Wii U

Wii U
A white Wii U and its associated GamePad controller
Generation	Eighth generation
Release date	November 18, 2012 November 18, 2012 November 29, 2012 November 29, 2012 November 30, 2012 November 30, 2012 December 8, 2012 December 10, 2012 November 26, 2013
Discontinued	October 1, 2016 November 10, 2016 November 14, 2016 January 31, 2017
Predecessor	Wii
Successor	Nintendo Switch

The Wii U is an eighth generation game console created and produced by Nintendo. The Wii U is the direct successor of the Wii, and it was first released in late 2012. The main gimmick of the Wii U was its controller, the Wii U GamePad, which had an integrated tablet-like screen. Depending on the game or software, the player could either use the Wii U GamePad in correspondence to the television screen or play from the controller itself. The Wii U was a commercial failure as its two main competitors, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, both outsold it by millions of units. In 2017, the Wii U was succeeded by the Nintendo Switch.

Only one Kirby game has ever been developed for the Wii U, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Prior to its release, Kirby appeared in two other Wii U titles, NES Remix Pack and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Although only one Kirby game was ever developed for the Wii U, several earlier Kirby titles were ported to the Virtual Console.