Nintendo denies Nikkei report, claims Wii U hardware production will continue

By Danny Cowan Published March 24, 2016

Nintendo has denied reports from earlier this week indicating that it would end Wii U production in order to focus on its next home console, reaffirming its support for the platform’s dedicated player base.

“This isn’t an announcement from our company,” a Nintendo spokesperson stated in response to recent claims (translation via Kotaku). “From the next quarter and thereafter as well, production [of the Wii U] is scheduled to continue.”

Recommended Videos

Speculation flared this week when Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Nintendo would cease production of its current-generation console by the end of 2016. The outlet additionally reported that Nintendo had already halted production of several Wii U accessories ahead of a broader sunsetting process for the console.

Nintendo has waged an uphill battle in its attempts at replicating the success of its previous-generation Wii console. To date, the company has sold 12.6 million Wii U consoles since the platform’s launch in 2012. The original Wii, in comparison, has sold 101 million units worldwide as of 2015.

Among other issues, the Wii U failed to earn the trust of third-party publishers throughout its troubled lifespan. Publisher Ubisoft scaled back its initially enthusiastic support for the console following disappointing sales results for its launch title ZombiU. Afterward, the formerly Wii U-exclusive Rayman Legends was hastily reworked into a multiplatform title in order to quell further losses.

Publishers Warner Bros and Electronic Arts also pulled much of their planned support for Nintendo’s console after a disappointing launch. Despite a lack of third-party support, Nintendo itself continues to release new Wii U games on a regular basis, including standouts like Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, and the upcoming Star Fox Zero.

Nikkei’s report from this week suggested that Nintendo may end Wii U support in order to promote its code-named “Nintendo NX” console, which has yet to be officially unveiled. Nintendo is likely to reveal its first details regarding the NX console at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.

Former Contributor

Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…

Topics

Gaming

Latest Nintendo Direct ushers in an age of Wii nostalgia

The player throws a bowling ball in Nintendo Switch Sports.

If 2021 was the year of the Game Boy Advance renaissance, then 2022 is the year of the Wii. At this point, the Nintendo Switch has outsold the Wii, but it still doesn’t feel like the Switch is as ubiquitous with casual gamers as the Wii was. Meanwhile, the Wii is getting just old enough that it’s starting to feel nostalgic and retro.
If Nintendo wants to continue to grow the Switch’s userbase, these yearnful Wii fans need to be its next target. Perhaps that’s why the latest Nintendo Direct felt like a love letter to the Wii era by featuring games like Nintendo Switch Sports, Mario Strikers: Battle League, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Nintendo Direct - 2.9.2022
Let’s go bowling
At this point, most hardcore gaming fans who want a Nintendo Switch likely already own one. While those 100+ million players will continue to buy new video games, Nintendo still wants to sell 23 million more units this year alone. If it’s going to accomplish that, it needs to entice people who might not usually play video games or spend hundreds of dollars on a new system.
Nintendo was the most successful at doing this during the Wii era but moved away from this casual focus after the Wii U flopped. Focusing on its hardcore fans is what made the Nintendo Switch a runaway success right at launch, but we’re now almost five years in, and Nintendo is looking to maintain a growing audience.
Making the Nintendo Switch even more appealing to casuals and non-gamers seems to be the company’s next goal. Nintendo Switch Sports recapturing some of that Wii magic is the spearhead of this strategy.
Its predecessor Wii Sports is one of the most successful games of all time. Even people who’ve never played a video game might remember the game from the Wii’s heyday. Nintendo wants a Switch in every nursing home, school, or daycare if it isn’t all ready, and first-party titles like Nintendo Switch Sports make that a possibility.
If the game catches on with casual gamers and Nintendo makes it a bundled Switch game, there’s a chance that this could be the Switch’s next Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or Animal Crossing: New Horizons from a sales perspective.

Wii Remember
Believe it or not, the Wii is over 15 years old. Young kids who played games on the Wii with their parents are now adults and likely have nostalgia for those experiences. Some may even consider it to be a retro console at this point. As such, it’s not surprising that Nintendo and other companies would dip back into the well of Wii-era IPs. It started with the Skyward Sword remaster last year, but several Wii-related announcements were in this Nintendo Direct too, which made it a real trip for those of us that grew up with these games on Wii.
Mario Strikers’ last great outing was on the Wii, and the sports spin-off series has been dormant for just long enough to where Nintendo fans are delighted that it’s making a grand return. Even Nintendo Switch Sports will trigger nostalgia for the millions of people who enjoyed it over 15 years ago.
Third parties are even taking notice. Aspyr decided to specifically remaster the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which is an odd choice considering that a more polished version of the game existed for Xbox 360 and PS3. Still, the Switch is the only console capable of preserving that Wii experience, and Aspyr ensures that the Wii port doesn’t get lost to time. For players who enjoyed the Wii but don’t want to dig out their system, sensor bar, and some Wii Remotes, releases like this will allow them to satiate their nostalgia. While games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 indicate that Nintendo isn’t abandoning its hardcore audience, it’s clear that the casual market is the Switch’s next great frontier. Many of the games featured in the February 9 Direct capitalize on a new wave of nostalgia for the Wii. Embracing that market and those causal players with these games might be the key to the Nintendo Switch’s continued success.

Gaming

Super Mario 3D World made it to Switch, but other Wii U games are still stranded

Wii U Composite

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury comes to Nintendo Switch this weekend giving the console another excellent first-party game. It’s the latest in a line of Wii U titles to receive a Switch port in the past few years, salvaging the best of the ill-fated two-screen system’s surprisingly strong library.

Even with games like Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Pikmin 3 making the jump to Switch, there’s a handful of strong Wii U games that haven’t -- and probably never will. That’s creating a generational dead zone that may leave games that dared to take advantage of the console’s bold concept forever trapped on the Wii U.

Gaming

The best Zelda dungeons, ranked

Link and Zelda under Hyrule Castle in "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom."

There are a lot of metrics I could use to rank the best Zelda games. I could talk about the best Zelda bosses, the worlds, items, and more, but I believe the dungeons are the biggest individual factor in deciding how each game stacks up to the others. These are the meat of every Zelda game. All the combat and puzzle solving happens here, and the excitement of exploring each one is what pushes us to want to explore these worlds. The boss is the icing on the cake, but a good dungeon can be the highlight of the entire game. Looking back at all Zelda games, I have made some tough calls to bring you a list of the best Zelda dungeons, ranked.

#10 Eagle's Tower - Link's Awakening