Nintendo Wii U Production Scheduled to End Soon in Japan

It seemed not so long ago that Nintendo was at the top of the seventh generation of gaming. Thanks to its Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS combo, the company pushed aside three technically more powerful consoles: the PS3 and Xbox 360 for the Wii, and the PSP for the DS. Now, a generation later, Nintendo is barely leaving a mark.

So what the hell happened?

Well, smartphones and the Wii U happened. The former basically rendered handheld gaming obsolete, to the point that the beastly PS Vita was shut out from even entering the game properly. The Nintendo 3DS, on the other hand, is barely holding on for dear life, though it will get a much-needed boost next week in the form of Pokemon Sun and Moon.

And as for the Wii U? Let's just say that, due to its epic failure right out of the gate, Nintendo was forced to develop an entirely new console just to make up lost ground. In case you missed it, the "new console" is the just-announced Nintendo Switch, which is shaping up to be the next big thing in gaming. But for Nintendo to truly rinse their hands of the Wii U and start anew, they would need to literally get rid of the console. Apparently, that's exactly what's on their to-do list.

According to a report by Kotaku, it looks like Nintendo is now writing the obituary for the Wii U. The report points to the official Nintendo Japanese website featuring two on-display models of the Wii U. Just below the price tags are similar texts, which Kotaku translated to "Production is scheduled to end soon" followed by "within Japan."

We don't know about you, but that pretty much confirms the end of the Wii U. Well, at least in Japan. But it's safe to assume that other markets will soon follow suit. Kotaku has reportedly reached out to Nintendo for comment, with (presumably) zero replies as of this writing. Previously, there have been rumors that Nintendo is set to end production of the Wii U this year, which Nintendo denied. But it looks like there's some truth to those rumors after all.

Farewell, Nintendo Wii U. It's been a long and hard journey for you, living in the shadow of your predecessor. Now, you may rest.

Source: Kotaku