and this is hardly the only time I've seen this website use click bait titles for its article and provide inaccurate information to get a reaction.

Do some actual journalism by providing the whole truth, not make it sound far worse than it actually is. It's dishonest and it makes you look foolish.

I'm sick and tired of this website stirring up the masses with such click baity titles and articles that don't provide the full truth. Learn to act like respectable journalists cause this article and how it's represented says otherwise.

Production on the WiiU closes a lot

@Damo @Lucina
Lets both take a deep breath.

About time!!!

I'm sad about this but it needed to happen. Xenoblade Chronicles X, Splatoon, Bayonetta 2 and other stuff like all the Megaman Battle Network games off the WiiU VC. It was good. Maybe I'll get other one and keep for backup...

@AlexSora89 Sure compared to Gamecube's 22 million units sold, Wii U sales figures probably topping out at 14 million isn't great, but it's nowhere near the Virtual Boy at 750k sold.

Also the Color TV-Game was the most successful first-generation home console, selling 3 million units. Not exactly a failure.

Could Nintendo have gotten at least a final price drop on this thing before deciding to shut down shop on the this little console that tried? Ah well, time to snag one up!.....on eBay.

Lol Nintendo sure doesn't comment on rumors regardless of what it is, true or false. They simply just make their own statements. Oh well... Farewell to the Wii U half-baked potential. Just let it be.

Sad to say, but this was only going to happen eventually. 2015 to 2016 made this very apparent.

They were only beating around a dead horse. They failed to convince people to buy the console while it was new, it would only be much harder to convince people with the latest console around the corner. Especially if the Switch has a number of popular Wii U titles as well (Mario Kart, Splatoon, Smash 4 to name a few). Just would be a waste of resources.

@Phin68 Wii U support is ending in 2018, production is ending soon. No one's being vague, no one's lying.

@gatorboi352 The same Sony who deleted a load of YouTube videos and threatened media outlets over the PS4 Slim? Yeah, okay...

Nintendo probably denied the original claim that Wii U production was ending because sources said production ended in very early November, which was probably close to the actual date when Wii U production will end, but not close enough for Nintendo themselves to outright corroborate.

@zip the virtual boy

Nintendo seems to have a very strict hierarchy in place where employees do not have the authority to confirm or deny until given explicit permission. I might also be circumspect if I thought my job would perhaps be in jeopardy.

@the-madprofessor Source for the 2018 date? I can't find it anywhere.

I'm guessing we can finally assume their 100 million console sales out of the question?

I don't understand why people are annoyed or bothered or have any real feelings about this.
I hope the Switch sells well and I hope they have a lot of them to sell.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!!!

The thing is dying anyway, and piracy is starting to overtake it (it's ridiculous effortless compared to the wii)
They should just pull the plug and forget this existed :v

Hoping the best for the Switch.

I've only had mine a year... So I'm quite disapointed to hear this, and sickened people here are happy about this. Hope we still get VC & Eshop games for awhile at least.

Not ready to spend another $300 or whatever on the Switch personally. (And honestly not to excited about it yet) I'm not made of money.

Dared to be different, dared to stand out. It wasn't afraid to go hard, and it dies young. Wii U will forever be the young, rare, rockstar console.

I'll still be playing Wii U for at least another year.

The woman in the picture will be devastated.

@yomanation Anyone who considers themselves a Nintendo fan or enthusiast would defend such a console. Obviously it had some issues, no one can deny that, but it's pretty sad that so many people hated the Wii U and continually crap on it. Their negativity, including yours, drowns out the positive and dilutes the point of gaming. Having fun. There were so many fun and enjoyable experiences on the Wii U, but Pretendos like yourself only look at the negatives, focus on power and sales, like what most of the industry does, and nitpicks every minor inconvenience, making it sound worse than it actually is.

Positivity, hope, and finding happiness within what has been given is far better than dwelling needlessly on every mistake, every problem, and constantly focusing on the negative. I'd rather you call me a defender of Nintendo, a fanboy, or any other label you wish to give to me and others who revel in positivity and finding solace and gratitude in what is given, rather than what has not been received. Because if I had to think as negativitly as you and half of the others here on this website, I would be a sad and pathetic individual. When something becomes less enjoyable or pleasurable, people move on, but many others seem to dwell on mistakes, dwell on the negative, feed off of it. It's disturbing and it makes me wonder why people like yourself still play video games or Nintendo games when all you do is hate, criticize and belittle others who have positive views or opinions of Nintendo.

Like, I just don't understand that kind of screwed up mentality. What's the point of gaming if all you do is be super critical, negative and act so pompous? It's sad seeing such behaviour and I pity you for being so cruel to others who defend what they like or enjoy.

@Lucina 'Do some actual journalism by providing the whole truth, not make it sound far worse than it actually is. It's dishonest and it makes you look foolish.
I'm sick and tired of this website stirring up the masses with such click baity titles and articles that don't provide the full truth. Learn to act like respectable journalists cause this article and how it's represented says otherwise.'

Jesus dude, relax will ya? It's just video game news, extremely important world news.

You know there are a billion other websites out there you can read right?

@Lucina I'm sorry about Nintendo discontinuing the wii u. Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully you will feel better.
This is the Internet. It's a gaming forum. People can and are able to make and share their opinions. We the people have the power. Nintendo can take the positives and move on.

@WilliamCalley the difference between the Dreamcast and Wii U is SEGA and Nintendo. It might not be expensive in a few years, however, it could be in 20.

@Lucina high five.

@Lucina I think being overly positive is just as bad as being negative.

A Nintendo fan criticizing Nintendo doesn't make them a non-Nintendo fan or a "Pretendo," it makes them a critical consumer. Most gamers are looking for a console to supply all of their gaming fixes. This is very apparent throughout this console generation. The only people who bought a Wii U are Nintendo faithfuls, or gamers wanting insert exclusive here. Everyone else opted for a PS4, X1, or PC. Reason? Is it power? Perhaps. Or maybe it's the constant stream of games releasing month after month, whereas Wii U gets a major title once every 3-5 months. On paper, a PS4 would sound like a much better buy than Wii U to most gamers. It doesn't matter if the games they have are not your cup of tea, to the vast majority it is (and the sales of PS4 alone is proof of this). I laugh every time a Nintendo fan says "enjoy your day one patches and FPS!" While I agree that most day one patches are cancer, not every PS4 game is a FPS. At the end of this month FF15 drops. I got to try PSVR and enjoyed it, and I've been playing Blazblue Central Fiction like a religion.

I don't care about power (only when it is absolutely necessary). Otherwise I would be greatly excited for PS4 Pro or Xbox Scorpio (or really I would be PC Master Race Elitist) I want Nintendo to do well, but that doesn't mean imma go "yeah" to everything they do.

Side note I am very optimistic for the Switch.

Denying something only to confirm it the week after? Not cool

They denied it because it wasn't ending production and now it is.

@zip Virtua Boy. It wasn't a portable. It was touted as a tripod home system.

@Tyranexx Majestic

This only confirms that the existing models are being discontinued... not the system as a whole.

I liked the wii u and it had some decent games, i just feel nintendo should have given people the games they wanted which would have helped boost sales

@smittymenston
True. Thing is, the console did too little, what with its unfortunate combination of name, power and pricing. But it also deserved better.
Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Super Smash Bros., Xenoblade Chronicles X, Splatoon, Hyrule Warriors, Super Mario Maker, Pokkén Tournament, Yoshi's Woolly World, Minecraft: Wii U Edition, even The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, the list goes on. Metaphorically, these were all talented surgeons, but they arrived too late. And as much as this saddens me to no end, the flatline is imminent.

You saved me posting the update. I'd say now with that statement from NOA all the Wii U's that will ever exist have already been produced.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE "I'd say now with that statement from NOA all the Wii U's that will ever exist have already been produced."

I think just the fact that Nintendo actually commented on something is newsworthy in and of itself, and I wouldn't have minded another article just for that reason. And also for someone giving their thoughts on "for this fiscal year". Their fiscal year doesn't end until March 31, 2017, why mention that end date in a comment in November? Why put in a caveat like that, why not just say "We can confirm that as of today, all Wii U hardware that will be made available in the North American market has already been shipped to our retail partners."

Makes me wonder about a Wii U Zelda BotW bundle when that game is ready for launch. Maybe a Mini version w/o the Gamepad since they seem to have taken it's use out of Zelda anyway. I know they'd rather sell Switch, but that "fiscal year" comment sticks out.

Nintendo made everything wrong with Wii U. Failed everything about this console, except some games.
Still cant see how is Switch case going to be better.

@Equinox

Afraid so. I bought myself two spare wii us this year. Crazy but true.

@Andrzej777 Yep they'll be flying off the shelf now.

@Lucina
Hi Lucina, Nice to see another devoted Nintendo fan out there like myself. I agree with so many things you said, especially with regard to some comments and news stories section that have a tendency to favour popularity rather than being from my fan perspective. But the writers on the site in some ways use this as a ladder to get to 'bigger and better' things in life, like pushsquare maybe, which I understand but don't always appreciate, oh and especially the 'click bait' nature of some articles, not amused. Also some of the comments made by people come across like there feel that they know better than Nintendo and that there opinion is more right than others, like comments sections on most websites.
In my opinion Nintendo do what they think is right and hope it will work within the market place, that's worked for me for many years.
Just one thing though don't let people tell you are wrong or your opinion is stupid, but also don't try and change there's either.

2016 has been a hell of a year, hm. Despite its glaring flaws, I have some great memories with the Wii U. I'll keep those memories, along with the memories of previous Nintendo consoles, forever. Whatever happens to Nintendo with the Switch and beyond, I'll hope for the best and keep trucking.

@MegaMari0 And only a few days in between to boot. Nintendo is weird about their timing of announcements. Deny everything until this specific time.

Well, it'll become a hard system to find in a year or so, but eventually, you'll find it in pawn stores, yard sales and more, and I think it will be a cheap system to buy, but the games will be over-priced (just like the Gamecube, which the system could be bought for $30 or less, but the games are expensive). I actually found the virtual boy in a retro-game store...he had 4 of them, bundled with 4 games for $20. Not a bad price if you want it, but still...a few months later when I went back in...they were still sitting there. Not saying that the Wii U will have the same fate, but if the games end up being re-released on the Switch, I don't see much life for it later on. I'm sure the online servers will be completely shut down by March at the latest, with most servers coming to a close between then...I think that's why Super Mario Maker is coming on 3DS. It's a shame, but I ended up buying the Dreamcast when it arrived and became disappointed when the production of it ended a few years later...still have it and love it though, so in other words, if it was a good system, keep it and keep the games...even if you store it away for a while. There's always that feeling that you'll want to hook it up down the road and play it again. It happens to everyone my age, that wants to break out the Atari or NES again to relive our youths. It'll happen to any generations! In my opinion, the Wii U was a nice system, but wasn't their best and the games were not the best as what they could have been (sure I'll get hate for that statement, but it's my own opinion, and I've had all nintendo consoles...including the Virtual Boy that I picked up at the retro store).

@jimi

"Enjoy your day one patches and buggy games and copy+paste fests and dumbed down AAA-budget-only games and last gen ports."

I won't disagree with you on day one patches. As a matter of fact, I said it was cancer. And whenever there is a game that launches buggy or bare bones I speak with my wallet and won't buy it till it's either fixed or theres a price cut. I do this with all platforms.

"And you have to even re-buy your digital purchaes almost all the time including even emulated games. Your old games do not work anymore."

Last I checked, Wii U owners have to buy their old games via virtual console as well... Not to mention there are no cross-buy options for said games (like buy one on Wii U, get it on 3DS). Wii U does have Wii backwards compatibility which is great, but it lacks gamecube controller support. So that's why my Wii still hasn't left my tv stand.

"Oh, you have to pay a monthly fee now. Not for proper dedicated servers, but for the allowance to play peer-to-peer games."

And I don't defend that either. Free online was one of the biggest things I used to convince others to buy a Wii U during 2013 when PS4 and X1 dropped.

"So tell me - would you seriously say that the PS4 is cheaper?"

No, I wouldn't say it is cheaper. To me, a gaming PC is much more cheaper in the long run. There is no next PC platform to buy in order to play current gen games, most problems that occur with PCs can be easily troubleshooted or replaced, online cost only reflects your internet bill, and download speeds and online play fully utilizes your true internet connection. Not to mention the steam sales are an absolute treat, and PC gamers are now getting all of X1 future titles.

"You pay a bit less, but you get way less in return."

That sounds like a Wii U to me. I paid $300 for a console to drop games every 3-5 months with no third party support. That's not to say the Wii U doesn't have great games (Smash 4, TMS#FE, Bayonetta 2, Splatoon, and Pokken to name a few), but the constant droughts between releases, and the lack of third party support killed it for me.

"There could be improvements of course, but for the most part it's actually well designed. It makes sense when you think about it. And everything simply WORKS."

Um...no. If that gamepad breaks it's all over. You can't navigate settings without it, and you can't buy one in the stores separately. Your only options is to fix it yourself, or send it to nintendo for repairing. If neither, than your left with a broken controller, and a perfectly fine console with settings/features you can't access. That is not a good design choice. I'm optimistic for the Switch because it looks like everything the Wii U could've and should've been. The merging of the console and handheld devision will mostly likely decrease the number of droughts even if there is no third party support.

The whole point of my original post is pointing out that being too positive is just as bad as being too negative. I used PS4 as a comparison. Which is funny because PS4 isn't even my favorite platform this gen. That would be the 3DS.

For those of you who are saying "Why did Nintendo lie to us / broken a promise" ? Remember that it was Iwata who had said this, not Tatsumi. Only thing I recall what Tatsumi and the rest of nintendo had promised was to finish up and launch the NX in Iwata's name. Everything else... Tatsumi. kind of cut off like the QoL project...

@BiasedSonyFan
When the statement was brought up "you pay a bit less, but you get way less in return" (in regards to PS4), the comment I said in response was emphasizing the lack of games releasing at a time on Wii U. I bought a Wii U obviously for Nintendo exclusives, but I would've hope for third party support. And to be fair, Nintendo did give a list of third party companies on board with Wii U, and promised third party support. So I was kind of justified in expecting third party.

@BiasedSonyFan
Fair point. We'll just have to see how this all plays out for Nintendo and the Switch.

Well, this does make sense. When the Wii U was released, Nintendo made the stupid mistake in releasing the Wii mini, and keeping Wii production alive. This combined with poor marketing and dumb customers thinking that it was an upgrade that naturally bought the cheaper Wii mini, and later discovering that Wii U games didn't work on it, led to what we have today. The switch being the only Nintendo console out there will certainly boost its sales.

@abbyhitter The 3DS is still in production and will probably remain so for quite some time. I'm actually looking forward to when they pull the plug on the 3DS so all of their resources can be put into the Switch. It is utmost importance they put everything they have into the Switch to make it a success. Razor sharp focus and dedication.

@the-madprofessor lol wut

@BiasedSonyFan "You bought the wrong console, then. If you want to buy a Nintendo console bcause you want Western AAA video games, then you need to reconsider the console that you want to buy. This includes the Nintendo Switch."

While this is (unfortunately) true, it wasn't always the case. It's also only the case anymore due to Nintendo's poor 3rd party relations.

Rest In Peace, sweet prince. Wii will not forget U. Ever.

Goodbye... ;~; T_T