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Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13

Nintendo ending Japan sales of Wii U, shifting to Switch

FILE - In this July 13, 2015, file photo, shoppers ride on an escalator under Nintendo's Super Mario characters at an electronics store in Tokyo. Nintendo Co. is ending sales in Japan of its Wii U home console “soon,” although it’s not saying exactly when, and similar announcements are expected in other regions. The Wii U, which went on sale from late 2012, is being replaced by Switch, set to go on sale globally in March 2017. Nintendo says it will show it to reporters in Japan on Jan. 13. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
FILE - In this July 13, 2015, file photo, shoppers ride on an escalator under Nintendo's Super Mario characters at an electronics store in Tokyo. Nintendo Co. is ending sales in Japan of its Wii U home console “soon,” although it’s not saying exactly when, and similar announcements are expected in other regions. The Wii U, which went on sale from late 2012, is being replaced by Switch, set to go on sale globally in March 2017. Nintendo says it will show it to reporters in Japan on Jan. 13. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

TOKYO (AP) – Nintendo Co. is ending sales in Japan of its Wii U home console “soon,” although it’s not saying exactly when, and similar announcements are expected in other regions.

The Wii U, which went on sale from late 2012, is being replaced by Switch, set to go on sale globally in March 2017. Nintendo says it will show it to reporters in Japan on Jan. 13.

The Japanese video game manufacturer behind the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises has already shipped Wii U machines for U.S. sales through March, company spokesman Kenichiro Matsuura said Friday.

Kyoto-based Nintendo has scored success with the remake of its 1980s FamiCom machine, called NES Classic Edition, which goes on sale Friday in the U.S. for $59.99.

Japanese have been snatching it up since it went on sale Thursday.