Nintendo Puts Final Nail in Wii U’s Coffin

Nintendo has finally said goodbye to the Wii U. The company announced that it would no longer accept official repairs for the console in Japan, the last territory where the service was offered, ending official support and putting an end to the device that debuted in November 2012.

The Nintendo Wii U was discontinued in early 2017, but it wasn’t until 2022 that the process of its permanent cancellation was announced. The console’s online store was closed in March 2023, and its online services were shut down on April 8 of this year.

After the servers were shut down, players were left unable to access multiplayer matches and were limited to playing local games on the Nintendo Wii U. Now, with confirmation that repairs are no longer being offered, the console has been abandoned. completely expelled from the official support of the Asian company.

“As the parts needed for repairs are no longer in stock, we have stopped accepting repairs for Wii U consoles and peripherals effective July 3, 2024,” Nintendo said on X (Twitter). The hardware has also been added to the list of products the company will no longer accept for software or hardware fixes in Japan.

Nintendo Wii U Gets Final Farewell

The Wii U was a rather strange bet on Nintendo’s part and he never finished curling up among the public. While the device itself was not bad, the improvements it offered over the Wii were irrelevant. The trade press of the time described it as a half-baked idea, and fans criticized the manufacturer for not daring to make a bigger technological leap based on the global success of its predecessor.

The Nintendo Wii U has come through the marketplace with more pain than glory. In the little over 4 years it’s been in his possession, Only 13.56 million units sold. A small amount compared to the original Wii, which sold 101.63 million units worldwide.

But that’s not all. The Wii U is a console the worst selling in Nintendo historyeven lower than the GameCube, which reached 21.74 million. And the latter did not even reach half of the units planned for its entire life cycle (50 million).

In any case, Nintendo’s bad experience with the Wii U didn’t last long. With the launch switch In 2017, the company returned to the spotlight and achieved enviable commercial results. It took just one year for the brand’s current console to easily surpass the sales volumes of its predecessor.

Although it was tripping The Nintendo Wii U has amassed a legion of fans around the world. And with official technical support ending, units that are still in good working order are sure to become highly sought after items for collectors and video game history buffs.