There's no denying that the Wii U was a sales failure for Nintendo. The Wii sold over 100 million units and stands as one of the best-selling video game consoles of all time, whereas the Wii U didn't even reach 15 million over the course of its lifetime. However, with the Wii U apparently being discontinued, brand new consoles are now going for a crazy amount on sites like eBay and Amazon.

As discovered by Twitter user RSGabe, brand new Wii U console bundles are selling for nearly $800 on eBay and Amazon. This is quite pricey for a console that barely anyone was interested in buying a few years ago. Luckily, anyone that wants to pick up a Wii U can get a used console for significantly cheaper, with prices ranging from $100-$250 depending on the retailer.

Even though the Wii U hasn't been the most popular Nintendo console, it does have some distinct advantages. For one, it's backward compatible with the Wii, meaning that it has a fairly significant library of critically-acclaimed games between the two consoles. In fact, some of the most critically-acclaimed games of all time are playable on the Wii U, including Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Secondly, the Wii U also has some well-received exclusives of its own, though many of them have migrated to the Switch, like Bayonetta 2 and Mario Kart 8. On December 11, the Wii U is losing yet another exclusive when New Super Mario Bros. U releases on the Switch.

So while the Wii U's library of exclusive games may be dwindling, the console's ability to play both Wii U and Wii games is appealing. It also has access to a robust Virtual Console lineup that includes many classic games, including Nintendo 64 titles. This may be especially interesting to potential Wii U adopters, as Nintendo has yet to release a Nintendo 64 Classic or put any retro games on the Switch outside of NES titles.

If the Switch starts adding Virtual Console games, especially GameCube titles as rumored, it would give gamers even less of a reason to pick up a Wii U. But for now, it seems the Wii U does have some value for those looking to play its remaining exclusives and retro games.

Source: Nintendo Soup