Japan: Wii U Basic Set production to be stopped, White Premium Set to be launched next month
When Nintendo launched the Wii U, two models were available:
– Black Premium Set (with 32GB of internal space)
– White Basic Set (with 8GB of internal space)
But ever since the major price drop back in 2013, the Basic Set has been pretty much discontinued in Europe and North America. The only way to get one is to buy one of the special holidays bundles such as the Skylanders and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ones. But there was one region where this model wasn’t discontinued: Japan. In fact, it was the best-selling model for many months, last year.
That being said, the Wii U Basic Set won’t remain available in Japan forever: Nintendo announced this morning that production for this model would be stopped soon. Therefore, if you live in Japan and want to get a Wii U Basic Set, you might want to go buy one as soon as possible, just to be safe.
It looks like Nintendo is replacing this White Wii U Basic Set with a White Wii U Premium Set, which will be available starting next month in Japan. It contains everything from the regular Premium Set (which means no Wii Remote Plus or Sensor Bar, which were never included in Japan except in some bundles), and will cost 30 000 Yen (+ taxes, roughly 223€ / 159£ / 248$).
This is not the first time Nintendo is selling a Premium Set with a White Wii U in Japan, as there’s already been several bundles with one (such as the Holidays Bundles from 2013, or the Wii U Premium Set + Wii Sports Club bundle, for example). Unfortunately, Nintendo never released one in the West, as Premium Sets have always included Black consoles.
Source: Nintendo
