In conjunction with our previous news story on Nintendo of Japan discontinuing the best-selling Wii game console, it appears that Nintendo of Europe is following suit.
The company confirmed this week that the motion-based game console, which sold over 100 million units in its lifespan, has been discontinued.
“Wii imports to Europe have been discontinued,” confirmed a Nintendo rep, speaking with MCV. “However, there are still a variety of options for consumers to enjoy Wii games and the Wii gameplay experience. Wii U, which is Nintendo’s latest home console, is backwards compatible with nearly all existing Wii games and accessories…when you switch to Wii Mode on Wii U.”
However, the production shutdown will not affect the Wii Mini model, which is a smaller system for $99.99 only available in Canada right now, according to Nintendo. The Wii Mini has no Internet connectivity, download capability, SD card capability or backwards compatibility with the GameCube.
Meanwhile, the decision on the U.S. market still stands, as Nintendo of America will continue to stock the Wii throughout the holidays. It’s a not unreasonable speculation that the Wii may cease to be available in the U.S. in the near future, once inventory runs out. The Wii Mini may be tapped to replace the Wii, but Nintendo has yet to make any announcements about that.
Source: Computer and Video Games
