Nintendo to end Wii U production runs in late 2016, focus on NX console: Report

By Steve Pak, | March 22, 2016

Nintendo Wii U

Nintendo Wii U

Nintendo is allegedly ending production of the Wii U gaming console by the end of 2016. A Twitter post that translated a Nikkei report from Japanese into English shared the company has also stopped making certain Wii U accessories.    

Industry consultant Dr. Serkan Toto reported the news in a tweet, according to IGN. Nintendo has not confirmed the report or made an official announcement about the manufacturing of Wii U units.

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While Wii U production would end,  the gaming consoles could still be stocked by retail stores. Nintendo's next consoles will include the Nintendo NX portable and a home console to be launched in 2017.

Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima has verified that Nintendo will share more details about NX during this year. He told Japanese newspaper  Mainichi Shimbun that the company hopes to infuse new ideas into the game system but did not provide a release date window.  

The gaming giant has plans to expand the universe of its video game characters to include mobile games, TV anime, and theme parks.

Industry experts are not surprised that Nintendo would stop production of Wii U. Nintendo's goal was for the console to build on the big sales figures of Wii and its motion controls.

However, many game developers skipped the platform due to issues such as the touchscreen gamepad. That caused the unit to fall far behind PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.    

By ending its Wii U production runs Nintendo can keep selling the remaining units while they are still in stock. However, it can also focus on the NX console's launch as it tries to catch up with Sony and Microsoft.   

In related news Nintendo's first mobile game has become a hit in Japan. Miitomo was launched for Apple and Google operating systems and has one million downloads after three days, according to Android Authority. It topped the country's iOS charts after one day of availability while 90 percent of the app's downloads were for Apple devices.

The smartphone game is a spin-off of the simulation series Tomodachi Life and is more of a mini social network than a game for smartphones and tablets. Its release surprised Nintendo fans who were expecting a game featuring Mario, Link, or Pokemon. 

Here are NX console rumors:



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