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Nintendo discontinues the Wii in Europe

Nintendo has confirmed it's to stop selling the Wii console in Europe, after it was discontinued in Japan.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

That's it. Nintendo has pulled the plug on the Wii in Europe. So once stock has run dry, you won't be able to buy the console except from second-hand merchants.

"Wii imports to Europe have been discontinued," a Nintendo spokesperson told MCV. The gaming giant has already stopped selling the Wii in its native Japan, but strangely it's yet to yank it from the Yanks. "There is no change in the status of the Wii in the United States, and it is available for purchase this holiday season," Nintendo told Stuff.

Argos, Asda, and Tesco don't list the Wii online at the moment, but Sainsbury's, Game and Amazon do. So there are still some around if you fancy snapping one up.

Of course you could always opt for its smaller, cheaper brother, the Wii Mini. Though that would mean foregoing an Internet connection and an SD card slot. The Wii Mini can't play Gamecube titles, and it only has one USB port, too.

It does play the Wii's 1,200-strong back catalogue of games though.

Without the Wii, Nintendo is placing all its bets on the Wii U and its handhelds, the 3DS range and 2DS. The Wii U has sold poorly so far, with the price being slashed repeatedly in an attempt to boost sales. Asda has stopped selling it altogether. Nintendo has also targeted Tesco to promote the console in time for Christmas. The 2DS has had £10 lopped off its price too, less than two weeks after going on sale.

It's not like things are going to get any easier for Nintendo. Next month, the PS4 and Xbox One will launch, getting this generation's console wars started good and proper. Nintendo posted its first ever loss this year.

Will you miss the Wii? What do you think of the current crop of consoles? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.