‘End of an era’ as Nintendo officially shuts down online play for two famous ‘discontinued’ consoles next year

NINTENDO is putting the final nail in the coffin of two beloved games consoles.

The Japanese tech giant has announced that it’s shutting down the pair’s online services.

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This means no more multiplayer and other connected features such as ranking.

The move affects the 3DS and Wii U.

Nintendo officially stopped selling the 3DS in 2020 after 10 years.

The Wii U was discontinued in 2017.

Digital shop sales for both devices were already closed for good earlier this year.

“In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software,” the firm revealed.

“This also includes online co-operative play, internet rankings, and data distribution.

“We will announce a specific end date and time at a later date.

“We sincerely thank players for using the online services of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software over a long period of time and apologize for any inconvenience.”

One feature that will be spared is Pokemon Bank, which will keep its online capabilities for now.

Meanwhile the StreetPass social gaming experience will continue as it’s not reliant on online connectivity, instead uses nearby communication between Nintendo 3DS devices,

But SpotPass, which does need online communication, will no longer be available.

Players will also be able to download update data and redownload purchased software and downloadable content from Nintendo eShop “for the foreseeable future”.

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