A report from Eurogamer (via Gamespot) suggests that the retail deadline for new console orders was at the end of October and that after the current run of consoles the Japanese based manufacturing will cease.

Some news guy named Austin Walker actually reported on rumours of Wii U production ending back in March of this year, but at the time Nintendo issues a statement saying that production would continue. Austin also pointed out that this could just mean Nintendo have enough of these consoles in storage for the foreseeable future that they didn't need to make more.

Although the industry has changed so it's not an apples to apples comparison, it is interesting to remember that the Playstation 2 ended production sometime shortly after January 2013, meaning it was in production for twelve years. The Wii U launched in November 2012, which means it's production lifespan has been roughly four years. Although that makes more sense considering the 150 million units the PlayStation 2 moved vs the 13.5 million the Wii U has moved so far.

I own a Wii U and have been very happy with it. It's been worth it to me for the superb games in it's small library. Again, Nintendo may have a ton of these backed up so this isn't the end for the console, but I think that normally production of the previous console ends after the new unit is launched. Looks like Nintendo are cutting their losses and focusing on the Switch from here on out. (Photo credit to Steve Hannley)

The first Nintendo console I never got around to purchasing (aside from the Virtual Boy). I'm still at the point where I'm waiting to see if all the Wii U games (and VC games) I want will just be on the Switch instead. If not, I'll pick one up cheap at some point for those few games.

I can't say that I'm surprised to hear this. I never bought a Wii U after getting little use out of my Wii, but I'll admit that it amassed a pretty decent library over its four year lifespan. Here's hoping that the Switch offers some sort of backwards compatibility, but if not, I can imagine picking up a Wii U for deep discount sometime in 2017.

Wii U actually was a good system, arguably the best system for first party titles this gen?!?!

Just because they are cutting production doesnt mean you wont find one anymore.

I'm sure they have a entire warehouse of unsold Wii Us and accessories to hold a supply for years to come.

Nintendo doesn't make systems to store in a warehouse. They take orders from retailers, and build systems for those orders. This would be around the time that retailers are putting in their last dollars towards buying product for the holiday season.

It might be a little unfair to compare its sales to the PS2, the best selling game console ever (I still see it being sold and rent in my area), although it's still small compared to other consoles. But hey, at least it might still be competitive to the Vita and the Xbox One.

When does the switch drop? It's super crazy that they would stop production before the new console arrives, or even right when it arrives. Seems really crazy honestly.