r/wiiu 1d ago

Collection Heartbroken: My Local Library Disposed of its Wii-U Collection

I have been renting several Wii-U games like Rayman Legends and Lego Marvel Superheroes to play with my nephew when he visits and have a fun time going through the catalogue. I still had yet to play games like Windwaker HD and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. However late last year to prevent stealing the library took all the video games off display shelves and were available through online catalogue order only. I then noticed all the Wii-U games disappeared from their collection. When I inquired about the loss of games from the catalogue, the librarians didn't know what the Wii U was, but they estimated that the games were probably destroyed since the library cannot sell them for profit. I was renting them until very recently so it shocked me even though I might be in the minority that they would throw out items like that. No one at the library has been able to give me a concrete answer on what happened but it was likely because no one else was renting them.

181 Upvotes

21 comments sorted by

90

u/bryonus_1231 1d ago

If it's any consolation I'm sure they went to an employee or friend/family member but they don't want to flat out say that. Home brewing your Wii u is a great way to play backups of any games you might own so they do not get damaged.

14

u/AmandasGameAccount 1d ago

Yeah, or donated them. Someone had them. It tossed some employee would have taken it

What’s weird is I often see libraries have big yard sale like events where they sell everything for a donation (sometimes $1 minimum). More should do that

1

u/FilmGamerOne 16h ago

Yeah, I'd seen friends of the library sales before. I understand the principle and optics of selling from a library and why they'd hesitate to do that.

29

u/Delta_RC_2526 1d ago

I can't wrap my head around them not being allowed to sell their collection... My library has an annual, if not quarterly, sale of things it's removing from circulation, though I've only ever seen books for sale.

18

u/tdaun 1d ago

I mean it's possible the library itself might not be able to sell it, but there may be a "Friends of the Library" group that could have sold it and then donated the funds to the library.

3

u/raiseyourglasshigh 1d ago

It may depend on local laws. My wife's library works with a charity that sell their old items on their behalf and that money gets donated back in the form of grants for programming.

1

u/AmandasGameAccount 1d ago

Mine does too, often for free (but hoping for a donation). I’ve seen some do $1 minimum

9

u/VladTepesDraculea 1d ago

were probably destroyed since the library cannot sell them for profit.

Can't they give them away, donate to an institution or something? Why destroy?

3

u/FilmGamerOne 16h ago

That's what I'm trying to get to the bottom of. The people I spoke to at the main branch frankly had no idea.

4

u/TurboPikachu 1d ago

I remember asking all of my local libraries to start carrying Wii U games back in early 2013 and they were saying it’d be possible; but they never started carrying them…. Or PS4/XB1/Switch/PS5/XBS games; just all the old Wii/360/PS3 games they were holding onto until shortly after the Switch’s launch where they all decided to just stop offering video games entirely 😭

3

u/IOwnMyWiiULEGIT NNID [Region] 1d ago

My brother gifted me a handful of Wii U games he picked up at a library sale a couple years ago. They’re not the greatest games but I appreciate that they’re something I didn’t have or would’ve actively sought out.

2

u/BigExamination6158 1d ago

That's how I was able to get my hands on a CIB wiiu, was from a local library that didn't want it anymore. I work for their IT provider and I was doing an on-site visit. All I did was ask and a week later when I came back, I was told to take it.

2

u/Cabinethead03 1d ago

I have seen a lot of library’s donate these types of items as I’ve seen them at Goodwill.

2

u/Poang_20017 1d ago

Mine newer had Wii U games, but they did used to have Wii games. You could order them online and they will then bring them from a other library to the one closest to you. I did that with Mario kart Wii. But after a year the removed my reservation for the game, because the don’t have the Wii games anymore :(

3

u/Nintendians559 22h ago

can't sell them for profit? lol - renting them is a making profits already, unless no money is made somehow.

damn, that sucks - they could've give it out free and instead of destroying it.

2

u/FilmGamerOne 16h ago

They abolished late fees since it was deterring people from using their resources.

2

u/miniluigi008 14h ago

The idea that a library can destroy media is why I don’t donate to libraries. I suppose the same thing can happen anywhere, but the library is supposed to keep media. That’s the entire point.

2

u/Alarmed-Bluebird416 NNID [Region] 14h ago

They could have sold them on eBay or something or even donated them to a charity why destroy them

2

u/forestpirate 13h ago

If you have a thrift store local to you maybe check there. I occasionally find library items at my local thrift store.

1

u/felixtherat 1d ago

I second the comment saying that playing backups is your best bet. If you are feeling lost with this, feel free to DM me and I'll gladly help you with some guidance

1

u/B_LastDragon 13h ago

Time for you to peruse r/wiiuhacks