Fun Sales Fact: One New Wii U Was Sold in September

At least one Nintendo fan would still like to play the Wii U, the troubled console that lasted just over four years before making way for the Switch.

Circana analyst Mat Piscatella took to X on Friday to reveal that Nintendo sold one new Wii U in the U.S. in September. It’s apparently the first Wii U to be sold since May 2022 according to Circana’s data. The new unit was apparently purchased from a retailer that reports individual store level sales data to the company, which video game industry sales data on a monthly basis.

1 new Wii U was sold in the US in September. First time a new Wii U sold since May 2022. Last time a new Vita unit sold was in November 2021, when 3 (!!) were purchased.

Is any of this at all meaningful? No. Sales fun facts that do not matter.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 13, 2023

“We acquire and process individual store level sales data for every sku across most retailers, which combined account for about 97% of the hardware market,” Piscatella explained in a follow-up post. “It does force us to use all our fingers and toes.”

But wait, didn’t Nintendo buy back all Wii U retailer stock when it stopped production to avoid clearance sales?

“So you never lost your keys or misplaced a sock?” Piscatella responded jokingly.

The lucky new Wii U owner will get access to several excellent games that can’t be found on Nintendo Switch, including The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and Nintendo Land. However, the Wii U is missing many the features that made it special in the first place, including its beloved Miiverse, which closed back in 2017. Nintendo closed the Wii U’s eShop earlier this year, and online servers will shut down in April 2024.

You can still have some fun with the Wii U though, even if you can’t play the original Splatoon online anymore.

Originally released back in 2012, the Wii U was Nintendo’s first HD console. It quickly fell behind the PS4 and Xbox One, which launched the following the year, and subsequently struggled with third-party support. The Wii U’s struggles led to a quick transition to the Nintendo Switch, which inherited most of the Wii U’s library via ports and sequels.

But whether because of its unique tablet controller or gems like the Mario Maker, the Wii U is still beloved in some circles. Congratulations to the one lucky new Wii U owner in the U.S., and make sure to pick up a copy of NES Remix. It’s a good one.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.