Wii Channels, as well as Wii Connect 24 (sending and receiving messages on Wii, forgot you could do that didn't you?) will end next month. Indeed, it seems like the end of an era, the final step in putting the Wii to sleep, so before the Wii rests its weary head, Nintendo have sent a Wii message out to all owners, telling them about the Wii U. 

After quite a lot of confusion about their successor, Nintendo are making it very clear that the Wii U isn't an upgrade but an all new console. 

It's time to discover Wii U.

Wii U is the all-new home console from Nintendo. It's not just an upgrade - it's an entirely new system that will change the way you and your family experience games and entertainment. 

Iwata stated in a recent investors meeting that Nintendo haven't tried hard enough to get the message across about Wii U and that some people even think the GamePad is just a peripheral for the existing Wii. It seems this is the start of a conscious effort by Nintendo to get the word out.

Some have the misunderstanding that Wii U is just Wii with a pad for games, and others consider the Wii U GamePad as a peripheral device connected to a Wii. We feel deeply responsible for not having tried hard enough to have consumers understand the product. 

It seems this is just the start, as Iwata has promised that many efforts will be made to inform people that the product has value. This will be helped by more software support from Nintendo in the coming months, after a fairly slow start. 

Nintendo also stated that they're excited to share more information about Retro's latest project 'soon', so hopefully in the coming months, Nintendo can really turn things around for their new console.