Topic: Seriously, no Wii U is being discontinued thread?

[BranDonk Kong]

RIP, we hardly knew ye.

[ejamer]

Maybe indicative of the general lack of surprise?


I like Wii U and will be sorry to see support for it officially end.  But I don't love Wii U and think that I enjoyed the Wii generation more... more telling I strongly doubt that I'll buy the next Nintendo console for a couple of reasons.


The only interesting point for me from this news is that I'll need to buy a backup Wii U console (and maybe a couple of accessories) in the next year or so before supply starts to dwindle.  The backwards compatibility and digital software locked to console makes that a no-brainer.

[BranDonk Kong]

It is the best way to play GameCube games.

[nickmitch]

Wait, how do I make my Wii U play GC games? Other than HD ports?

[Soren]

I love my Wii U and I have no regrets buying it on launch day and playing the crap out of it.

[NWR_insanolord]

The Wii U is my favorite Nintendo system ever. If only that were true of more people they might not have to be doing this.

[broodwars]

Wait, how do I make my Wii U play GC games? Other than HD ports?

You can use the Homebrew Channel in Wii mode to play downloaded GaneCube games, even with a GCN controller via the Smash adaptor. It's quite useful considering how few shits Nintendo has given with the GCN library.

[Evan_B]

It's not happening, apparently?

I've already stated how much I like the Wii U. It will give me pleasure in the years to come, at least until I actually consider buying another Nintendo console. It's also really shaken my faith in Nintendo, and it's made me reconsider buying a console at launch- I have now resolved to only do so when they have a game that I absolutely need to play. I would argue that didn't appear until Splatoon for Wii U.

However, it is still a fun device.

[Adrock]

Nintendo has denied it's ending Wii U production which means very little these days. This is exactly what Nintendo would say because it can't afford not to. I imagine Nintendo's board of directors let out a collective "Goddammit..." because the timing is a mere week and a half early to be a nuisance. It is likely sitting on more than enough Wii U reserves to last the year and probably next since no one is buying the thing, and the fiscal year is about to end so it can finally start talking about NX next month. This information about Wii U is ending production getting out is something Nintendo would have lived with in April but probably would have preferred to quietly mention in June once NX is fully unveiled.

There's no doubt in my mind that Nintendo is itching to move on from Wii U, but it still has to go through the motions. Timing announcements is important. This isn't devastating to Nintendo, just inconvenient.

Anyway, I consider Nintendo's first party output in Wii U to be some of its all-time best. While Nintendo nailed that part, it unfortunately couldn't overcome all of the console's other shortcomings.

[Ian Sane]

I might like the Wii U more than the Wii.  I REALLY don't like motion controls and they infest so many Wii games.  Too often I felt like there was this great game trapped behind terrible controls.  That wasn't a problem with the Wii U.  I don't really give a **** about the Gamepad but it hasn't really hurt any games I've played.  I'm more annoyed by the tradeoffs that had to be made to accomodate the controller then the controller itself.  The Gamepad works pretty good as a normal controller while the Wiimote did not.

The third party support for both consoles was borderline worthless so I don't really see a difference there.  Wii got shovelware, Wii U got nothing - might as well be the same thing.  But the Wii U has no Metroid and no Zelda (thus far?), doesn't have the Galaxy games, and I like the Wii Xenoblade better.  Eh, on a different day I could swap their order.  They're both at the bottom of my rankings of Nintendo consoles and if Nintendo bounces back with the NX I feel the Wii's will be seen as their dark ages.

Now will we start seeing Wii U games get discounted in stores as news of this spreads?  As a recent Wii U owner it would be nice to grab up a lot of the first party titles I don't have yet for cheap.

And I'm certain that Nintendo's statement on this is just damage control.  Halting production of a failed console when its successor is right on the doorstep is just so believable and Nintendo would obviously not want this to become public knowledge.  If they're NOT halting production what the hell crack are they smoking?  There is no Wii U sales surge in the future, aside from maybe people grabbing them up in clearance.

[Evan_B]

I think, given the quality of its first-party offerings, the Wii U will be looked on in a positive light.

[Ian Sane]

I think, given the quality of its first-party offerings, the Wii U will be looked on in a positive light.

I think it will be like the Saturn.  Not popular in it's time and deserving of that reception due to not really having a large enough lineup of must-play games to make it a successful console but with strong exclusives that make it a desirable purchase for collectors once it becomes retro.  One thing that hurt the Saturn was that it had a lot of 2D and arcade style games which were out-of-fashion at the time but in a historical context that sort of thing doesn't matter if the games are good (a fashionable gamer doesn't bother with retro systems anyway).  The Wii U is similar.  The games aren't really the sort of games that are hip.  There isn't much in the way of openworld or FPS games which are the most popular genres right now.  The big joke is that the Wii U is full of 2D platformers.  That's not really what the average gamer these days is looking for in a current console but the games are still good and in a historical context that's what will matter.  A retro gamer looking at the Wii U won't care that NSMB U was a really underwhelming choice for a flagship launch title, they'll just note that it's a good game in the genre it is in.

[Mop it up]

Since it's just a rumour, I think the Talkback thread sufficed for most people. And given the number of posts in both threads that don't really have anything to do with this topic, there isn't much to say on the matter.

I also don't think "discontinue" is the right word, as it sounds like it will no longer be available in stores. It would just mean that they would stop manufacturing it, but given how poorly the system has sold, they probably have enough stockpiled to continue selling it in stores through 2017.

[supermario2k]

If Nintendo seriously tries to drag out the end of the Wii U one more year, they might as well sell everything to Sony and just get out of the game because they will be finished. Even if they are still making money, the longer they wait the less relevant they will be.

[lolmonade]

As someone who 1) got Wii U on launch, 2) hasn't beaten 4 of my current Wii U games, and 3) Expect to pick up a few of the upcoming games still, I find myself hard pressed to be concerned whether NX comes out this or next year. 


That's the downside of Nintendo being so mum on details for the new system.  What's there to be excited over if the future is a big ??

[elvshaunt2]

I don't believe this is going to happen anytime soon.

[ThePerm]

I will have to keep the wii u around for a long time. It is my preferred way to play most classic games. I have almost every mario title, metroid title. If only it had native gamecube support(i don't want to brick my wii u fucking with homebrew) I'd have every Zelda title. I think when I got Zelda WW i got it for a reduced price or some deal or some ****. I want Zelda TP HD, but don't really want to buy it again full price.