Nintendo will no longer repair the Wii

The Nintendo Wii is the fourth best-selling home console of all time and is the undisputed king of Nintendo’s home console catalogue. The Wii sold 101.63 million units during its lifetime, which started in 2006. Considering the sheer volume of Wii consoles out there and the console’s relatively old age, The Wiis in many homes around the world may soon need repairs. Unfortunately, Nintendo won’t be one of the repair services to which consumers can turn.

Nintendo announced that they will no longer accept Wii consoles for repair in the United States. Citing difficulties in securing the necessary parts, the company will also shutter its Japanese Wii repair program on March 31, 2020. It should be noted that this announcement specifically mentions the first model Wii (RVL-001) and does not make reference to the Wii Mini (RVL-201), which was released in Canada in 2012 and Europe and the U.S. in 2013. According to Nintendo America's support page, the company is still offering repairs on Wii Mini consoles.

While Nintendo’s cessation of its Wii repair program is sad news, it’s impressive that the Japanese giant is still offering repairs this far after the console’s launch. There’s also not too much worry for most consumers; unlike its contemporaries (the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3), the original Wii model never suffered systemic hardware failures.

Additionally, the rise in retro gaming has also spurred an increase in retro electronic repair shops. It’s likely there’s a repair shop nearby that can fix most hardware issues that may crop up with the Nintendo Wii.

Do you still have a Nintendo Wii? How has it held up over time? Let us know in the comments.