The newly introduced Nintendo Switch has an increased hype in the gaming community due to its hybrid design, allowing it to function as a handheld and a home console at the same time. It then won't come as a surprise if the Japan-based gaming company eventually decides to kill one of its underperforming handhelds — the Wii U.
A report made by Kotaku states that Nintendo's official Japanese site announced that the production for the Wii U will be ending soon. In addition, Nintendo of America had this to say to Kotaku: "We can confirm that as of today, all Wii U hardware that will be made available in the North American market for this fiscal year has already been shipped to our retail partners."
This may have been a predicted scenario for some, considering the fact that Wii U sales have not been up to par to how it was expected to perform, as per Eurogamer. Its launch in November 2012 may have been promising, but that was pretty much it, followed by a steady decline.
Although no official statement has been released confirming that this is indeed a move by the Japanese company to put more efforts to the Nintendo Switch production, clues point to such assumption. A lot of excitement has been geared toward the new hybrid, both consumers and game developers alike, where Capcom publicly expressed support to its development, as per Forbes.
The next question on everyone's minds may be if the Nintendo 3DS will be next to phase out, seeing that the new hybrid carries the same functionalities of the 3DS and so much more. This may not be the case.
According to Polygon, "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon" have a record-high pre-order status, which also trickles down to sales of the hardware that supports the game. It is true that Game Freak, producer of the Pokémon franchise, may be thinking of compatibility with Nintendo Switch after "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon" as per iTech Post. For now, it would appear the 3DS is safe from the same fate as that of Wii U.
