Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the last gasp for Wii U

If you were holding out any hope the Wii U would get a shot in the arm at the same time Switch is stealing the spotlight, you might want to sit down.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime revealed the forthcoming Zelda game will be the last title Nintendo makes for Wii U. 

"From a first-party standpoint, there's no new development coming after the launch of the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," Fils-Aime told Polygon. "We really are at the end of life for Wii U."

That's not terribly surprising, given the Wii U, which launched in 2012, never really caught on, and the house of Mario is gearing up to release Nintendo Switch, a hybrid console that could redefine gaming machines for good.  

You'll still be able to buy Wii U games in stores, Fils-Aime said, and its online services aren't going away, at least not right now. Nintendo is supposedly working on a title codenamed "Project Giant Robot" that uses a Wii U GamePad, and it's possible the project could end up online. Produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, it seems to be in development limbo at the moment, however. 

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch

What else to play?

While you may feel a twinge of sadness at the demise of Wii U, there are still plenty of other ways to satiate your need to play. 

Nintendo Switch joins the Xbox One S and PS4 Pro on game store shelves on March 3. That's the same day Zelda: Breath of the Wild launches for Switch and Wii U, by the way. 

Nintendo also revealed on Wednesday it's launching Fire Emblem Heroes for mobile on February 2, bringing its storied strategy series to smartphones. Super Mario Run is also sprinting to Android in March.

It's a sad day for Wii U fans, but there are plenty of games and consoles to look forward to and that you can play right now. If you need a little inspiration to get excited for Switch, a bunch of its games are already discounted on Amazon.

Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.