Rumour: Last Wii U Consoles Roll Off The Production Line This Week

This era has ended many months ago.

Rest in peace, $300 Smash Bros machine. :')

RIP. I hope in 10 years time it will be remembered as an early concept for the truly legendary Nintendo Switch

This was forseeable when they predicted 800,000 for the next 12 months. With 6 months over they've already sold 520,000, leaving just 280,000 for the holiday period, which is usually the best selling time of the year for home consoles. So the only way Nintendo could have predicted a paltry number like 800,000 is because they knew that was all they would have. With their Nintendo Selects line and a way long overdue price cut they easily could have sold more than 280,000 this Christmas.

Target has 15% off PS4 this week with Cartwheel, thats $255 for a Slim with Uncharted 4, for anybody looking to play video games now.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Either way you look at it, it was really a short time!

I'll miss the Wii U, even with its ups and downs I enjoyed the system very much.

@Phin68 You mean Splatoon machine

Wow... just, wow.

This feels very similar to the day I opened up an issue of GamePro and read that Sega announced the "Dream...last." It's all happening so fast.

I truly do believe that this console will be remembered in a similar way to the Dreamcast years from now, as we get further and further from the mainstream gaming press' consistent @#$%ing on this console, (which does not include NL, mind you) which subsequently scared off the 3rd party publishers.

It'll be that console with some truly amazing gems, which will skyrocket in price as soon as Nintendo pulls the plug on the WiiU eShop.

Dammit, I'm trying to find something good to say, but this is sad. It really is.

Considering the immanent release of the Switch, I'm surprised by how much this makes me sad... I know that to many, admitting that you had a Wii U, yet alone liked it was like admitting that your besty is a ginger, but I love my Wii U and the quality of the games that I bought it for... Including, but not limited to MK8, Splatton, the Zelda remakes, SSB, SMW, SMM, etc...And in all honesty, I'm not sure yet as to whether I'll be playing Breath of the Wild on Wii U or Switch at this point...

@abbyhitter
Mario Kart machine...

How many did they produce because Wii U probably sells only about 10,000 units worldwide weekly and that's if it's lucky? Probably more like 5,000 in reality.

The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.

Good night, sweet prince. You did nothing wrong.
(the marketing people did)

It's just a rumor.

To me, as I try to combine college, work, social life and gaming, the Wii U was a perfect console. I played, and still playing, a lot of games on it. In the beginning there were a lot of Wii games to finish in my library of games. As I couldn't play a lot like I used to, I never felt there were no games to play. Wii U first party, indie eShop and Virtual Console games kept me busy through the years. I fully understand the mistakes that were made with the Wii U, but I never regretted buying the console and enjoyed it quite a lot. Still playing Paper Mario: Color Splash and the big multiplayer games as well as a couple of indie eShop and VC games on it. Planning on getting Yooka Laylee and Zelda on it too (and do a 2nd playthrough of Zelda on the Switch). Farewell Wii U.

This makes me extremely sad but doesn't surprise me at all. In a lot of ways, the Wii U is Nintendo's Dreamcast; an amazing system that was sadly overshadowed by technically superior competition.

I still love my Wii U, and I'm proud to have 60+ titles on my shelf (most of which are actually good games). RIP you confused, beautiful, little black box. I'll still love you.

I remember reading articles that said the gamepad would have been better as just an add-on for the Wii. I thought that was a stupid idea at the time. In hindsight, it would have been so much more profitable.

@holygeez03 Captain Toad machine

The Wii U just didnt know how to be marketed and how to use its own gimmicks. The presence of said gimmicks scared off 3rd parties, and the eShop was handled horribly in comparison to the Wiishop.

The Wii U will not longer be a vegetable. "The end of an era?" Nope.. Just the end of watching the Wii U suffer.

@holygeez03 Ugh, Bayonetta 2 and Xenoblade X machine.

Price cut! Please give us a freaking price cut! I am NOT spending $300 on a console that is considered a failure and being replaced next March!

@technotreegrass That was the most ridiculous thing about its whole lifespan. Nintendo's refusal to cut the price year in and year out. At most it should be 200$ now but I bet it would've sold better had it been that price for the last 2 years.

That sucks. Oh, well. At least I had mine since launch.

Still, it could have lasted much longer...

@Manjushri It's difficult to summarize how misguided this comment is, so I'm just going to highlight the fact that it is and leave it at that.

@Spoony_Tech When the Basic Pack was being phased out in favor of the Premium Pack a chain of stores in the Netherlands sold the Basic Pack including Wii Party and a Wii Remote for €170, if my memory serves me. That was quite a deal!

If you can get a Wii U on sale, I would recommend it. Not for the console itself, but for the games. So many great games... R.I.P. 2012-2016

What is Emily Rogers job anyway?

I don't play much console games. Bought a Wii U with literally one game. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. With life I just don't get to play much. But amazing game. I love the Wii U. I mainly played on the pad, while having the Wii U in another room. I was fascinated by the fact that I was playing such graphically advanced handheld in sense, that didn't even get hot.

Nintendo always seemed to release things that I want. Months before the Wii came out, I wanted a new way to use a mouse. Months before the Wii U came out, I wanted a dumb tablet that controlled my powerful PC.

Wii U will celebrate 4th Anniversary in Bitter farewell.
That makes me want to sing "It's Hard To Say Goodbye" by Celine Dion & Paul Anka + Goodbye by Spice Girls.

@Manjushri

Lol. Settle down there. We have no idea of any of the specifics yet to make that kind of call.

In regards to the gamepad comment, my biggest complaint was that I couldn't take it outside of a few feet from the console itself. The Switch completely solves that, and is the reason why I'm excited for it. I can play Splatoon upstairs while my wife plays PS4 downstairs–that's awesome.

This time, they aren't selling second screen gaming, they're selling that you can game anywhere. There's a monumental difference, not just in concept, but in the marketing itself. I'm not saying it's going to be a success, as there's a lot we don't know; but the "same" you say? Definitely not.

Very sad to see, but it was expected to pull the plug earlier than usual. The best Wii U will be a legacy system.

@Spoony_Tech $200 woulda been the sweet spot a year ago for me, but now...that much for a discontinued console is kinda hard to swallow, especially if you only wanna play a handful of games like I do.

I was hoping they would go to £80 like the GameCube did in the UK towards the end of its life. Looks like the only way is up for the price now!

It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose and that is what unfortunately happened with the Wii U. Rest in peace, you were a great console and I will still enjoy your games for years to come.

My love, there's only U in my life (plus my N3DS, obvs)
The only thing that's bright

My first love,
U're every breath that I take
U're every step I make

And I, I want to share
All my love with U
No one else will do (well, 13 mill did, but you deserved so much more)

And your games, your games, your games
They tell me how much you care
Ooh yes,
U will always be
My endless love

Two screens,
Two screens that beat as one
Our lives have just begun (trust me - check my backlog)

Forever (Oh)
I'll hold you close in my arms
I can't resist your charms

And love, oh love
I'll be a fool, for you I'm sure
U know I don't mind (Oh)
U know I don't mind

'Cause U,
U mean the world to me (Oh)
I know I know
I've found, I've found in U
My endless love

Thanks for Mario Kart 8 - I'll never forget U xxx

@gcunit Gundammit that is one cheesy post, lol I love it. XD

Will have to keep an eye out if I can grab a second one at a good price.

@gcunit you won't have to forget it for a while yet... if they port it to Switch

@ottospooky How are they gonna port the Wii U to Switch?

@rjejr Thanks for the heads-up about Target. I may finally cave in and get the PS4. Honestly, I'm more of a Xbox guy than a PS4 guy but who cares!

So, with 13.4M Wii Us sold through September, how many units do you think will have been produced total?

Nintendo REALLY wants to make sure there are no Wii U's on retail shelves when the Switch lands in March.

I have no regrets buying my Wii U. I've got my money worth playing 3D World, Smash, Kart, Donkey Kong, Splatoon, and many others.

@ElkinFencer10 I completely agree with you. I feel about the Wii U very much the same way I felt when the Dreamcast came to a quick end.

I loved many games on the Wii U - Xenoblade, Splatoon, Mario Kart, Smash, 3d world, and lots more. It will played in this house for a while still.

I'm getting one more WiiU to leave in the box to be possibly opened or sold at a later time. My question is, with these consoles that need updating and the such how will they fair years down the line ala nes,snes,Genesis etc

@luigifan624 Why do they need updating?

@SanderEvers
Perhaps not compared to fifth gen consoles or even the Playstation 2, but when you compare it to the Gamecube and the Xbox (which, along with the PS2, were its contemporaries), it was EXTREMELY underpowered.

@gcunit I mispoke. I didn't mean that the nes and such needs updating, but all the current consoles. Like right now I can go home and start playing my nes, snes, Genesis, dreamcast with no problem. But day 10+ years down the line I'm feeling nostalgic and come across a ps4, Xbox one, get it home go to fire it up and get that screen that says it needs an update to continue to be played. And of course they have been long forgotten

Zero regrets, still got a host of unopened games to play through, when I find the time, I'm looking at you Captain Toad. Love it or loathe it, I will always think fondly of the GamePad. I will always remember the first time the tension built up in ZombiU when looking down in my inventory with Zombies encroaching, I remember thinking 'that's how a second screen can add to the gameplay'. Or the fun in Luigi's Ghost Mansion. Shame only a handful of games found ways to genuinely add to the game play using the second screen. Anyways I won't be selling my WiiU that's for sure.

If the wii u sold 65 million consoles I truly believe I would have enjoyed the games more

@dkxcalibur I'm going to be debating it all week myself. $255 now makes me think some good deals will abound Black Friday, and I'm still hoping for a PS4 Pro deal, though that looks unlikely as they still haven't announced a bundle game for it. EU has 3 nice PS4 bundles coming up. Oh, and it's supposed to be a family gift under the Christmas tree, if I could open it today I would have bought 1 yesterday. Trying to avoid Uncharted 4 spoilers hasn't been easy.

@gcunit I was referring specifically to Mario Kart - rumours strongly suggest they'll port it.

But now you mention it, thinking about it the Switch is in a way itself an enhanced port of the Wii U!

Small but great library, yet the console itself was rather meh. RIP.

10 years from now people will be paying good money for the Wii U as a collectable. The fact that it has a very high ratio of quality games in its small line-up will make it very appealing as a full-set collectable system.

Back in the day, selling 20 000 home computers was a success, and a lot of people made games with that installed base (it was sometimes one guy making something in his bedroom).

I thought they'd ended it in 2013 personally...

It dies young to become legend.

@rjejr I was holding out on buying either PS4 or Xbone despite wanting to play FallOut 4, Gears 4, FIFA, Uncharted, Star Wars, Battlefront, Mirror's Edge, Metal Gear, because I don't plan on buying a system now, and then again in March!

Aww poor Wii U great little machine with fantastic games.

This week is the end of an era. Some have hated this Nintendo; some have loved it, but whatever it was, the future is looking bright with the great sun of the Wii U- the Switch.

@Wexter I think you meant Super Mario Maker machine.

@Equinox: Technically, marketing is responsible for all of those things you listed. It's easy to forget that a company's market department practically designs everything about a product in an indirect way. Yeah, Nintendo has engineers, but they're mostly building prototypes around end goals that the marketing department came up with after analyzing the market. I'm certain they're responsible for 1) the name, and I'm sure it was their idea to make the Wii U unique at the expense of power, hence it being 2) underpowered. This naturally causes 3) lack of third party support, which therefore results in 4) no games for months.

@dkxcalibur "and then again in March!"

That's the spirit!! I don't foresee a Switch in my home until Christmas 2018 when I'll finally have a better feel for the games. Which seems like a long time away, but is only about 20 months after launch. Which is about how long it took until now for Ntineod to unveil it from when they first told us about it.

So many great times with my Wii U. Friday night MK8 races with 'net friends. Bayonetta 1 and 2. Curling up on the couch with Captain Toad. Beating NSMBU with my then 6-year olds (shouting "Bubble! Bubble!" half the time!) . And I still get chills thinking about Splatoon's Global Test Fire and finally making it into a battle. So many great gaming memories.

For those who do not have, I'm guessing there will be an ebay sell off of functioning systems right about the time the Switch launches. And most Wii U games will be dirt cheap.

Most rumours have turned out to be true! I have two Wii-U's I did my bit Nintendo. In some ways I'd love to find a dirt cheap brand new Wii-U and I would buy and keep it. Maybe I'd pay £150.00 for one? probably.

The Wii U's 4th birthday is only a few weeks away, and already console production has ended. I feel kinda bad for the Wii U, it had some great exclusive games but in the end that isn't enough in this industry.

Hopefully the Switch will fare better.

Inevitable news.
I think I am ok with it. Too bad for those who wont be able to afford the switch right away and will get only one game for 2017. At least it will be a good game.

@SmaMan
Havent thought about that. Do you think the eshop will be gone soon? What about online gaming? What about wii u to wii u system transfers?

@bluedogrulez
Same here. I hope to get a third one this month☺

What a shame. Could of been so much more than what it was. Still a good console but Nintendo really failed in all areas. For me particularly, the virtual console was such a missed opportunity in sooo many ways. I felt when Wii U first launched that the vc would blow away what the original Wii had but was the complete opposite what with Genesis, master system, neo geo and virtual console arcade missing from Wii U. I'm hoping the switch brings all those systems back and then some!! Nintendo needs to realize that retro is still big and they probably do to an extent with the release of the nes mini, but on consoles is where I and many other gamers like their classics best!! There's just thousands of classics to be had If Nintendo can make an effort and pursue the owners of those classic IP's like Atari, Activision, Colecovision etc! Atari by the way, just released classic compilation discs retail and digital, on PS4 and Xbox one. Hamster doing a great job of putting out many classics on the PS4 as well. Nintendo should be talking to these and many other companies to give their classic games a new life!! Oh well here's hoping it will improve with the switch!!

It has legacy if not longevity:

Compared to what we all hoped it is a failure:

• amazing online, tons of third-party, catch-up in hardware to be on par with multiplat AAA releases, etc. just didn't happen. So it fell behind.

That said, hard to call these moments failures: 8-player smash, Luigi's death stare, finally Earthbound Zero, Tropical Freeze, the groundbreaking Mario Maker

It has some of the best gaming moments in the last 10 years right there they were just too few and far between. It has sort of a gamecube feel to it in that way. Not as lucrative as SNES for "all-time 1st and 3rd party gems" but I wouldn't give up Luigi's death stare for anything. lol These contributions can never be taken away so it has legacy even if it does NOT have longevity.

its sad that this system didn't get the love it deserves.......ok the GAMES were amazing. the SYSTEM was bleh.

@Andrzej777 Considering the Wii Shop Channel is still running, I think the eShop will be about for a while. The Wii WiFi Connection stuff only really ended due to Gamespy shutting down.

I wonder what happens 10+ years from now if someone breaks their gamepad or it stops working?

It was never sold separately, and I can't imagine third party companies picking up the mantle and producing their own versions.

I'm obviously too late to say this but... incoming Emily Rogers flaming comments.

..bummer..try this..

...if that doesn't work..
..it's time to Make the Switch...

@GeminiSaint No, the hardware was pretty flawed too. Great concept, poor execution (and marketing acted like they felt the same way).

@ghostjoshu if the wii u would have sold 65 million i'm sure there would have been more games on it to enjoy.

So this week my beloved Wii U becomes a collector's item. I certainly have my gripes with the U, but I really liked it and I think it's funeral only adds to it's charm.

Finish him!

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Patently false.

Another great console from Nintendo with some amazing games. I look forward to the next one.

I'm surprised they hadn't already stopped, but I guess they need to sell something before pulling the plug.

Much like the N64 & Cube before it, the WiiU is bound to be recognized as a great, but under appreciated system. I have no plans on selling it's great games and look forward to playing them again for years to come.

From what I see prices are already going up. German amazon has a shop selling the party u basic pack for 400 eur. Swell.

Wii U hardware was a piece of excretion that could barely run its own operating system
......the software however was in most cases great. I enjoyed miverse and all the classics people have listed above. With the Switch Nintendo needs to have created a system that does justice to the great minds that make games for it. When people say the Wii U is actually a great system. I assume they mean the software on it and not the make up of the actual hardware......day 1 buyer here by the way. I remember the day one 2 hour firmware patch like it was yesterday

@tjhiphop Proof? So maybe at a push the Wii U sells 20,000 a week. It's still abysmal. 9,000 in the US, 3,000 in Japan and 8,000(no way does it sell that number but just to round things up) in Europe. That's being optimistic. Sales numbers are only going in one direction and they've got to sell the units already in the wild.

@Antray1984 No profanity, thanks.

I still play on my Wii U and still like it besides the crash issues it sometimes has...

It has great games i still enjoy like Paper Mario color splash.

@RatKing64 I'm a huge collector of consoles and games, and that's exactly why I'm getting as many Wii U games as possible before I have to hunt for them later on.

@Manjushri "Console fails totally, so what do they do? Make the same console, only this time you can take the game pad outside."

What are you talking about? The Switch is nothing like the Wiiu. It just retains the Wiiu's best feature: off TV play, and makes it better.

WIIU
Home Console
Ultra-Density Discs
Screened multifunctional Gamepad
Dual Screen functionality
Localised off TV game streaming
Motion control functionality
Touchscreen functionality
Face Camera functionality
AMD/PowerPC Tech

SWITCH
Home console
High Capacity Game Cards
Traditional game pad
Removable Joy-Cons
Touchscreen functionality?
Motion functionality?
True Handheld Mode
Limitless portability
Portable Offline Multiplayer
Nvidia/GeForce/Tegra Tech

As soon as the Switch was announced; actually, as soon as rumors of new hardware started floating around, the WU was already looking towards its death.

Like many have said, this is just a rumor, but probably true. I can't see Nintendo wanting this on shelves, when NS launches.

Someone within the company did say that you should pick up a Wiiu while you can. So, this rumor could have merit.

Nice games ... awful console spec and OS

The prices are so high on eBay and Amazon ... when Nintendo will cut off the price like what they did to Wii and GameCube !! I would buy another one to keep it for my collection of Nintendo since I collect everything from Nintendo

sigh

At the end of November, it will be Wii U's 4th year. Isn't that crazy?? It's only turning four years old and it's done. I hope Nintendo still support it with Nintendo Network, because frankly, I'm happy to play Wii U until late 2017. Then I'll think about Switching to Switch.

It's sad the system died so quickly but I gotta say for its short time out it got some decent Wii-U only software. It's just to bad 3rd party devs wouldn't get on board. I ended up trading my Wii-U for A new 3ds with a copy of Xenoblade. The girl I traded with got a tremendous deal. My Wii-U was given to me so I felt good about paying it forward. Other than Xenoblade there really wasn't anything of interest on Wii-U for me. RIP Wii-U! Can't wait for Switch and the trip back to simplistic gaming with proper game controllers. I think Switch is going to be awesome

You know what I'd like: I'd like Nintendo to assure people that the Switch will have something like a ten year lifespan much like the last few consoles from the likes of Sony and Microsoft have basically had (even after newer consoles have released)—and this is something those companies have gone on record and made clear to consumers and fans that they're going to get when they buy a new Xbox or PlayStation branded console. That would be a nice way to build back some of the brand confidence that I feel has definitely been lost among many potential Nintendo consumers over the last few gens of the company having these shorter console lifespans and basically dropping its old systems like bricks as soon as its newer system comes along. Customers need to feel like they're buying into something that's going to reward them for many years to come and not just getting another potentially underpowered and under-supported Nintendo console that might once again be dropped in a small handful of years. These kinds of things are important, and I think modern consumers are more aware of them and sensitive to them than ever. I think Nintendo would do well to understand this and take it seriously because surely many people who bought a Wii U must be feeling pretty burned right about now, having bought a machine that's basically done with in under five years (and was pretty much dead long before that even), and that's not the way to get people to feel confident about buying whatever new consoles it's putting out next. Let's not become the next "SEGA" as it were—we all know how that turned out.

@impurekind feel the same way. Summed it up perfectly

@WilliamCalley That is my worry. I can still play my original NES but the tanlet controller being required for the system to work is a huge achilles heel for longevity in the wii u's case. Until I see how nintendo will fix this issue, im not touching the switch.

For the love of God, people, HARDWARE PRESERVATION!

Go out and buy a Wii U today! But don't touch it, just stash it in your closet for years!

Go! Take one home to call your own!

THERE ARE PRECIOUS DAYS LEFT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!

ACT NOW.

@impurekind I dont feel burned as I had a blast with my wii u. My biggest issue is how nintendo will handle tablet controller issues for people from here on out. I dont mind gimmick systems as long as they have legs, but the tablet controller is a huge weakness since the wii u is worthless without it. That focus on getting early buzz with gimmicks and making those gimmicks very weak to the test of time is making me have no hype about the next gimmick console.

Personally I have no regrets buying it but, like only a mother can love a ?()£&@ kid, so can only a fanboy of the highest order truly believe this disaster of a system was something special. But each to their own.

For Nintendo this system resulted in the first financial losses in it's history.
No matter how much some of their fans may love it, that deep cut delivered by the WiiU will leave a scar for the company that will never ever go away.

Ahh hearing that the Wii U is finally on its way out so soon does make me sad. I remember hearing rumours of the upcoming replacement for Wii in 2011 and being ecstatic to play on this mysterious new system.

I know the Wii U was a subject of ridicule for many, but when the system did something new & original, it did it amazingly. (Splatoon, Mario Maker, Star Fox, to name a few)

@Equinox Stores need to make space for the Switch. I got a New 3DS XL for $100 because Gamestop needed to make space for the first standard N3DS release in NA.

@technotreegrass I would buy another one if they cut the price.

@BinaryFragger

Yeah, I'm with ya there. Don't get me wrong, I have loved gaming on the Wii U (particularly for Splatoon), but the "second screen" was so shoehorned into so many games. I'm glad that the one useful thing that will survive on the Switch is essentially the "off tv play" mode. It was such a good selling point for the system, but Nintendo had a hard time communicating that to families. I think the Switch has addressed this very well so far.

The Wii U was a good idea on paper. Taking the idea of two screens from the DS and 3DS, and merging it with the idea of iPads was a great concept, but as we've seen, Nintendo didn't even seem to know what to do with it half the time.

All said and done, I'm hoping the Switch takes all the good ideas from the Wii U, and improves the cons of said system considerably. I like what I see so far, but until we know more we can't judge it yet.

Will always love my Wii U but it was dead at the end of 2014 when MK8 and SSBU didn't push consoles out the door. The next E3 in 2015 was poopy and the NX appeared early 2016. It's been dead for a while. What a fantastic library of AAA games, though. Mark my words, in 10 years the Wii U will be very collectible.

I'm hoping to snag a second Wii U when the prices drop and stores are trying to get rid of them. I want a back up Gamepad for down the road.

@rjejr "Target has 15% off PS4 this week with Cartwheel, thats $255 for a Slim with Uncharted 4, for anybody looking to play video games now."

Wow, that's harsh! But also true. I have my 3DSes, but Wii U is dead when it comes to new releases; only BOTW to come. RIP Wii U.

Even I thought about getting a PS4, but when I checked the playtime, I have 200 hours on Wii U and a massive backlog and 5000+ hours across 3DS systems (still with a massive backlog). Switch will be perfect for me, but PS4 looks sweet too.

It's a great console and I highly recommended it. Good first party and virtual console.

@gatorboi352
I don't know...
Ever since the Nintendo 64 era*, Nintendo has never been known for having the most powerful hardware when compared to their competitors' offerings -Sony and Microsoft.
(*sure, the N64 might have been more powerful than the PS1 in some respects, but a number of bottlenecks held it back)

I loved my Wii U. Got me back into gaming after nearly 20 years of really not playing any. It gave me and family thousands of hours of entertainment. Loved using it to surf and to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime. I have two, but I am thinking of keeping another one locked up for down the road.

They better release Wii U Classic Edition/ Mini in 30 years!

Awesome system. I still and always will love it. Some of the very best games on any system are available only on WiiU. As was the case for their previous systems.

I don't understand some of the comments about the hardware. I have never and I mean NEVER had ONE Nintendo console fail on me EVER. Starting with the nes and the Gameboy. Some of you guys and gals need to stop putting your drinks on your consoles. I had THREE Xbox 360 failures while 2 of my friends had their ps3's fail on them twice. I'm pretty confident that my WiiU and N3ds will outlast the consoles made by the other guys. Nintendo did rush the system a little but after the patch it ran nice and smooth. Nintendo always makes great hardware. They left chasing after horsepower years ago.

I agree that they absolutely need to change up their horrendous marketing. Some people didn't even know there was a new system out. Or if they had heard of the WiiU they thought it was a tablet for the Wii. Parents were heard telling their kids "you already have a Wii".(and those kids were boys badum bum ching!)

Some of the games are going to skyrocket in price. Two examples are Bayonetta 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Get em while they're reasonably priced. WiiU isn't dead in my home. My home is a haven for everything Nintendo and video games.

@Tiredman

Yup.

There will literally be no way for someone to get another gamepad in the future since they were never sold individually.

The Wii U didn't get me excited to buy and play games for it almost at all, unlike every previous Nintendo console. I think the one and only Wii U game that ever truly got me excited to play it was Rayman Legends... So for me, it was a Rayman and web browser machine for a the first year, and just a web browser machine the next two years, until I finally got my first smartphone last year... Not much point in going back now, the original version of Miiverse complimented Rayman Legends much better than the current version. Now my Wii U is going to serve a... AHEM... Slightly different purpose: The ultimate retro Nintendo machine! (For a friend)

And yeah, people are going to have a hard time finding GamePads 10 years from now, just like people will have a hard time finding Sandwitch mobiles 15 years from now. That's the downside of not using a simpler controller from a historical perspective... Can't reproduce a unique control method so easily.

On the hardware preservation side, I'm a bit worried about unused units sitting around in closets. Wouldn't their batteries eventually die, rendering even a "still factory sealed" system inoperable anyway?

@SteamedSquid That's exactly right. One of the best comparisons on this issue is between the Wii and Wii U:

Wii Remotes that remain intact actually improve in usability over time as rechargeable AA battery technology improves. Even the original Wii Remote that came packed with the console in 2006 is no lesser of a controller 10 years later as a result. People will probably still be able to use the surviving Wii Remotes 10, 20, 30, or even 40 years from now.

Meanwhile, the Wii U is going to be forever stuck with a proprietary, outdated lithium ion battery that Nintendo will soon stop producing, and then stop selling, leaving only the few third party options remaining. Eventually, those will sell out and not be reproduced due to lack of demand.

After the next 10-15 years, anyone wanting to revisit their Wii U will likely be forced to plug the GamePad into it's proprietary electrical outlet charger to use it. Yet, that is just delaying the inevitable... After the next 30 years, almost every one of those proprietary batteries will have already burst or died. I don't think it will even be physically possible to play a Wii U in it's originally intended state 40 years from now. Meanwhile, there will probably still be surviving NES and Game Boy machines, still going...

This. This is why we need emulators.

Kind of sad, but not really to me. I ended up playing the Wii and even the Gamecube more, and still...the Gamecube ended up being my favorite nintendo console to date (not including the handhelds) and I still have no idea why except that it was loaded with games that I loved to play. The Wii had lots of great games (if you could look past most of the shovel ware), but it didn't keep the lasting re-play value for me (at least not yet). For me, systems that I end up playing 10 or more years down the line, are the ones that I count as great systems (I'll find out later with the Wii U and I guess the PS3), which is why I'll always have the fondness for the NES, Genesis, Gamecube and whatever others will join them later. Hopefully, the Wii U's pad lasts for quite some many years, but I have doubts on it, since it's basically a portable television screen. Somehow, I think the pad will die rather quickly and I'll be left with a system that does nothing...this actually happened to a couple of my older systems...my Game Gear's speakers stopped, and then the screen just showed black, but the system was on...the N64 is starting to get like the NES with the cartridges and the Dreamcast's lid doesn't stay closed (have to place a magazine on top of it). Eventually, all the systems go through this, so it's always good to have a second one just in case...too bad transferring downloaded games will be difficult by that time.

I still treat my Wii U and other Nintendo machines like a family members. It's like Ohana from Lilo and Stitch.

Sold mine about 15mths ago. Perfect timing as it was just past its peak and I recouped a hefty amount of the cost. Had a lot of fun with MK8, but I could tell things were on a downward slope.
I'll be buying Switch day one, but some of it is concerning.... like supposed 3rd party support yet another underpowered console. We've been down that track before..

Wouldn't surprise me! The last few times we heard from Kimishima he said that he thinks Switch won't destroy the 3DS. But not a word about Wii u, Nintendo is done with it!

As for the Switch: I am a bit worried about third-party support. Ok, I know there is already quite a list of developers supporting the Switch. But I hoped that after the reveal developers would come out of every hiding-cave to announce games. But its awfully quite. There could still be a embargo, though...

I wouldn't mind getting other Wii u before it's to late. Just to have 🤗.

I loved mine for monster hunter....with voice chat

I was kinda hoping they would do one last bundle with Breath of the Wild. But if that's not going to happen then I suppose I should look for a new spare Wii U as I have a fair few games to get through. The big question is tho how long will the Wii U support last for machine and games?

@Tiredman I hear ya and I agree. I actually really like what Nintendo did with the Wiimote, the dual screens and glasses-free 3D on DS/3DS, and the tablet-like GamePad for the most part—not necessarily how it used them in all cases but just the technologies and what they could bring to gaming in and of themselves—but I don't like the idea of most/all of those things just getting dropped like bricks when the Switch comes out. That kind of says to me, and probably many other people too, that they actually were just gimmicks after all, at least as far as Nintendo is concerned, and not new industry standards like the d-pad, analog sticks, four face buttons in a diamond configuration, shoulder buttons, rumble feedback, etc. Not the best way to build future trust in whatever new hardware and "gimmick" you're about to put out there. I was honestly dreaming once upon a time that the Switch was going to try and incorporate all those things I've mentioned above into a single and neat system that brings all of Nintendo's cool ideas together and actually celebrates them (and that applies to how I think about the Virtual Console too, so I'd want to see the games from every single past Nintendo console supported on there but it looks like that pretty much can't happen for DS/3DS and Wii U games because of how Switch is designed to function)

@Equinox How much is it right now?

@Lord They made a monster hunter for Wii U?

@Sakura "for anybody looking to play video games now."

Ah man, I always forget to put the word "home" in there somewhere. Of course the other option this holiday to play vidoegames is for an Apple iPod touch 6th Gen for $199 to play Super Mario Run, Nintendo's best selling game this holiday. It doesn't matter how well Pokemon does, SMR will sell more. I think there are literally a billion iDevices in the world that can play it vs 60 million 3DS.

But for home video game playing on the TV, Wii U is just about done. I'm playing Lego City Undercover, Paper Mario Colour Splash and Bayonetta 2 now, planning on having them all done before Christmas for my PS4 present. The only thing that kept me from getting a PS4 last year was my $80 XCX collectors edition. If Zelda U was out in early December on Wii U and on Switch in March, I think they might have been able to keep a few more people from jumping ship. But it's the holidays, my family needs video games. Had Switch been out in November maybe we would have gotten that. But no new games on Wii U, no Switch until March, we need a PS4 now. Switch can wait until whenever, Christmas 2018 maybe. Who knows. I think Christmas 2017 will be a PSVR.

@polivar4 yes it was a port of the Wii version due to poor Wii sales

@rjejr I really don't blame you at all. Wii U is dead in the water except for Nindies, Switch is an unknown as far as games are concerned, PS4 is a sure thing - it makes sense.

I'm not very interested in Super Mario Run, even when it releases on Android. I'm not keen on runners and my phone's battery barely lasts a day as it is. Might be good for Nintendo, though, and maybe good for the industry as they aren't going for a microtransaction model. That's assuming they get the price right and an apk isn't easy to find.

PSVR is also a "no" for me, but that's because it makes me feel ill. I'd be interested in the Star Trek game otherwise.

I think I'll be fine with my backlog and the Switch, but I know that's not the case for many and the other consoles are offering decent options. Nintendo needs to make a stronger case.

@Lord how much is a copy of that bad boy going for these days? I don't have a Wii U I'm asking...for a friend...

@polivar4 about $11-17 or £18 it's a great game online with voice chat.

@Lord thanks for the info. Love your avatar by the way Kung Fury all the way!