Report: Nintendo Wii U production ending this week
Another report has come out claiming Nintendo will be ending the production of its Wii U prior to the launch of the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo will be ending production of its Wii U console at the end of the week, Eurogamer is reporting.
The publication cites “multiple sources” with having confirmed with it the sudden end to the production of the Wii U.
While Nintendo unveiled its next home console, the Nintendo Switch, in late October, it’s still surprising to hear the company cease production of another current-gen console prior to the launch of a new one. Over the years, multiple console manufacturers have eventually ceased production of their older consoles, but it often comes several months or even years after a new one has launched.
Today’s news comes several months after Nintendo claimed a report published by Nikkei, which suggested Wii U production would end in 2016, was false.
The Nintendo Wii U launched back in November 2012, and while it was able to sell a few million units during its launch, the console has long had trouble securing any noteworthy sales. It didn't help Nintendo had serious issues securing third-party support from the get-go.
We’ve reached out to Nintendo for comment and will update our story accordingly.
[Via Eurogamer]
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replyDaniel Perez posted a new article, Report: Nintendo Wii U production ending this week
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A sad day. I honestly don't know why it wasn't more successful.
People mention how gimmicky it is but to me it feels much more traditional than the Wii. The Gamepad is giant, but in 95% of titles it's used as a standard controller. And you can use the Pro controller in every title.
The games themselves are so good and look fantastic considering the hardware specs. Just for the Mario games alone it's worth the purchase IMO, let alone two top-notch Zelda remakes and the upcoming one.-
I talked to so many people when it came out that thought it was a peripheral for the Wii. No one even knew it was a new console. Between that and a lackluster launch lineup it was doomed from the start.
Which is all too bad because it's so much better than my Bloodborne machine aka the ps4 that I've never used for a goddam thing except that game. Meanwhile I've played a dozen awesome games on the Wii U. -
Best thing to come out of Wii U will be Switch.
It looks like they finally went whole hog and made a self-contained Nintendo iPad... which is probably what they should have done for Wii U.
Never quite understood the WiiU... it always felt like a half measure to me. It had a nice use case in some ways... ie, play WiiU games without monopolizing the TV.
But Switch sounds like the true that should have succeeded the Wii. Battery life will be the critical factor, IMO. Too satisfy say... 8 hours of gaming time, I imagine they will have to make a heavy beast, and thats why its got two solid side-handles to hold on to it. And a kick-stand to set-it-the-fuck-down-cuz-my-nerd-arms-are-tired. -
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There are three legit great Mario games on the console. Zeldas happen once per gen and it's getting one at its EOL. Metroid is not a priority for Nintendo regardless of console.
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It felt like a logical iteration from Galaxy 1/2, sharing way more in common with 2 than with 1.
Later in this video he shows the progression in the series and how the design got more and more focused: https://youtu.be/dBmIkEvEBtA
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The courses in the bonus worlds (Star, Mushroom, Flower, and Crown) are where the real difficulty is. World Crown and specifically Champion's Road is probably the hardest course they've ever made.
It seems like it was done this way so that most people could beat Bowser and "win" the game. After that is "the real Dark Souls starts here" section of the game that tests skilled players. Maybe if Bowser was moved to the end of World Crown it would feel like the game has a real challenge, but it would also turn some people off because the star unlock requirements and difficulty of the courses themselves is so extreme.
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It launched with Super Mario Bros U.
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Pretty much. I pretty much never use the gamepad screen.
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I disagree, but then I haven't cared about horsepower in a Nintendo console since ever.
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Poor marketing and the exodus of third party publishers solidified it's place as a "secondary" console.
That means:
- no one knows what it is or will be confused about it altogether
- no games to play outside of the handful of first party titles
- that it's best to get another console first before considering a Wii U
Personally, I never found the display on the gamepad to be useful and actually think it's annoying since it was something else to manage while playing. I get that it's convenient when wanting to play without using the TV but I'd prefer playing the game in a higher resolution and better display if it's a home console. -
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They really should have waited longer instead of being first to market. Also the name sucked because it didn't make it sound like a new system. My mom thought it was a new controller.
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Probably some of the worst marketing for a game console ever. Hell, even the reveal was vague. There were a ton of people here asking if it was a new console, or just an accessory/peripheral as it was being revealed. Then couple that with basically no commercials or advertisements after launch (and barely any before launch). Another thing that didn't help was the lack of third-party support after like six months of availability.
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I would buy this if there was some evidence that the Wii U's problem was that it sold really well to core gamers out of the gate but then failed to grow to a less informed group of customers from there. My memory is the first 2 holiday seasons of sales were disastrously bad to a degree that suggested even hardcore gamers weren't interested in the product and I have a really hard time buying that they didn't actually know what the Wii U was by then.
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You make a good point. I wonder if it was that, plus a lack of a big launch title for more knowledgeable gamers? So bad marketing, followed by poor launch titles, and bad word of mouth had soured it so that even when it did get those big games, no one cared. Also about that time new Sony and MS launches were imminent so once it had a good library, it was overshadowed by the hype/controversy of the other two.
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A big problem is that it took 18 months for its library to really fill out, and by then it was too late. If you bought a Wii U for the 2014 holidays then it was insane how many games were available, many of them the best of this console generation. If you bought one in the first year then there really wasn't that much and you were pretty much waiting as the games trickled out. This really did a lot to taint the console's image.
Looking ahead to the Switch, development on new AAA Nintendo games for Wii U ended in 2014. Nothing new outside of filler games like Mario Tennis were announced at E3 2015. Everything else they showed that year was already announced 2013 and 2014.
Nintendo's A-teams have presumably been working on other games in that time so let's hope the Switch has a solid library for launch. -
Their hardware gimmick didn't pay off at all this time. Their lack of 3rd party support burned them same as with the Wii U, except they didn't have a wildly successful hardware gimmick to pick up the slack. Likewise their 1st party games were way too late, but they didn't have a wildly successful hardware gimmick to pick up the slack in the meantime.
They're ignoring 3rd parties to a degree that essentially means your Nintendo console is your 2nd platform, because you have to have something else to play the majority of big games from non-Nintendo developers. So your Nintendo console needs to be a) quite cheap (since it's on top of the cost of an existing system that's probably got more games than you have the time and money for) b) filled with great Nintendo games or something else extremely unique to justify the purchase. The Wii managed both of those. The Wii U did neither. By refusing to court 3rd parties Nintendo requires their consoles hit a very specific mark. -
The fact that there's only a handful of "good" games makes it a hard sale. If I wasn't such a mario/mario kart junky I wouldn't have ever even considered buying one.
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3DS has been the best performing console of this generation and the top selling game this holiday will be on it.
They did a terrible job launching the Wii U, awful marketing and an anemic library for the first year. Nintendo needs to launch Switch with a substantial first year library, even if that means a bunch of Wii U ports, and at $300 or below. Otherwise they're in trouble.-
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You're probably right about a theoretical 4DS selling even worse. But hopefully they find their perfect niche that makes it worthwhile to be a hardware company, something that performs well alongside the new revenue streams from phone games.
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I imagine Nintendo would kill it if they could release a console at the same price point as the 3DS.
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keep in mind when the 3DS released it was at closer to console prices ($250) and did not sell well. They had to do a significant price cut to spur sales (to $170) incurring a per unit loss for awhile. For as well as the 3DS has done that speaks to exactly how valuable people perceive a dedicated portable, and mobile games have only gotten better since then and smartphone/tablet penetration has only increased.
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Damn, that was quick.
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I think the console had a poor evolution. I held out for hopes of the "eventual" 2.0 version of the system with more space or a themed design, which never happened. I think there were plenty of us that were waiting for a 64GB version, that again just never happened.
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I'm pretty sure they said the Switch wasn't going to replace the 3DS/2DS line. They didn't say anything about the Wii-U although I've seen some random fans making those claims. But yes, they will string up a lie like that in order to preserve existing revenue streams and it's a good way to hedge their bets.
If the market refuses to accept the Switch as a handheld game system, Nintendo can just keep happily skipping along with the 3DS and plan for an eventual replacement for it. If the market goes insane for the Switch and the 3DS market dries up, Nintendo can claim victory for the Switch, throw some parties, and retire the 3DS.
It's a cowardly and very conservative tactic for Nintendo to use but it's standard operating procedure for them.
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It's pretty much a full one replacement but with no BC going forward. Though I figure if you own the game digitally you will be able to play them if they allow ports to be made. I hope they do because that's a sensible option for everyone. People can buy the new system in confidence and Nintendo will have a robust library of games to offer.
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I was sort of waiting for this until I saw how few they were going to produce this year. So my thinking is that you'll see some Black Friday deals for $250 or so, but in general they'll be able to go through most of their remaining stock this year.
So last week I went ahead and picked up the 32gb white refurb from their official ebay page. Will start diligently to catch up on the good games now.
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As a collector of most Nintendo games I wonder which games will be the hardest to find in 6 months. Wonderful 101? The new Starfox? Pikmin 3? Xenoblade?
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