It was only a matter of time but Nintendo’s Wii U has all but had its ticket punched. Nintendo Japan has announced that production of the Wii U console, as well as a version that comes bundled with shooter Splatoon, will be coming to an end in that country.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Wii U will be vanishing the world over but the coming of the Switch has certainly put an expiration date on Nintendo’s least-loved console. And the end could very well be in sight.

Following the Japan announcement, Nintendo America has said that they have shipped “…Wii U hardware that will be made available in the North American market for this fiscal year” to their retail partners. That means they’re not making any more till March 2017, at least.

That’s not much in the grand scheme but that Nintendo America don’t plan to manufacture more units for their market for the rest of the year bodes ill for the Wii U’s future. Especially since the Nintendo Switch is scheduled for a March 2017 release.

It could be that we’re looking at the beginning of the end of the Wii U’s life cycle, even though Nintendo has previously said of the console that “Even though the Nintendo Switch is slated to go on sale, production is scheduled to continue” when confronted with rumours of the console’s demise.

Source: Ars Technica