Nintendo says it gained’t stop manufacturing of Wii U

Beforehand, a report from Japanese newspaper Nikkei claimed that Nintendo would stop manufacturing its Wii U console by the tip of the yr.

Nintendo has now reacted, with a spokesperson telling ITMedia that Nikkei’s report “isn’t an official announcement”, and that the company plans to offer the Wii U through the rest of the yr.

Whereas Nintendo’s response throws doubt on whether or not or not the lifetime of the Wii U is to be decrease fast in 2016, Nikkei’s report has nevertheless thrown gasoline on the rumour that the company intends to launch a successor console, dubbed the Nintendo NX, inside the next few months.

The denial of the report chimes with Nintendo’s earlier suggestions, moreover that it may not abandon current Wii U clients in terms of video video games.

“We’re engaged on NX and looking on the experiences we are going to convey to that platform,” Nintendo chief Tatsumi Kimishima instructed TIME last December. “Nevertheless first our job at this stage is to help the consumers who’ve purchased Wii U and assure that they’ve software program program experiences accessible to them.” 

The Wii U has had a difficult time conserving tempo with Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4, most notably in terms of third-party help from publishers similar to EA. Nintendo claims to have purchased 12.6 million Wii U objects as of December 2015, nevertheless it’s a paltry decide compared with 36 million PlayStation 4s – notably considering the Wii U launched a yr sooner than the PS4. 

An E3-time Nintendo Direct event is a potential platform for the NX launch, and you will be taught further about our predictions for the event here.