Nintendo's Wii U has never been particularly popular, but the latest news on the Nintendo front is especially dour. Nintendo's just announced that they will no longer sell the basic 8GB Wii U in Japan. Some have seen this move coming for a while, especially because the 32GB Wii U is only $50 more and has always sold better than its smaller count. Either way, the 8GB version has always stuck around, even as it's dropped off the marketplace in the last few years.
What does it mean that Nintendo's axing one version of the Wii U? It might not be much- it's standard practice for the company to focus less on the original versions of any console as time goes on. Just think of the 3DS. As Nintendo pushed forward with the 3DS XL and the New Nintendo 3DS, it only makes sense that the original version would get less attention.
But the Wii U has also seen a particular shortage in first-party titles, which are usually Nintendo's console-selling bread and butter. The Wii U has yet to get its own Zelda or a main series 3D Mario game. This might be factoring into the less-than-stellar sales of the Wii U, and why Nintendo has had to cut down on the console recently. However, it was leaked that a Paper Mario sequel is coming to the Wii U in the near future. That could potentially give the console a much-needed sales boost.
As well, there's the Nintendo NX to think of. Nintendo's already hard at work on the next-gen replacement to the Wii U, which they've already announced will release at some point in 2016. Could Nintendo be clearing out the Wii U a little early, to make way for the NX? According to the latest rumors, the NX might not even be a replacement for the Wii U- more of a next-gen companion. We'll keep an eye out for the latest on Nintendo and the Wii U/NX fight they've got brewing.
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