It’s easy to assume that no one is purchasing new Wii U here in late 2023. After all, Nintendo’s follow up console, the Nintendo Switch, has been available since 2017 and production for this old console ended just months before its successor was released.

All this was combined due to the Wii U’s failure to garner sales. During its entire lifespan of just over 4 years, it only managed a meager 13.56 million units sold, a number which the Switch beats out on just annual sales.

That said, the end of production doesn’t mean that Wii U’s were necessarily no longer available in stores, even if Nintendo tried to buy back all of them to avoid later sales. A couple could end up missed by them, just sitting on shelves for years as people ignore it in favor of newer hardware.

This was the case as found by Mat Piscatella, staffer at NPD, who revealed that 1 new Wii U was sold in the US last month in September, the first sale since May 2022.

It’s unknown why someone would decide now to purchase a console which has been discontinued for years, and has had its online shop and service ended earlier this year. Perhaps it was due to the rarity of the Wii U as a historical/collector’s item or just as a fun item to look back on what was missed.

Hopefully they get their money’s worth, seeing as they paid $299.99 for it, the same price one could’ve spent on a Nintendo Switch right now and the same price as back when the Wii U first launched.