The Wii U's successor – Nintendo NX – is still nearly a year away. But, the current console-meets-handheld hybrid could be in for an early retirement.
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima announced that the company could halt production on the Wii U by March 2018, Reuters reports, dropping that bomb while discussing earnings and projections for the coming year.
Nintendo has squashed rumors in the past about putting the Wii U to bed before the NX even comes out – now we know in in March 2017.
But, this new report cites a year after that date, giving credence to
the claim that the original Wii was also retired approximately one year
after the Wii U arrived on the scene.
That said, if the Wii U does get decommissioned in 2018, it
will have enjoyed a lifespan of just under six years, which is
relatively short when considering previous console generations.
By contrast, the Xbox 360 ceased production just this week after a decade-plus of sales – and three years of that was spent after being replaced by the Xbox One.
Thankfully, Wii U owners will have their swan song in the form of a new Legend of Zelda title, which will formally debut at E3 this year for both the Wii U and NX as Nintendo's sole playable game on display.
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