The Wii U is officially dead thanks to Xenoblade Chronicles X, but Nintendo fans shouldn’t worry thanks to the Switch 2

The Wii U, despite its low sales and numerous glitches, has had some truly amazing games released for it, including games like Xenoblade Chronicles, Tokyo Mirage #FE Sessions, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3and many more. Naturally, due to the console’s poor sales, most of these games were ported to the Nintendo Switch. This was an excellent decision for both Nintendo and the consumer, as more people had access to these great games and Nintendo made a lot of money by porting their existing library.

However, the release of Wii U ports for the Nintendo Switch slowed down after a while, and some of the console’s best games were stuck on the system. This gave people a reason to still buy one in 2024, even despite the eshop closing. Of course, that all changed with the announcement that Xenoblade Chronicles is coming to Switch. It’s apparently the final nail in the Wii U’s coffinbut it’s not something fans should worry too much about, especially thanks to a cool Switch 2 feature.

Xenoblade Chronicles X coming to Switch killed the Wii U

There’s no reason to buy one now

It’s fair to say that after Nintendo closed the Wii U online store, there were few reasons left to buy the console. It was already an unpopular device – although perhaps a little misunderstood – and fans got most of their best games on the Nintendo Switch. However, there were some titles that were big enough to justify going on eBay and buying a second-hand Wii U for perhaps more than it’s worth. These games were Xenoblade Chronicles and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.

Of course, the mentioned Xenoblade Chronicles Porto put an end to thatand now, with no eshop or worthwhile exclusives, the Wii U is completely dead. They are too expensive second-hand and the fact that the port of XBCX is a Definitive Editionwhich means new content and improved visuals, makes playing the original a downgraded experience.

Fans can still buy one to play the few decent exclusives that remain. However, as Nintendo has proven it is willing to bring the Wii U game it didn’t think possible to port, it seems only a matter of time before the few remaining titles jump ship. Even if fans never see Paper Mario: Color Splash or Game and Wario on Switch, it already has several of the best games in these series and is no worse for their absence.

Switch 2 backwards compatibility makes Wii U redundant

Players will be able to carry their entire library

The Wii U essentially dying, though, isn’t particularly surprisingor really so sad. It only lasted five years before the release of the Switch, which was a year less than the Wii, and faded into obscurity the moment Nintendo left it. Its death was always expected, unlike the Wii, which can be purchased for a relatively cheap price and still has many exclusives that never made it to the Switch. However, the fact that most of its library is primarily on the Switch now means that fans no longer have to worry about purchasing one.

To make matters worse, it looks like the Nintendo Switch 2 will have full backwards compatibility, meaning all Wii U games on the Switch can be ported over, making the console even more redundant. Gamers will likely already be able to buy Switch ports of long-ago Wii U games and still play them on modern hardware. This also means that Nintendo will still have an incentive to keep bringing out the last remnants of the Wii U, eventually making it completely obsolete.

In many ways, It seems like this is what the Wii U was always intended for. Naturally, this isn’t true, as Nintendo didn’t make a console so that it would fail on purpose and be able to repackage its games for its next console. This is ridiculous. Yet it seems that, in some ways, the Wii U, with its ability to switch between the TV and its clunky tablet, its huge, ambitious titles crammed onto already aging hardware, and its move toward more mature games, was the model for the Nintendo Switch.

There’s something special about the Wii U dying this way, as it’s rare for a console to go out this way. Older consoles are still kept alive by their game library, with people picking them up and reliving their childhoods. However, it’s hard to imagine that happening with the Wii U. It’s a modern system that had a small player base that was unlikely to be nostalgic for it, had its entire library stolen by its successor, and has now lost the only remaining reason to buy it. it, Xenoblade Chronicles.

Source: Nintendo of America/X