The Nintendo Wii is something of an industry legend. The motion-savvy console sold over 101 million units during its seven year lifespan, making it Nintendo’s most successful home console of all time, but it’s about to become an endangered species.
Although Nintendo halted production of the console back in November 2013, it was still possible to send a broken Wii back to the company to be patched up. Now, however, Nintendo has confirmed it’ll no longer be able to offer repairs for busted consoles in Japan, meaning those Wii owners in the region will have to take extra care of their beloved box.
In a Japanese press release (run through Google translate), the company explained it’s having “difficulty securing the parts required for repair” of the main console, and as such will be terminating acceptance of repairs on March 31, 2020.
While there’s still hope for customers in the U.S. and Europe, there’s no way of knowing how long parts will stay available in those regions either. So, unless you’ve got the skills to repair your Wii using second-hand spares, it might be worth sending your aging friend in for repairs before Nintendo closes the book for good.