RIP Wii: Charting the Discontinuation of a Cultural Phenomenon

The year was 2006. After trailing industry leaders Sony and Microsoft for years, Nintendo unveiled its next-gen console to the world, a tiny white box with a revolutionary motion controller called the Wii. Over 100 million units sold later, the Wii is rightfully remembered as one of gaming‘s biggest revolutions. Yet just seven short years after that debut, Nintendo pulled the plug in 2013, discontinuing its hit console in favor of the ill-fated Wii U. Why turn off the cash faucet of a cultural sensation that opened gaming to new audiences? As a long-time Nintendo fan, the Wii‘s early demise has always struck me as one of gaming‘s great mysteries. After combing through sales data, launch timelines, capability comparisons and more, I‘m finally ready to eulogize the Wii and diagnose the reasoning behind its untimely death. Come reminisce with me about swingin‘ Wiimotes in Wii Sports and let‘s unravel the complex interplay of market pressures that cut this icon‘s life short.

The Meteoric Rise and Fall of Wii Sales

The Wii was ahistoric sales juggernaut right from launch, selling faster than both the Xbox 360 and PS3 during the competitive 2006 holiday season. And unlike most consoles, the Wii continued setting sales records month-over-month, ultimately selling over 100 million consoles lifetime. Just look at the yearly sales momentum it was carrying through its peak:

With numbers like these, Nintendo must have been popping champagne year after year! But past 2009, the gravy train dried up. Sales softened through 2010 before absolutely cratering in 2011 with just 7.6 million units moved, an apocalyptic 91% annual decline which signaled diminishing consumer appetite. By 2012 the Wii was basically irrelevant, selling a paltry 4 million units as attention shifted elsewhere. The party was over, with Nintendo left reeling and forced into a rushed Wii U launch holiday 2012 to stop the bleeding.

The Threat of Mobile Gaming Changed Everything

What the heck happened? Simple – Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and hordes of cheap mobile games burst onto the scene to disrupt traditional gaming starting 2009. Rather than buying a $250 Nintendo console, casual audiences could get their quick gaming fix for free or 99 cents. Businesses took note too. iPads and phones were given prominent store displays that made expensive Wii boxes feel stale and dated. Heck, even retirement homes were buying iPads with simple swipe controls over complicated Wiimote gestures.

Analyst Michael Patcher summed it up best: “Casual gamers have moved on to mobile devices for gaming”. With its minigame collection style experiences, shallow motion inputs and cute avatars, the Wii was essentially the 2007 proto-iPad built solely for casual appetites. When genuine mobile alternatives emerged, Nintendo’s Trojan horse to non-traditional gamers lost its strategic advantage.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 Outpaced Wii‘s 2008 Hardware

Graphics-centric players were also fleeing Wii’s minimal horsepower in droves by 2011. With visuals firmly stuck in the fuzzy 480p ‘Standard Definition’ era, Nintendo was flat-out lapped by Sony and Microsoft’s machines. The PS3 offered theater-quality Blue-ray movie playback and Xbox 360 had a robust online environment for multiplayer – neither strengths for the do-it-all Wii.

Reviewing the stark differentiating hardware really shows why core gamers who prioritized high-def gaming were frustrated:

By 2010, the Wii’s SD outputs paled next to cinematic HD visuals Sony and Microsoft offered. And the complete lack of an ethernet port for wired internet was proving problematic sustaining online communities when compared to XBox Live. Graphics snobs needed some reason to justify buying Nintendo’s innovative but standard-def system in the HD era – and eventually gave up waiting.

Backwards Compatible Wii U Provided a Bridge

With revenues diving off a cliff, Nintendo’s solution was the Wii U console – essentially an upgraded Wii with HD graphics, proper internet connectivity and a handy touchpad controller. Innovation and risk taking defined Nintendo in 2012 as they looked to merge touch interfaces with home gaming.

While the Wii U is now considered a commercial flop, it served an important purpose as Nintendo’s lifeboat for its stranded Wii owners. Nearly 85% of Wii software catalog was forward compatible on Wii U hardware. For loyal fans with libraries of old games and Wii-only accessories, this backwards compatibility meant hardware upgrades wouldn’t force them to abandon those investments. At the same time, Nintendo could pull resources from fading Wii development and focus exclusively on building next-generation experiences.

The March of Progress Waits for No Game Console

In the end, the Wii was a relatively short-lived phenomenon in the world of gaming hardware that burned hot, but faded fast. As giants like Nintendo navigate disruptive market landscapes, they have to ruthlessly phase out aging platforms in favor of innovation. And with 5-7 year average lifecycles, no console lasts forever – not even 100 million-selling cultural treasures like the Wii. Cast off by casual audiences lured to mobile and rejected by graphical power users, Nintendo made the tough but strategically correct decision pulling the plug.

All good things come to an end. But oh, what an unbelievably fun end it was swinging virtual tennis rackets with millions of new friends. Game on, Wii – game on.