Wii U Receives a New Firmware Update for Some Reason

Raise your hand if you remember the Wii U.

Keep you hand raised if had a Wii U.

Keep it raised if you thought it would get another firmware update.

For all 2 of you (liars), this is your lucky day. Nintendo has just released a firmware update for it’s ill-fated Wii U console. Firmware version 5.5.5 U was released today on March 1, 2021. According to Nintendo, this update contains “Improvements to system stability and usability”. This is the first update to the Wii U’s system software in over 2 years, and only the third update since Nintendo launched the Switch in early 2017.

But why would they release an update to the Wii U of all things, especially after it’s been dead and buried for so long? Our best guess is that it involves patching out an exploit that people have been using for piracy or cheating (Nintendo has always been a stickler for those things) or else fixes an issue that has been affecting users to the point where Nintendo has to provide support for it. Either way, it’s weird to see an update released after so long.

You can check out the Wii U’s complete update history over at the Nintendo support site.