Nintendo fans are bracing themselves for the inevitable shutdown of the gaming company's online services for the Wii U and the 3DS, marking a sad day for consoles as a whole.
The gaming company had previously closed down online services for two other platforms, the Wii and the Nintendo DS. While the majority of games on the Wii U and 3DS do not rely heavily on online multiplayer, there are titles, such as Splatoon, that will be significantly affected by the development.
Nintendo's Wii U, 3DS Online Services Shutdown
(Photo : Nintendo, Yuichi YAMAZAKI, AFP, Getty Images / Screenshot taken from official website)
Shutdowns of online services have become a sad reality in the modern gaming industry as they effectively prevent players from enjoying online content for various titles. This also, in some cases, completely erases a game from existence because it relies so much on these services.
The Nintendo Wii had previously featured a variety of online services for players, such as online multiplayer and a shop that lets customers download exclusive WiiWare games alongside retro titles via the Virtual Console, according to GameRant.
Then, the gaming company decided to shut down the console's online multiplayer in 2014 and close down its shop in 2019. The Nintendo DS shared a similar fate when its online services were discontinued in 2014.
The upcoming online services shutdown comes as the 3DS and Wii U shops have already been closed down last year. However, online services for various games on the two platforms remained available for players. That will also come to an end on Apr. 8, 2024, and from then, online functionality for both platforms will be completely gone.
The announcement for the closure of online services for the Wii U and 3DS was announced by Nintendo in January. Since then, Reddit user 2mock2turtle has undergone a mission to figure out exactly what 3DS games will be impacted by the move and how.
The Redditor took to the r/Nintendo subreddit and shared a comprehensive list that featured hundreds of video game titles. The user also noted that this list only included games from their first pass and they encouraged others to help fact-check it and add any that may be missing, said ScreenRant.
I put together a preliminary list of 3DS games that will be affected by the server shutdown in April, but I could use some help refining it.
byu/2mock2turtle innintendo
Affecting Hundreds of Titles
These types of online service shutdowns are considered to be a massive issue for game preservation and many players said that when the eShop for the Wii and DS closed, Nintendo did not add the titles from the two platforms to its digital store on the Switch.
The list that 2mock2turtle provided is heartbreaking for many fans of Nintendo games on the platforms that have been affected. It shows many major features being removed from across more than a decade's worth of video games. One of the titles that will be significantly affected is Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which will have the majority of its functionality taken away.
Players who wish to take some last runs at various games, including Splatoon, will most likely try to make some time this weekend to have one final chance of playing online services before they are completely shut down by Nintendo on Apr. 8, 2024, according to GamingBible.
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