Nintendo Ends Production of the Wii in Europe and Japan - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 24 October 2013 / 10,069 Views
Nintendo has made two announcements this week about the fate of the Wii. Earlier this week Nintendo of Japan confirmed that the Wii is no longer being produced in Japan. Nintendo UK also confirmed today that the Wii is no longer being produced in Europe.
"Wii imports to Europe have been discontinued," a Nintendo UK representative told MCVUK. "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, so you can enjoy a vast library of disc-based and downloadable Wii games and Wii gameplay experiences when you switch to Wii Mode on Wii U," the representative added. "Wii Mini is also now available across Europe offering Wii gameplay experiences at a great value. Wii Mini puts the focus squarely on games with over 1200 existing disc-based Wii titles to choose from."
While the Wii is no longer being manufactured in Europe and Japan, Nintendo of America announced that the Wii will still be produced in the US.
"The announcement that the Wii console has been discontinued is specific to Japan," the representative told Gamespot. "There is no change in the status of Wii in the United States, and it is available for purchase this holiday season."
The Wii started out strong setting records in the video game industry, but sales stalled after a few years.The Wii has managed to sell just over 100 million units worldwide, according to VGChartz.
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So the PS2 and Wii was discontinued in these places within 12 months of each other?
with over 100 million in sales and the introduction of motion controlls the wii was a massive player in gaming
Oh so the Wii is discontinued in Europe, but the Wii Mini is still being sold there? I think everything is discontinued in Japan.
So it's basically what they did with the NES and the SNES. The main system replaced with a smaller, simpler and cheaper model to ride out the legs.
The question is... for how long? And I don't mean it with malice, I think the Wii in NA is hurting the Wii U. I want the Wii U to do well.
This makes no sense as the Wii was never manufactured in the US, Europe or Japan it was made by Foxconn in Taiwan. A more accurate title should be Nintendo no longer ships Wii's to Japan or Europe but continues to do so for the US.
Agreed, even the quote from the Nintendo UK spokesman says the "Wii imports TO Europe" have been stopped. Why would Nintendo import Wii's into the Europe if they were manufactured there?Answer is they don't, as you said they are made at foxconn
I agree, this is a poorly worded re-post of the original MCVUK article and makes no sense. Though, many parts of the Wii are made in the US and Japan.
The CPU is made by IBM in the US (East Fishkill, N.Y).
The GPU + DRAM (LSI) and 1T-SRAM are made by NEC in Japan (Yamagata plant).
The Optical Drive is made by Panasonic in Japan for original Wii.
These make up some of the more expensive components not made by Foxconn.
