When the new Wii U was announced in 2011, it was clear that the Wii was a dying breed. Even before the Wii U was announced, third-party support for the Wii had waned to the point where it appeared as if the product was on its way out. Nintendo acted like a dutiful parent and said it would continue to support the console for years to come, but it was clear the company was ready to pull the plug, which it did in 2013.

When game publishers came to New York in 2011 to show off their upcoming holiday merchandise, the Wii was largely absent. Some companies, like Capcom, pretended the Wii was dead, while others threw a game or two their way. Activision released a few Wii games, as did Electronic Arts. Sega released one, along with Atari and other small and medium-sized publishers. Ubisoft was the only third-party publisher to release more than a few Wii games.

The Wii was clearly dying, which was confusing. After all, 2010 was supposed to be the Wii’s best year ever. After years of releasing cheap mini-game collections, publishers finally seemed to be putting some real effort into the console, with big titles like Call of Duty Black Ops, Sonic Colors, GoldenEye 007, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and many more. Some of these games were successful, so it seemed like publishers were finally starting to make what Wii gamers had been asking for: good games.

Instead, the Wii saw a decline in games in 2011 in terms of quantity, quality, and PR push. Publishers didn't want to completely ignore the massive market of Wii owners, but their hearts lay elsewhere.