Last year, there were reports that Nintendo is about to stop producing the Wii U as it is considered a failure compared to its predecessor, the Wii. Nintendo had denied the reports. However, the company's official website has now confirmed that the production of the Wii U is set to end soon. It appears that Nintendo has already stopped the production of its Wii U production as the company is focusing on the upcoming Nintendo Switch.
On the Nintendo website, production of the two Wii U versions is labeled to have ended in Japan. Some Wii units are still available on the market, but no more units will be produced worldwide. "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" has been confirmed to be the last game for Wii U.
The end of production of the Wii U means that the company will now focus on its upcoming hybrid console, the Nintendo Switch. According to Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima, the company is increasing its production, and its pre-order status is "so far good." Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch were immediately filled up at GameStop and other retailers in the U.S. Gamers are concerned that the Switch might have the same supply shortage as that of the NES Classic Edition.
Several new gaming consoles were launched in 2016, but the Nintendo Switch has been the most popular despite its polarized audiences. The hybrid console was revealed in October 2016, and many think that it could attract Nintendo's first-party market and other gamers who are also PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners. However, others were skeptical about its housing and graphical and processing power. There are reports that porting games from one platform to another will be very hard on the Switch.
When the Nintendo Switch is used at home, its component slots connect to a TV set. Games come on small cartridges, and about 80 games are currently in development, including a new Mario game called "Super Mario Odyssey," which will be released late in 2017. Another new title unveiled is a motion-controlled boxing game called "Arms," which will be out this Spring.