Nintendo to End Wii U Production

Posted on November 2, 2016

Nintendo is ending its production of the Wii U console this week. This is happening because Nintendo is focusing on its upcoming console, the Nintendo Switch. The Switch was announced last month and is set for a March 2017 release.

Eurogamer reports that the last Wii U console will be produced on Friday. They have shipped over 13 million Wii U consoles since the console first arrived in November 2012. The Wii U has not been as competitive as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.

The Wii U was not nearly as big of a hit as the Wii. The Wii was a huge hit because it introduced casual gaming to the masses. It became known for its fun family game play. The Wii U was unable to generate the same enthusiasm.

A Forbes story says devices like Kinect helped the Xbox outsell the Wii U. The "you are the controller" type of aspect of the Kinect was appealing to parents. Forbes also says the lake of graphics power kept serious gamers focused on the PS4 and Xbox devices. The Wii U also lacked enough adult-themed franchises to interest the serious gamer crowd.

Here's Nintendo's Wii U overview video so you can reminisce.

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