As Nintendo prepares to launch the new Nintendo Switch, they also announced that the Nintendo Wii U will officially stop production on Nov. 7, 2016. The company has one week left to produce the remaining units previously forecasted to be shipped until the first quarter of 2017.
Eurogamer reported that as of Sept. 30, 2016, 13.36 million Nintendo Wii U consoles have been shipped by the company. The Nintendo Wii sold 101 million units, while the GameCube sold 21 million.
The deadline for the final round of Nintendo Wii U units was on October 31, and Nintendo will produce the devices for one more week before shutting it down completely. From Mar. 31, 2016 to March 31, 2017, Nintendo predicted that it will ship 800,000 Nintendo Wii U units. 560,000 have already been shipped as of September 31.
The Nintendo Wii U launched in November 2012. Sales was good during the initial weeks, although the numbers significantly dropped since then. The company apparently did not set a clear vision for what the Nintendo Wii U was supposed to be.
It did not help that its game Nintendo Wii U library remained quite limited through the years. Nintendo is planning to focus more on the future, hopefully to be jumpstarted by the Nintendo Switch hybrid console. Nintendo is scheduled to reveal more details about Nintendo Switch, as well as its official launch date during an event on Jan. 13, 2017.
ArsTechnica stated that the latest news confirms previous rumors that the Nintendo Wii U would stop production soon. It may be the first time that Nintendo decided to stop console production so long before a system's software release schedule has expired.
The company is still preparing to launch "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." The game might lure players to avail of the remaining Nintendo Wii U units, or prefer to wait until the Nintendo Switch arrives.
Hopefully, the company has learned from its mistakes in creating the Nintendo Wii U, and showcase more with the upcoming Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Wii U is currently available at $220. More updates and details are expected soon.
