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[Draugoth]

Nintendo discontinued the Wii U in 2017, and will shut down all online connectivity for the console by the end of this year. Despite it all, unopened units are apparently still out there on shelves: According to Circana industry analyst Mat Piscatella, Nintendo sold a single new Wii U in the United States in 2023. It’s reportedly the first new Wii U sold since May 2022.

Piscatella said on X, formerly Twitter, that Circana tracks sales data for consoles across “most retailers,” which make up 97% of U.S. hardware retail sales. The Wii U purchased from a retailer this year wasn’t a refurbished or used console, which there’s certainly a more active market for. It was a brand-new Wii U sold in the year 2023.

1 new Wii U was sold in the US in September. First time a new Wii U sold since May 2022. Last time a new Vita unit sold was in November 2021, when 3 (!!) were purchased.Is any of this at all meaningful? No. Sales fun facts that do not matter.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Funny thing to have happened. But just to be clear Nintendo stopped manufacturing new Wii Us as of December 2016.

 

[bender]

I wonder what store sold it.

 

[ReBurn]

If I found a new Wii U somewhere I would buy it. Vita, too.

 

[64bitmodels]

STAY STRONG WII U BROS!

 

[Hip Hop]

It was easily gonna become one of my favorite consoles but ended super abruptly.

Same with the Vita, that thing will forever be one of my faves but it ended abruptly. Shame.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

id love to buy a brand new wii u for MSRP.

gimme the links.

 

[charles8771]

And the Xbox 360 got discontinued 1 year before, just think about that.

 

[Doom85]

Um…..I guess:

 

[Chuck Berry]

I hope they copped a fresh copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X to go with it

The ONE game I’d give my right nut to have on the Switch

 

[Dream-Knife]

I hope they copped a fresh copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X to go with it

The ONE game I’d give my right nut to have on the Switch

It really wasn't that great tbh.

 

[64bitmodels]

Um…..I guess:

Mario Wonder so good it got people buying older gen Nintendo products

 

[Quantum253]

Did Nintendo ever release a replacement pad for the system? I always thought it was weird to not be able to replace the touch pad without buying a new system or from a third-party selling just the tab. Made taking care of that thing extra tedious

 

[Chuck Berry]

It really wasn't that great tbh.

Take that dream knife and stab yourself with it repeatedly

 

[Tams]

It really wasn't that great tbh.

Take that dream knife and stab yourself with it repeatedly

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Sadly they will never experience MiiVerse.

 

[Silver Wattle]

If you can find them/old consoles in shrink wrap, completely brand new, they could be worthwhile as collector's items.

 

[dave_d]

If I found a new Wii U somewhere I would buy it. Vita, too.

I probably lay would too. And a new ps3 if I could find one.

 

[Darko]

I dug up my wiiu excited to play… turns out if you don’t use it for a while something happens to the memory and its a useless brick.. at least that’s what happens to mine

Edit: and some other ppl

Reddit - Dive into anything

reddit.com

 

[NeverYouMind]

I dug up my wiiu excited to play… turns out if you don’t use it for a while something happens to the memory and its a useless brick.. at least that’s what happens to mine

Edit: and some other ppl

Reddit - Dive into anything

reddit.com

Talk about built-in absolescence...

 

[Fermbiz]

Mine sits right by my bed side, plugged in collecting dust. Waiting to be played

 

[polybius80]

I dug up my wiiu excited to play… turns out if you don’t use it for a while something happens to the memory and its a useless brick.. at least that’s what happens to mine

Edit: and some other ppl

Reddit - Dive into anything

reddit.com

WHAT!?!?

better check mine tonight

 

[EverydayBeast]

Wii U had a huge impact on gaming today.

 

[KU_]

Riding some serious momentum heading into the holiday season!

 

[DinoD]

Blame it on those damn scalpers.

 

[Sorcerer]

Bet the battery in the controller is dead, if not warped and bulging.

 

[Astral Dog]

I mean,who cares?

Nintendo themselves aren't even selling them, i guess its a neat collector's item i enjoyed Wii U for what it was back then (it was a disaster but still had fun games )

 

[SmokedMeat]

Some poor kid that’s been begging his parents for a Switch is in for disappointment this Christmas.

 

[OrionNebula]

 

[Zephyranthes]

I'll never forget this exchange I had with a co-worker one time:

"I'm gonna get my kids a Wii for Christmas."
"You mean a Wii U, right?"
"What's a Wii U?"

This took place 2 YEARS after the Wii U launched.

 

[darth.shrimp]

Mario Wonder so good it got people buying older gen Nintendo products

Hey, Mario and Zelda do sell consoles... they just never said which consoles.

 

[Rykan]

Some poor kid that’s been begging his parents for a Switch is in for disappointment this Christmas.

Ya until they look on Ebay to see what an unopened Wiiu CIB is worth now. Those things are worth a LOT of money.

If I found a new Wii U somewhere I would buy it. Vita, too.

This is the right approach. Those things are super valuable.

 

[Beer Baelly]

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

If I found a new Wii U somewhere I would buy it. Vita, too.

With what the retail for the Wii U was back when it was on the market you’d make a killing if you sold it because as soon as it was was discontinued, it suddenly became like the emulators dream, but there were so few out there in the wild that there was an immediate scarcity.

I found a used one at GameStop, thankfully. And GameStop can’t gouge like retailers can, thank goodness. So it had to be cheaper than the MSRP for new Wii Us were.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

It was easily gonna become one of my favorite consoles but ended super abruptly.

Same with the Vita, that thing will forever be one of my faves but it ended abruptly. Shame.

There was this one year period between holiday 2013 and holiday 2014 where they put the petal to the metal with first party games and really gave it the ol college try. But I think ultimately the system itself just wasn’t appealing enough. No matter what they released for it, I don’t think any game would’ve turned things around. Not even if it BotW had launched exclusively for it as planned in 2015.

Of course mostly off the radar by early 2015 they’d already internally decided when to cut the system off and switch over to… Switch.

Definitely the right call to pull the plug when they did and refocus for the next system.

To this day my absolute favorite Wii U game that is still trapped on the system and not ported to Switch is Yoshi Woolly World. Absolutely frickin love that game. It’s so good.

 

[Thaedolus]

only Nintendo console outside virtual boy I never bought…my parents have one though and I’m formulating a plan to steal it…never played Twilight Princess or Wind Waker HD

 

[GrayChild]

WE'RE SO BACK WII U BROS!!! SONY AND MICROSOFT ARE DOOMED!

 

[poodaddy]

I dug up my wiiu excited to play… turns out if you don’t use it for a while something happens to the memory and its a useless brick.. at least that’s what happens to mine

Edit: and some other ppl

Reddit - Dive into anything

reddit.com

Can confirm, this happened to me years ago. I loved it, but yeah I turned it on one day after not having played it for quite some time, and it just was completely done. I had an insane amount of eShop classic titles on there too, probably around 4 or 500 bucks worth.

Feels bad.

 

[Slicker than your average]

This could be a U-turn in the Wiis fortunes

 

[Hudo]

Comeback starts here.

 

[Quasicat]

I probably lay would too. And a new ps3 if I could find one.

I bought a new PS3 two years ago for more than MSRP…$400. It was definitely worth having a new system with a first party controller!

 

[username12]

I probably lay would too. And a new ps3 if I could find one.

I bought a new PS3 a decade ago ago for $100 in preparation for when my original dies, a few years before I really needed to worry about it, but I think it was a Cyber Monday deal so it was cheap (the console prices back then already were reasonable, though). Last console I bought.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

The idea of the Wii U could have been crazy for local multiplayer if it were ever fully realized.

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

If I found a new Wii U somewhere I would buy it. Vita, too.

Same. Any console that will be hard to emulate the authentic experience is going to be sought after by collectors and I am one.

 

[Arsic]

I hope they copped a fresh copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X to go with it

The ONE game I’d give my right nut to have on the Switch

You’d give up a testicle eh ? You could get the pc version on steam deck or a modded switch.

Time to get the shears.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I hope they copped a fresh copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X to go with it

The ONE game I’d give my right nut to have on the Switch

I don’t understand where this sudden desire is coming from. The game was universally disliked at the time. Considered the worst game in the “series”. It was so bad that everyone assumed that was the end of the series.

There are so many good games available to play, stretching back 40 years. Why port beg for this particular bad game?

 

[Ribi]

Knowing Nintendo, they probably still sold it at launch MSRP

 

[Chuck Berry]

I don’t understand where this sudden desire is coming from. The game was universally disliked at the time. Considered the worst game in the “series”. It was so bad that everyone assumed that was the end of the series.

There are so many good games available to play, stretching back 40 years. Why port beg for this particular bad game?

Clearly you’ve never played it. Imagine just believing “everyone.”

Great opinion. I mean, why even bother

 

[YukiOnna]

I still have mine almost completely brand new. My little brother uses it to play classic games on it.

 

[Chuck Berry]

You’d give up a testicle eh ? You could get the pc version on steam deck or a modded switch.

Time to get the shears.

I don’t do the mod scene. I like my games as is. Tweaking something to gain enjoyment is fucked up. If you can’t enjoy the game as it was built to be and you need to alter it and break it to enjoy it then it lowers your passion level to me by like, 56 points.