The Wii U's days were already numbered, but now it's official

The Wii U could cease production in 2018

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.

Parker Wilhelm
Parker Wilhelm is a freelance writer for TechRadar. He likes to tinker in Photoshop and talk people's ears off about Persona 4.