Nintendo will cease manufacturing its Wii console in the near future, the company has confirmed.

In a note to customers on the Wii product page, the Japanese website has the words "近日生産終了予定" placed next to the console, which means "manufacturing is scheduled to end soon".

The ceased production will mark the final chapter of the Wii story, which began when first announced in 2004 and went on to become the most successful home console in the company's 125-year history. Considered a pioneering device that popularised motion control, the Wii shipped on November 19, 2006, and sold out near-immediately.

In July, Nintendo announced that lifetime sales of the system have surpassed the 100 million mark - joining an elite club of just three home consoles that have managed to sell at that volume (the other two being PlayStation One and PlayStation 2).

However, despite its success, the Wii is only Nintendo's third most popular games device when handhelds are factored in. Its all-time best seller is the Game Boy, which recorded lifetime sales of 118 million. In second place is the Nintendo DS.


In March, Nintendo released the Wii Mini, a rudimentary version of the console designed with a priority to keep manufacturing costs low. The hardware lacked online functionality, did not feature an SD card slot or support GameCube backwards compatibility.

Posted: Oct 01, 2013 1:20 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/431794/wii-production-to-cease/