Despite Rumors, Nintendo Says that it is Not Halting Wii U Production

[ffronw]

Despite Rumors, Nintendo Says that it is Not Halting Wii U Production

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1359/1359474.jpgContrary to what you might have heard, Nintendo is not going to stop making the Wii U just yet.

Yesterday, Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-11-01-nintendo-to-end-wii-u-production-this-week] reported that sources had told them that Nintendo was about to halt production of the Wii U. Today, the company said that rumors to that effect were not accurate.

According to a translation by Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/nintendo-denies-the-wii-u-production-is-ending-this-wee-1788479584 target=], a Nintendo spokesperson told Japanese site IT Media that, "There is no change to our continuing [Wii U] production." Apparently the spokesperson did not know the particulars of Eurogamer's article, but plainly said that any report the Wii U production would end "was not true."

The spokesperson went on to say that, "Even though the Nintendo Switch is slated to go on sale, [Wii U] production is scheduled to continue."

This isn't the first time that we've heard that Nintendo would close out its Wii U production. Back in March [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/166968-Wii-U-Production-to-End-This-Year-Report], a rumor to that effect circulated, and it too was later debunked by IT Media.

While it would certainly make sense that Nintendo would be looking to cut Wii U production (or halt it altogether) once the Switch launches, it seems unlikely that they'd stop production now, when there's not even any more Switch info coming until next year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/168716-Nintendo-Switch-January-12-Presentation]. But Nintendo has a history of denying reports that later turn out to be true, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

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[Saelune]

Maybe if you would just tell us everything now, and stop being painfully coy, and let us plan properly, we could stop grasping at rumors. Even Im falling for this stuff left and right. Fuck this "Not till next year" bull, and tell us what we need to know NOW.

Is Wii U ending? Is the Switch replacing the Wii U? Is it replacing the 3DS? Both? Neither? ANY backwards compatibility at all? What about the eshop? TELL US SO WE ARENT IN THE DARK!

I mean, I am pretty deep in Nintendo's pocket, so if Im annoyed, you know that means something.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

Phew, that means I'll still have a chance to buy this very expensive paperweight

You never know how much you need a paperweight until it's gone

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

What difference does it make? Their next gen console is coming out in a few months. Who's going to get a Wii U now?

 

[Bedinsis]

What difference does it make? Their next gen console is coming out in a few months. Who's going to get a Wii U now?

Someone who find its current line-up enticing?

 

[Saelune]

What difference does it make? Their next gen console is coming out in a few months. Who's going to get a Wii U now?

Someone who wants to play Wii and Wii U games considering that the Switch likely wont.

First thing my brother did when PS4 came out was buy a PS3.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

What difference does it make? Their next gen console is coming out in a few months. Who's going to get a Wii U now?

Someone who find its current line-up enticing?

Does that happen often? I saw that thread "thoughts on your Wii U now that it's done" and most people were pretty shruggy about it. The one recurring criticism was a lacking library.

 

[meiam]

A lot of people are purposefully one generation behind because there not buying a console on promise but rather they can purchase something knowing full well what the line up is, they can also usually get it cheap because of the people trading in there older console for the newer one, although whether production stop or not doesn't change anything for them.

 

[ffronw]

Is it replacing the 3DS?

This one I can answer. Nintendo's president, Tatsumi Kimishima, said the DS would continue. Of course, he didn't say how long, just that it will continue.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/168723-Nintendo-President-3DS-Will-Continue-In-Its-Own-Form-After-Switch-Launch

 

[Saelune]

Is it replacing the 3DS?

This one I can answer. Nintendo's president, Tatsumi Kimishima, said the DS would continue. Of course, he didn't say how long, just that it will continue.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/168723-Nintendo-President-3DS-Will-Continue-In-Its-Own-Form-After-Switch-Launch

I was yelling at Nintendo with my post, not you, incase that wasnt clear.

The thing is, Nintendo isnt well, being clear. Do they think the Wii U, 3DS AND Switch can all co-exist? I dont. Its said they are stopping Wii U production, but now thats false. Even the horses mouth can be unreliable with Nintendo.

Sure it may have been for the sake of surprise, but Nintendo kept saying "We arent making Majora's Mask 3D, but we might eventually". They said this a BUNCH of times. Truth is, they started working on it as soon as Ocarina of Time 3D was released. Not the same as this, true, but it shows they are willing to blatantly lie.

 

[MonsterCrit]

WoW. Way to inspire confidence in your new product NiNtendo.

 

[Zulnam]

Alternative title: Nintendo still polluting by creating unused hardware

 

[Bedinsis]

What difference does it make? Their next gen console is coming out in a few months. Who's going to get a Wii U now?

Someone who find its current line-up enticing?

Does that happen often? I saw that thread "thoughts on your Wii U now that it's done" and most people were pretty shruggy about it. The one recurring criticism was a lacking library.

Beats me. It's not without quality titles and I don't know how many games the average Wii U-owner has. And the thing about averages is that some by necessity will have a number lower than the average, so if one finds just 3-4 titles* enticing that could be more than sufficient. You cite this forum, on a site dedicated to video games, where I assume the average person visiting has a higher number of titles to their machines than average.

*if we assume the average attach rate of software for the Wii U is 5. If it is lower, then lower that number.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

And yet they will stop producing first-party titles for it once the Switch gets released. It'll be the just like every other console they've put out, or any new console put out by the Big Three for that matter. However, it's not like anyone will miss out on much.

I had a lot of faith in the Wii U, but most of their exclusives were just bigger/upgraded versions of games that already existed on previous hardware. The party games were fun, like Wii Party U and Nintendoland, hell, the multiplayer addition to Super Mario 3D World was cool, but as soon as Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. U came out, not one of my friends ever wanted to play anything else. I think the only game I put a large amount of time into that was actually impressive was Xenoblade Chronicles X, which honestly, was a lot less interesting than Xenoblade Chronicles.

I still want to see Nintendo turn things around, but they really dropped the ball with this system.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

*insert comment about nintendo knowing exactly what they are doing*

*insert witty line about nintendo innovating even harder than before/better than everyone else and can do no wrong*

*insert comment about nintendo not needing 3rd parties to provide more games for fans*

 

[xaszatm]

What difference does it make? Their next gen console is coming out in a few months. Who's going to get a Wii U now?

Eh, there's always a subset of people who only buy a console at the tail end of its lifespan. It's not a great percentage but it's still there.

OT: Uh...duh? Who thought the system would stop producing before the next console even came out? I mean, every console from the last 3 generations continued production far into its successor's lifetime. The Xbox was in production until 2009. The 360 wasn't discontinued until this year. Same with a Sony and Nintendo. Nintendo already adjusted production with its prediction size of Wii U's sold this year. I'm not seeing any reason to discontinue production.