The Nintendo Wii has enjoyed a long and storied life, but all good things must come to an end eventually. After a successful 13-year life cycle, Nintendo is finally ready to end support for its popular Wii console. This is according to a notice posted on the Nintendo Japan website, where the company said Nintendo Wii repair support will end in March of 2020.
According to a translated version of this support page, the final date that Nintendo will accept Wii repairs is March 31, 2020. The company notes that it cannot guarantee certain repairs due to the limited availability of spare parts. Even if repairs are possible, customers only have until March 31 to submit their system for certified first-party fixes.
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In a nutshell, ending repair support formally ends all hardware support for the Nintendo Wii. Players may recall that the system’s Wii Shop Channel was closed back in January of 2019, which marked the beginning of the end, so to speak. Of course, the very last bell will ring when the system’s final game releases. As far as can be told, that game will be Just Dance 2020, based around comments provided by Ubisoft director Alain Corre.
The Nintendo Wii originally released in 2006, and became one of the hottest video game platforms of all time. With just over 100 million units sold, the Wii stands as the fourth best-selling home video game console of all time. Its sales figures are beaten only by rival Sony consoles like the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 4. The Wii still holds the record as the best-selling Nintendo console of all time, although the Switch stands to close that gap, assuming its life cycle is just as long.
It might seem a little premature for Nintendo to end Wii repair support after just 13 years. After all, repair support for the NES only closed in 2007, which was 24 years after the system debuted. Still, 13 years is a frankly legendary amount of time compared to the support offered with other consumer-grade electronics. Nintendo Wii, our hats are off to you. It’s been a great run.
