Published , by Asif Khan
Published , by Asif Khan
Some people like to say the Nintendo Wii U is dead, but I still have my GamePad plugged in just in case I need to play some Virtual Console titles like F-Zero X or Galaga. It came as quite the surprise to devoted Wii U owners that Nintendo actually pushed a firmware update out to the device today. Nintendo Wii U update version 5.5.4 is live and being pushed out to console owners worldwide.
Nintendo has yet to publish any patch notes, but if it is similar to past updates it will probably be the boilerplate bug fixes, stability tweaks, and overall improvements to user experience. The last Wii U update was pushed out in September 2018, but the console hasn't really seen many new features for nearly five years. Shacknews Head of Video Greg Burke even declared the Wii U dead in an over-the-top video as he sold the console to fund his future Nintendo Switch purchase.
Wii U has been on the mind of many Nintendo fans this week as we head into the release of Super Mario Maker 2. The original game is a Wii U classic and was a shining star on a somewhat dim lineup of titles on the system. For one shining moment, content creators and players turned to the Wii U for Super Mario Maker, and the rest is truly history.
While the Nintendo Switch is getting the new shiny Super Mario Maker 2 this week, I might have to dust off the old Wii U and fire up the original game. While a whole new audience will get to experience the freedom of making Mario levels on Switch later this week, today's random system update is a nice reminder of how quirky and special of a console the Wii U was.