Although it's had something of a rocky road and less than dramatic sales, the Wii U is - in our opinion, anyway - a solid console with a lot of charm to it.
Why it hasn't taken on the way the XboxOne and PlayStation 4 is open to plenty of suggestions, but its fortunes have improved since the release of Super Mario Maker and the streaming community's embrace of the game itself. Reports surfaced last night that Nintendo was ceasing production of the Wii U in order to make way for its next-gen console, the NX.
However, these reports were quickly quashed by Nintendo of Japan, claiming that the original reports were false. The original reports suggested that the companies who make components for the Wii U had ceased production and that development of games for the console are still ongoing.
Despite this, an official statement came from Nintendo claiming that "from the next quarter and thereafter as well, production (of the Wii U) is scheduled to continue."
Wii U sales have topped 12 million units so far since its launch in 2012. However, both the XboxOne and the PlayStation 4 surpassed this figure within their first year on sale. For Nintendo's part, they're fighting an uphill battle against retailers and developers. EA admitted that it had significantly less titles in development for the platform compared to the XboxOne and PlayStation 4, whilst UK supermarket chain Asda confirmed back in 2013 that it wouldn't stock the Wii U console itself, but would sell Wii U games on a merit basis.
With constant reports and rumours flying around about Nintendo's next console, it seems hard to believe that the Big N is cutting its losses with the Wii U already. The early word on the NX is that it will blend VR with a traditional game experience, something PlayStation 4 is beginning to wade into in the very near future. With E3's first press conferences happening in June, it's likely that Nintendo will be making a big announcement then.
