A report from Japanese newspaper Nikkei claims that Nintendo has stopped producing some Wii U accessories, and will soon quit making the console altogether.
We may have some bad news to share for the Nintendo faithful. Japanese newspaper Nikkei has claimed, in a report translated by Dr. Serkan Toto on Twitter, that Nintendo is planning to cease production of Wii U consoles by the time 2016 comes to a close. The paper also states that Nintendo has already discontinued a number of Wii U accessories, with hopes of depleting its inventory of them completely in 2016.
The paper did not list which Wii U accessories specifically have been given the axe, but if the report is to be believed, one can assume that basically all Wii U systems and accessories will be phased out over the coming year. Nikkei also fails to specify whether or not controllers and accessories initially intended for the original Wii system, such as Wii remotes, will also be discontinued.
In any case, Nintendo has yet to confirm these reports, so they should be taken with a grain of salt for now. However, it would come as no surprise if these reports are true, considering that the Wii U has been a disappointment after the massive sales success that was its predecessor. In fact, the Wii U just recently passed 12 million total units sold, and with the console supposedly set to be discontinued by the end of the year, that means it is falling way short of its 25 million analyst-predicted lifetime sales.
The Wii U had a somewhat strong start out of the gate, but the lack of third-party support and Nintendo's inability to keep a steady stream of games releasing for the system was ultimately its downfall. Combine those issues with the launch of the Xbox One and the highly successful PlayStation 4, and the Wii U honestly didn't stand a chance when it came to competing in the eighth generation race for console sales.
On the bright side, Wii U's discontinuation will allow Nintendo to focus more of its resources on producing Nintendo NX systems, and if the rumors that the Nintendo NX will release this year are true, Nintendo has probably already started production in some capacity. We will likely see the NX at this year's E3 event, if not sooner, so here's hoping Nintendo is able to avoid the mistakes it made with the Wii U with the company's next console.
Do you think that Nintendo is really going to stop producing Wii U systems this year? Do you think that it's smart for Nintendo to focus all of its attention on the Nintendo NX instead? Do you own a Wii U? If so, do you think the system was a failure, or have you gotten your money's worth from it? Sound off in the comments below and leave us your thoughts on Nintendo potentially ceasing production of Wii U consoles.
Source: IGN