Following a decline in sales and reports from Nintendo’s Japanese site that production would soon halt, Wii U production officially ends in Japan.
The history of theWii Uhas been a long and interesting one, with an unfortunate ending in some regions. Withsales droppingand the confirmation that console production would sooncease completely in Japan, things have been looking quite dim for the troubledNintendoconsole. Things have taken another dark turn, as the Japanese Nintendo site has confirmedWii Uproduction will end within that country.
As reported byKotaku, the announcement that Wii U production is officially ending in Japan was first found under the Wii U hardware section of thesite. In a banner above the two currently-available Wii U versions – one inspired bySplatoonand one standard model – it specifies that the doing away is only domestic. The banner has been understood to be translated from Japanese to English as, “Wii U has finished all production in Japan.” No additional comment has been given from other regions, specifically Nintendo of America, on whether production there will end as well.
Unfortunately, this news does not come as a total surprise to many. Rumors had long been circulating that Wii U production in Japan would soon come to a stop, and despite twice denying the truth (once inearly 2016and again inlate 2016), Nintendo of Japan later made the difficult announcement confirming the console’s bitter end. Nintendo executiveShigeru Miyamoto once mentionedprice point as causing poor sales for the Wii U, which many have identified as a major factor in the console’s decline.
The Wii U’s struggles have not been region-specific, however, as the console has not fared well in North America either. In an interviewwith GameSpot, Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime dove into why players didn’t pick up the Wii U upon its launch, putting it down to a lack of a strong “clarity of the consumer proposition.” He also stated that the company’s forthcoming Nintendo Switch console is “clear” and “compelling,” enough tooutperform the Wii U.
This seems to align with the general mindset regarding the Wii U, with many players stating they could no longer continue to wait for the console to catch up. Others grew tired of the Wii U falling back on flashy game releases to recapture an audience’s attention. Simply put, far too many players hadgiven up on the Wii U, and were turning to other consoles. Consumer disappointment and poor market performance marred the Wii U, making the early projection that the console would reach25 million units soldover its lifetime seem like a pipe dream.
Despite its impending end, it looks like the Wii U will go out on a high note in Japan. After the Nintendo Switch launch event a few weeks ago, Fils-Aime confirmed toPolygonthatThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwould be thelast game developed by Nintendofor the Wii U. However, Fils-Aime’s statement also hinted at a downfall for the console in North America: “We really are at the end of life forWii U.”
