Nintendo plans to halt production of the Wii gaming console for Japan, the only major market where the latest Wii U outsells the 7-year-old device. There are no plans to end output for foreign markets, according to the company.

Nintendo unveiled the Wii U last year adding a touch-screen controller to the motion-capture console it introduced in 2006 in a bet it could lure players away from smartphones and tablet computers.

Nintendo has sold more than 100 million Wii units since its 2006 release.

Sony and Microsoft are due to release the new generation consoles next month.