Wii U Receives Version 5.5.5 System Update After 2.5 Years of Inactivity

Nintendo has released a new Wii U update that brings the system version software up to 5.5.5. This update is available not only in Japan, but also in North America. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

The system update itself does not have a lot of notable content, though. The patch notes only mentioned improvements to the system stability and adjustments to enhance the usability of the console.

Prior to version 5.5.5, the latest system update made for Japanese and North American Wii U consoles was version 5.5.3 in September 2018. While version 5.5.4 also exists, it was made exclusively for European consoles in June 2019. Curiously, the European release has still yet to receive a version 5.5.5 update as of this writing.

The last system update that provided more than just stability and usability improvements was version 5.5.0 for North American consoles in August 2015. Nintendo removed the TVii icon from the console menu, as the service was discontinued in the same month.

Although the company continued to release stability updates once per year afterward, the updates were initially thought to be over after the version 5.5.3 update, which released over a year after the console was no longer produced anywhere in the world.

Nintendo’s Wii U launched in the West in November 2012 and in Japan in December 2012. The console lasted for roughly over 4 years until its production ended in Japan in January 2017.