Nintendo Wii U Reportedly To End Production And Likely To Signal The NX System
This year, Nintendo has reportedly announced that they will discontinue production of their Wii U game system. The unit was first brought into the world in 2012 in troubled waters lacking in “graphical capability, online functionality, and third-party software support of its competitors”, according to The Verge via the online Japanese publication, Nikkei.
That being said, this announcement could trigger readers into thinking this course of action could mean the possibility of the Nintendo NX being released around the same time the Wii U is being discontinued.
#WiiU production is ending this year according to respected JP publication: https://t.co/nexu0NnN4y #Nintendo #NX pic.twitter.com/lprQGk7Gyy
— Zelda Informer (@ZeldaInformer) March 22, 2016
Serkan Toto, a Japanese game consultant, took to Twitter to translate the announcement. This was part of a numbered list on Toto’s feed.
“1) The Nikkei just reports Nintendo will stop producing Wii U within 2016. It doesn’t say they will necessarily start selling NX in 2016.”
He also clarified Nintendo Wii U doing away with making more accessories and emptying out its inventory.
“2) Acc. to the paper, some Wii U accessories are already not being produced anymore. Nintendo plans to deplete inventory this year. //end.”
Back in 2012, IGN did a review on the Wii U which didn’t seem to exude much greatness considering some of the inconveniences like the Nintendo headset jack lacking on the controller itself and having to require the game player to plug in the device into the pad.
It also came with other accessories/controllers like the Wii U remote, nunchuck, and the balance board. These worked with certain games, depending on the game itself. There was also the lack of battery power and IGN made it comparable to the features found in an iPad.
For instance, the time given to the battery power of a Wii U was two-and-a-half hours while an iPad lasted around 10. There was also a lack of a long cord in case you’d like to utilize the system while it was charging.
There had been a planning process via Nintendo as they are attempting to appeal to the sports related crowds and have been in talks with EA and how their sports developers would be able to utilize their games with the Nintendo NX, according to Gadgets 360. This was something that was lacking in the Wii U game system. Speculation about FIFA soccer and NFL related games are thought to be a part of this as well.
Not much has been said about Nintendo NX; in fact, not much has been commented on by Nintendo when it comes to consoles for quite some time. Developers seem to even find this annoying and this isn’t entirely exclusive to the company either. It seems they feel that they are being overly secretive. Last month, Gadgets 360 reported the lack of expectancy of good games being introduced along with the NX.
Thomas Mahler, Moon Studios’ CEO, expressed his concern.
“And just to be clear, it’s not just Nintendo, every hardware manufacturer is treating their devkits and their unreleased consoles like they’re the second coming and are insanely secretive about it to a stupid degree in todays time.”
The Nintendo Wii U sales numbers weren’t all that impressive. The system was released a year before Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4. A report via The Verge indicated 12.6 million Wii Us had been sold in comparison to PlayStation 4’s 36 million units.
#TechTip – How to properly game on a #Nintendo #WiiU game console. #TellYourFriends. #PCMasterRace pic.twitter.com/gQITZeZ4dM
— Barnacules Nerdgasm ™? (@Barnacules) March 22, 2016
IGN’s YouTubers Peer Schneider, Jose Otero, and Brian Altano discussed how imperative it is for Nintendo to start taking action regarding their moving forward with the Nintendo NX announcement. Otero made this emphasis.
“If Nintendo is serious about NX being a 2016 product, that conversation has to start happening next month. No question. This is something that needs to be a Q1 announcement. I’m betting it is a Q1 announcement. Because the longer you sit on this, the less lead time you have to build that excitement.”
It was emphasized at this point there’s nothing but speculation as the subject is always being brought up, inciting excitement among Nintendo gamers without anything to get excited about.
Hopefully, the writing is on the wall with the Wii U reaching its end and marking that into the Nintendo NX reveal.
[Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
