Nintendo Announces The End Of Global Wii U Production

It was found out this Tuesday that Nintendo has ended production of the Wii U console in Japan. Unfortunately, the company then followed up by stating that Wii U production has ended worldwide.

Back in November, Nintendo warned fans that production of the Wii U would “end soon.” This was seen by many as the inevitable end of the console as the company was preparing to officially debut the Nintendo Switch in 2017. At the time, no one really knew when Nintendo was planning to end Wii U production leaving many to simply speculate. Today, those speculations can now be laid to rest.

Nintendo announced the discontinuation of the Wii U on its official website. The company said that production has ended domestically “within Japan,” as translated by Kotaku. Later on, the company then released the following statement: “Wii U production has ended globally.”

The end of Wii U production may just be Nintendo’s way of giving its Switch console the spotlight. Nintendo’s president, Tatsumi Kimishima, did say that the company would be increasing the production of the Switch before it officially launches on March 3, according to the Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki. It seems that the Wii U was the necessary casualty in order to accelerate Switch production.

The Nintendo Switch pre-orders are doing well, so far. It’s already sold out in most major retailers just within a week after pre-orders were made available. The launch of the console is also unique because it’s not being released during the holiday season, as pointed out by Forbes.

The Switch won’t be competing against Microsoft’s Xbox Project Scorpio which is expected to launch later this year. In fact, Nintendo’s new console is actually not competing with any other new console thanks to its March release date.

For people who may still want to get their hands on the Wii U right now, Nintendo of America confirmed back in November that it has already sent all of its Wii U shipments to all retailers in the United States. Customers should contact their preferred retailers for the availability of the Wii U.