210 Wiiware Games Pack [NTSC-U][2013] ((LINK))

On July 13, 2013, Nintendo released a white version of the Premium Pack in Japan, as well as an official battery pack and charger dock for the Wii Remote. The battery pack is capable of about 3 hours of gameplay before needing to be recharged. On July 25, the company released an improved battery pack for the Wii U GamePad. In contrast to the standard 1500mAh battery bundled with the console, the new 2550mAh battery pack increases longevity to between five and eight hours before needing to be recharged.[62] On August 28, 2013, Nintendo announced that the Deluxe (U.S.) / Premium (WW) 32 GB model would drop in price from US$349.99 to US$299.99 in North America. The price drop took effect on September 20, 2013.[63] In Europe, Nintendo did not confirm a formal price cut since individual retailers set their own prices. However, starting October 4, 2013, the company reduced the wholesale price of the system to retailers.[64] Coinciding with the system's price cut, Nintendo released a limited edition The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Wii U Deluxe Set bundle. The bundle included a black Wii U console with 32 GB of storage, a black Wii U GamePad decorated with a golden Triforce and other thematic symbols, a download code for the game and, in North America, a digital copy of The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, a collector's book about The Legend of Zelda series.[64][65] In Europe, Nintendo also released a limited edition Lego City Undercover Wii U Premium Pack bundle. Both European bundles featured a 7-day trial of the Wii Karaoke U service.[64] Nintendo did not cut the price of the Wii U in Australia or New Zealand nor did it release any of the previous bundles in the regions.[66][67]

On October 31, 2013, Nintendo introduced two new Wii U Premium Pack bundles in Japan, called the Family Set. The first included either a black or white Wii U console with 32 GB of storage, a black or white Wii U GamePad, New Super Mario Bros. U and Wii Party U preloaded, a black or white Wii Remote, a Wii Sensor Bar, and a 30-day trial of the Wii Karaoke U service. The second bundle included all of the previous one's contents, additionally preloaded with Wii Fit U and including Nintendo's official Fit Meter pedometer (with the Wii Balance Board available separately).[68] On November 1, 2013, Nintendo released a Mario & Luigi Deluxe Set in North America with the intention of replacing the original Wii U Deluxe Set, which included a copy of Nintendo Land. The Mario & Luigi bundle contains both New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U packaged as a "2 in 1" disc alongside a black Wii U console with 32 GB of storage and black Wii U GamePad controller.[69] The bundle was later released in Europe on November 8.[70] On November 14, Nintendo released a Just Dance 2014 Basic Pack bundle in Australia and New Zealand. It contains a white Wii U console with 8 GB of storage, a white Wii U GamePad and Wii Remote Plus controllers, a Sensor Bar, and disc versions of both Ubisoft's Just Dance 2014 and Nintendo Land.[71] The bundle was later released in Europe on November 22.[70] On November 15, Nintendo released a Wii Party U Wii U Basic Pack bundle in Europe. It features a white Wii U console with 8 GB of storage, a white Wii U GamePad and Wii Remote Plus controllers, a Sensor Bar, and disc versions of both Wii Party U and Nintendo Land.[70] On November 15, Nintendo also released a Skylanders: Swap Force Wii U Basic Set bundle in North America. It contains white Wii U with 8 GB of storage, Activision's Skylanders Swap Force game, a Portal of Power, three Skylanders figures, a collector poster, trading cards and sticker sheets, and a Nintendo Land game disc.[72] The bundle was released in Australia and New Zealand on November 21.[71]

On November 26, 2013, the Wii U was released in Brazil. However, the system is only available in the black Deluxe Set in the region.[73] On January 10, 2015, Nintendo announced that it would cease selling consoles and games in Brazil due to the high cost of doing business in the country.[74] On May 30, 2014, Nintendo released a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (U.S.) / Premium (WW) Set bundle in Europe and North America. It features a black Wii U console with 32 GB of storage, a black Wii U GamePad, a copy of Mario Kart 8, a Sensor Bar, and special edition red Wii Wheel (North America only). Additionally, registering the game on Club Nintendo before July 31, 2014 presents the buyer a free Wii U game from a selection of four in North America and ten in Europe.[75][76] The bundle was released in Australia and New Zealand on May 31.[77]

Pressing the controller's "Home" button suspends the current game or app and opens the Home Menu: it shows basic information (such as the current time, controller battery levels, and notifications), and allows access to several "multitasking" functions, including the Nintendo eShop, Miiverse, download manager, a web browser,[118] and the user's friends list. To play Wii games, the user must enter "Wii Mode", a legacy mode that emulates the Wii's system software and Wii Menu interface. Initially, Wii Mode could only be used on the television screen, but the October 2013 firmware update enables Wii Mode to be used off-TV. Either way, Wii controllers must be used.[119]

In January 2013, Nintendo announced that NES and Super NES games would be made available for the Virtual Console service on the Wii U in April 2013 and would include the option to use Off-TV Play on the GamePad.[143] On March 26, 2014, Game Boy Advance games were confirmed and started to appear on the eShop the following month.[144] Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS games were added in April 2015.[145][146]

The Nintendo Web Framework, unveiled in 2013, is a toolset that uses modern web technology (WebKit, HTML5, and JavaScript) to simplify the process of porting games to the Wii U's GamePad and TV. It was designed to make web-based games easier to port to the system than it would to code specifically for the Wii U.[149] Nintendo also released a custom Unity package to allow game developers to quickly make games on Unity for the Wii U.[150] These tools are no longer available on the Nintendo Developer Portal, however users who have these tools downloaded are still able to use them.

In May 2013, Electronic Arts announced that it was reducing support for the Wii U and had no games in development for it,[190] but then partially reconsidered this decision a few days later, with EA's CFO announcing that "We are building titles for the Nintendo console, but not anywhere near as many as we are for PlayStation or Xbox".[191] At E3 2013, Ubisoft revealed that it was not going to make any more exclusives for the Wii U until sales of the console improved,[192] though it stated shortly thereafter that it was still a "big supporter" of the Wii U, and planned to release as many Wii U games in 2013 as it did in 2012.[193] In July 2013, Bethesda Softworks announced that it had no games in development for the Wii U, with Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines explaining: "It depends on the games that we are making and how we think it aligns with that console, and how the hardware aligns with the other stuff we are making".[194] This explanation was later refined to being largely due to the hardware.[195] Contrarily, Activision has stated that it will "do everything they can" to support the system.[196] At the end of July 2013, Asda, the second-largest supermarket chain in the UK, confirmed that it had no plans to stock the Wii U, but would still stock games "on a title by title merit basis".[197] Despite this, many specialist retailers continued to emphasize their support, with Game CEO Martyn Gibbs saying "We fully support all Nintendo products, including Wii U."[198]

Because of Nintendo's reduced focus on computational power, the Wii and its games were less expensive to produce than its competitors. The Wii was extremely popular at launch, causing the system to be in short supply in some markets. A bundled game, Wii Sports, was considered the killer app for the console; other flagship games included entries in the Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, and Metroid series. Within a year of launch, the Wii became the best-selling seventh-generation console, and by 2013, had surpassed over 100 million units sold. Total lifetime sales of the Wii had reached over 101 million units, making it Nintendo's best-selling home console until it was surpassed by the Nintendo Switch in 2021.[h] As of 2022, the Wii is the fifth-best-selling home console of all time.

Nintendo continued to sell the revised Wii model and the Wii Mini alongside the Wii U during the Wii U's first release year. During 2013, Nintendo began to sunset certain Wii online functions as they pushed consumers towards the Wii U as a replacement system or towards the offline Wii Mini, though the Wii Shop Channel remained available.[62] Nintendo discontinued production of the Wii in October 2013 after selling over 100 million units worldwide,[63] though the company continued to produce the Wii Mini unit primarily for the North American market.[64] The WiiConnect24 service and several channels based on that service were shuttered in June 2013.[18] Support for online multiplayer games via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection were discontinued in May 2014,[17] while the Wii Shop was closed in January 2019, effectively ending all online services for the console.[19][65] The Wii Mini continued to be manufactured and sold until 2017.[66]

Despite the Wii's discontinuation, some developers continued to produce Wii games well beyond 2013. Ubisoft released Just Dance games for the Wii up to Just Dance 2020 (2019).[67] Vblank Entertainment's Shakedown: Hawaii along with Retro City Rampage DX are the most recent Wii games, which were released on July 9, 2020 (more than 13 years after the Wii's launch).[68][69] On January 27, 2020, Nintendo announced that they will no longer repair any faulty Wii consoles in Japan starting on February 6 due to a scarcity of spare parts.[i] 2b1af7f3a8