In a rather interesting turn of events, the Wii U is reportedly having trouble staying on store shelves in its home nation. Yes, the very same system that took nearly three years to sell ten million units is suddenly facing a shortage all across Japan. The reason why the Wii U is suddenly so scarce is anyone's guess, but it's very possible higher than anticipated holiday sales have a hand to play in this sudden turn of events.
The system sold 146,348 units in Japan to end 2015. Combine that with the 47,890 Wii U consoles sold two weeks prior and the week in between that we didn't report. That brings the Wii U's sales total to almost 200,000 units in December alone. Given the Wii U's average weekly sales usually hover around the 10,000 mark, it's not too far of a stretch to imagine that retailers went through their stock much faster than Nintendo anticipated. Even Amazon Japan is having trouble keeping the console in their warehouse, although third party sellers operating through Amazon may still have some available.
How long the shortage will last or what actually caused it is anyone's guess, but it's unlikely to have anything to do with the NX. Nintendo is yet to begin divulging information about the upcoming successor to the Wii U, although analysts speculate we could be looking at a holiday 2016 launch. Whatever the cause for the shortage is, Nintendo is almost certainly looking to resolve it as fast as possible.
