Nintendo sold just one brand new Wii U unit in September, marking their first official sale of a Wii U system in over a year. That's according to Mat Piscatella, an industry analyst at the market research firm Circana.
With the brilliant Nintendo Switch absolutely dominating the sales charts, it’s no surprise that customers seem to have largely lost interest in Nintendo’s last generation hardware. The shifting of retail units has slowed to a crawl, with the previous reported Wii U sale taking place back in May 2022.
Launched over a decade ago on November 18, 2012, to a mixed critical reception, production of new Wii U units was fully discontinued in January 2017 and, thanks to the recent closure of the Wii U and 3DS eShops, there is now very little in the way of official support for the system.
In fact, it is remarkably hard to find a brand new Wii U system on shelves thanks to Nintendo’s efforts to replace the stock with more recent offerings. Even so, Circana’s Retail Tracking Service (which monitors the sale of brand new products at various retailers across the US) suggests that one customer managed to bag a brand new Wii U in September.
Although the system still has its fair share of die-hard fans, it’s hard to imagine why many consumers would consider picking one up when the majority of its best titles are already available on the Nintendo Switch. Things become a little clearer when you consider the unit’s sale price, however, which was reportedly just $299.99.
Although this is very much in line with the console’s original retail price, which was $299.99 for the Basic Set or $349.99 for the Deluxe Set, the cost of second hand Wii U units has been rising steadily over the last few years thanks to their limited availability making this a steal for a potential collector.
If you're after some recommendations for your more recent Nintendo hardware, why not check out our top picks for the best Nintendo Switch games or best Nintendo Switch accessories?
