Nintendo Wii U Production Ends This Year

[BullockDS]

or here's a gamespot article if you prefer that i guess

This isn't so much a shock, but it's still a bit jarring to see it official and set in stone.

[NICKtendo DS]

I have my own Wii U, full of digital content stuck to that particular machine, so I neither want nor need a new one. The news doesn't affect me at all.

[Kriven]

I have my own Wii U, full of digital content stuck to that particular machine, so I neither want nor need a new one. The news doesn't affect me at all.

Unless your current one breaks and oh shit you can't replace it because they aren't being made anymore and almost nobody bought one, so used prices are stupid high.

I'm not hopeful, but I really want the NX to be backwards compatible to avoid a situation like that.

On the bright side: not long until I can jailbreak my Wii U without worrying about an update bricking my system.

[Jermungandr]

It's not true. Or at least, Nintendo is claming it's not true.

Apparently the original report source has a habit of spreading misinformation. Nintendo's had to squash false rumors from them quite a few times in the past.

Of course there's always the possibility that Nintendo's just trying to hide the truth, wouldn't be the first time.

[miyabi95_]

http://nintendoinquirer.com/blog/2016/03...thin-2016/

I honestly can't see a halt in production happening this soon. So little success* has been made so far IMO (Super Mario 3D World, Sm4sh, Bayonetta, Hyrule Warriors, Splatoon), I think they could use a little bit more time with this console.

*As opposed to the Wii having so many hits during its lifetime - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_be...ideo_games

[DioShiba]

At this point I couldn't care either way.

I love the Big N and all, but the way they've handled their consoles over the past two or three generations of gaming consoles has been absolutely horrid.

I don't even have very high hopes for the NX either. In fact the only reason why it'd be worth getting is because of Smash Bros and that's it. Unless they pull a stunt where they start handling their consoles like Sony and Microsoft but we all know that's not going to happen anytime soon.

[DragonDePlatino]

I have my doubts that the Wii U would be discontinued this year, but it might be possible.

Code:

NES        1893-2003        20 year lifespan*        
SNES        1990-2003        13 year lifespan†
N64        1996-2003        7 year lifespan
Gamecube    2001-2007        6 year lifespan
Wii        2006-2013        7 year lifespan
Wii U        2012-2016?        4 year lifespan?

* 25 years if you count retail availability after it was discontinued
† 19 years if you count retail availability after it was discontinued

If the Wii U were discontinued this year it would continue Nintendo's trend of shrinking console lifespans. This doesn't really affect me since I never got a Wii U but it's sad to see one of my favorite console developers struggle like this.

[DioShiba]

And you know, that's exactly it. Nintendo has been struggling like this for years now.

Ever since Sony and Microsoft has gotten in to the picture Nintendo has been struggling to keep up with them. And as much as they're trying to do that Sony and Microsoft are always going to be a step ahead of them. I mean shit look at how long the PS2 lasted compared to the Gamecube, and that's like roughly 10-15 years if you count it's availability after it was discontinued.

It's almost like the same shit Sega went through. Except since Nintendo got cocky with how they handled the SNES back then and how they ended up fucking over other companies along the way, this is almost like a slow painful death for them. I have Iwata to blame for this. Despite that he was good as a person, he and the rest of his administration at NoJ had a mindset kind of kept video games in the realm of toys which, I think video games have ultimately evolved beyond that fast forwarding into present day.

Nintendo either has to stop treating a game console like a toy and start getting their feet wet in allowing for more avenues of media to be used on their consoles and cut the gimmicks that they've been doing and focused SOLELY on giving their conoles more horsepower or they're gonna have to go the direction of a third party developer and I don't think anyone really wants that either.

[DragonDePlatino]

I will admit that Nintendo is firmly stuck in the past in their approaches to developing consoles, but at the same time I think there's a reason why they "treat their game consoles like toys". For the past few generations, the console that sells the best hasn't always been the one with the best specs. Sure, the NES, SNES, PS1, PS2 and PS4 outsold their weaker contemporaries, but the Wii, Gameboy, NDS and 3DS managed to outfight their competitors.

...And...uhh...

I was gonna make a point here about "It's about the games, not the specs" but it seems my research says otherwise. Some weaker consoles have outsold stronger ones but they're either handhelds (which have always been Nintendo-dominated) or the curveball that was the Wii...

Yeah, it'd probably be for the best if Nintendo went for specs next generation. I've heard the NX might have online cloud computing, so that'll be interesting (source). It'll suck for people like me with inconsistent connections since the visuals will keep rising and dropping, but for people with better connections it'll definitely help Nintendo compete in graphics while keeping the cost of their consoles low.