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Nintendo has officially announced that it’ll be ending online play for the 3DS and Wii U on April 8 at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET. Nintendo had previously indicated an “early April 2024” date for the end of these services on its legacy gaming hardware, and back in March 2023, the eShops were taken offline.
Once the fated hour comes, 3DS and Wii U users can expect online cooperative play, internet rankings, and data distribution to be non-functional, but there will be some exceptions. Nintendo noted that the Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter will still be functional and that players will still be able to redownload purchased games on these platforms “for the foreseeable future”.
While the majority of Nintendo games will still be playable in offline mode, several online-centric games will be affected. Splatoon is a prime example, as the first game in Nintendo’s multiplayer-shooter series was primarily designed for online play. Or if you want to cement your legacy, time is running out to rise to the top of the Devil’s Third leaderboards.
Sales of Wii U and 3DS hardware have gradually been phased out over the years, as the Nintendo Switch succeeded those platforms and went on to sell tens of millions of units. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been any movement on the sales charts for the Wii U, as back in September 2023, someone found a console at their local retailer and purchased it.
As for the Switch, it’s rumored that its successor will be revealed soon, as a new Nintendo console was reportedly shown to developers at Gamescom in August 2023.
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