If reports are to be believed, then it looks like 2016 will be the end of the line for the Wii U.
According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Nintendo will be ending its production of their home console. While the sales for the system have been extremely disappointing, this will effectively put the final nail in the coffin for the system, and most likely usher in the upcoming NX device. Thanks to gaming analyst Serkan Toto (below), we can see that Nikkei also reported that Nintendo has already stopped producing some Wii U accessories.
1) The Nikkei just reports Nintendo will stop producing Wii U within 2016. It doesn't say they will necessarily start selling NX in 2016.
— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) March 22, 2016
Nikkei is also reporting that Nintendo will fully announce the NX sometime this year (possibly E3?), and while they haven’t said that the new system will release this year, we’ve seen some evidence pointing to that, and with the Wii U now reportedly ceasing production, it would only make sense.
Should this be the end of the Wii U, it would be calling it quits with just 4 years of production under its belt. Only the Sega Dreamcast (discontinued after 2 years) and the original Xbox (discontinued in Japan after 4 years) share such low growth with Nintendo. Unfortunately, they never got the system off the ground as a viable competitor to the likes of Sony and Microsoft, and the fact that many third party developers rarely tried to make games for the system only led to negative associations with it.
While the Wii U still has some quality games coming its way, we’re not sure what’s left for them. As we get closer and closer to June and the upcoming E3, we’ll most likely know more regarding what Nintendo plans to do. As for now, we’re left wondering what the future holds for them.
