Nintendo has announced that they will be bringing an end to “online play and other functionality” for both the 3DS and WII U in “early April” 2024. Despite this potentially being unhappy news to many Nintendo fans, it should not be unexpected as the company has spent the better part of the last year winding down these services. The biggest part of this was the closure of the Eshop on both platforms earlier this year.
In an official statement from Nintendo, they stated:
In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. This also includes online co-operative play, internet rankings, and data distribution.
There was no specific time or date mentioned in this announcement, simply just early April. It should be noted that Nintendo’s fiscal year ends in March, making the services closer very early into their 2024 fiscal year. Despite this being the timeframe, the statement made clear that should factors make keeping these services live till then unfeasible they are willing to close them early. They stated:
Please note that if an event occurs that would make it difficult to continue online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software, we may have to discontinue services earlier than planned.
Nintendo has also posted a Q&A answering basic questions players might have about the online shutdown. In this, it states the popular Pokemon Bank feature will still be available, though it too might be shut down in the future.
Despite the online services ending, users will still be able to download previously purchased games, as well as download update data for the games they own. It was said this would be available for the “foreseeable future”
In other news concerning Nintendo, the company president Shuntaro Furukawa stated in an interview that Nintendo Switch will be supported till March 2024, with games intended to keep releasing on the platform till at least March 2025. These statements were made amid growing rumors that Nintendo will announce its successor to the Nintendo Switch soon, aiming for a late 2024 release.
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