Nintendo will take 3DS and Wii U services offline in 'early April 2024'
You'll still be able to redownload games and get patches 'for the foreseeable future.'
After closing its 3DS and Wii U eShops earlier this year, Nintendo will shut down online services for those consoles in "early April 2024," it announced. That will put a halt to multiplayer features, along with "online co-operative play, internet rankings and data distribution," Nintendo wrote. Nintendo's Badge Arcade that allowed users to decorate their Nintendo 3DS home menu will also disappear. The date isn't fixed in stone yet, and Nintendo said it may even discontinue services "earlier than planned."
Most online play on those consoles will end, but the company will continue to operate its Pokémon Bank cloud storage service, although "that may also end at some point in the future," Nintendo said. In addition, you'll still be able to redownload previously purchased games and get patches "for the foreseeable future," according to a FAQ. Nintendo shut down online play for the Wii U versions of Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon in March 2023 to resolve security issues, only bringing them back online in August.
Finally, though SpotPass features are disappearing, StreetPass links within the 3DS ecosystem will keep working as long as you can find another player who has one. "For example, you will be able to use StreetPass in StreetPass Mii Plaza, which is pre-installed on Nintendo 3DS family systems, but you will no longer be able to use features that use online communication (such as receiving new panels in Puzzle Swap)."
The Wii U console was released in 2012 and discontinued in 2017, becoming one of the company's worst-selling consoles. The 3DS, launched in 2010 and discontinued in 2020, was a bigger success. The Nintendo Network, which arrived in 2012, provided online services for both devices.
