If you"ve been holding on to your Wii all these years, Nintendo has some unfortunate news for you. The company"s Japanese division announced on its website (via Kotaku) that it will no longer be servicing the original model of the console after March 31. According to the company, securing parts to perform repairs on the 13-year-old hardware has become difficult.
Even if you send in your unit prior to that date, Nintendo warns that it may not be able to perform the repair if it has no more parts. Likewise, the company will also service Wii accessories as long as it has stock for the required parts, after which point it will stop taking repairs for them as well.
The Wii was first launched in 2006, and it was the first mainstream console to make motion controls the core input method for games. The unique controls paired with experiences such as Wii Sports, which revolved entirely around motion, in addition to a lower price point compared to competing hardware, propelled Nintendo to outsell both Sony and Microsoft"s consoles during that generation. It was eventually discontinued in 2013.
The console received two notable revisions, one with model number RVL-101, which looked almost the same, but was designed to be positioned horizontally instead of vertically. It also removed backwards compatibility with GameCube accessories and games. Then, the Wii Mini launched in 2012, going even further to remove the networking capabilities of the console. Neither of these models launched in Japan, so it"s unclear whether they will no longer be serviced as well. It"s likely that other regional divisions of Nintendo will follow suit with their own notices regarding Wii repairs.