Earlier this year, Nintendo said it would shut down all Wii U servers, putting an end to multiplayer, co-op and other services. Now, the company has announced that it’s ending Wii U repairs as well, effectively giving last rites to the loveable but not very popular console.
In May, Nintendo forewarned the end of Wii U repairs. “The period for retaining repair parts as stipulated in the repair service regulations has expired, so as soon as the current stock of parts is depleted, repair services will end,” the company wrote in a service notice. The Wii U is now listed as no longer eligible for repair on an end-of-life service page, just as Nintendo previewed.
The Wii U launched in late 2012 as a successor to the Wii, but it failed to catch on with consumers, selling just 13.56 million units. It was eventually replaced by the Switch, which has gone on to more than 10 times the sales at 141.3 million units.
The defining feature of the Wii U was its Gamepad with a built-in 6.2-inch touchscreen. That allowed you to play either fully handheld or connected to a TV, a new feature at the time. The other key selling point was the first-party games like Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World. At the time, those offered local multiplayer action you couldn’t find anywhere else.
It was also just a quirky, weird and fun console that “wiggled its way into the hearts of many players, including myself,” Engadget’s Jessica Conditt wrote back in 2015. Nintendo is set to announce its successor to the Switch before March 2025, but if you’re still playing on Wii U, you’d need to take extra good care of it now that repairs will be far more challenging.
