Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Online Servers Bid Farewell – A Nostalgic End to an Era

Highlights

Nintendo is shutting down most online services for the Wii U and 3DS in spring 2024, following the closure of the eShops in March 2023.

The shutdown will entail discontinuing online multiplayer, data sharing, online leaderboards, and SpotPass on the affected consoles. Users will retain the ability to download games and DLC they currently possess, and local communication features such as StreetPass will remain unaffected. Pokemon Bank will continue to be accessible on the 3DS after April 2024.

Nintendo plans to close down most of the remaining online services for the Wii U and 3DS in spring 2024. This decision is part of the company's ongoing efforts to phase out support for these consoles, following the closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShops in March 2023. Nintendo had previously announced its intention to discontinue online services for its older systems in early 2022 and has since been gradually shutting down various other online features for the 3DS and Wii U.

Its next move on that front will arrive in the form of a complete discontinuation of most of the remaining internet services for the two consoles. The shutdown, scheduled for early April 2024, will therefore mark the end of online multiplayer on the 3DS and Wii U. According to Nintendo's support pages, once the supporting server infrastructure is taken offline, the owners of the affected consoles will also lose access to related features such as data sharing, online leaderboards, and SpotPass.

Nintendo plans to announce the shutdown date in the coming months. They reserve the right to discontinue online services for the 3DS and Wii U earlier than planned, should any difficulties arise that hinder their ability to maintain these features until early spring 2024. Despite the shutdown, users will still be able to download games and DLC they have already purchased. Nintendo has confirmed that this functionality will continue to be supported "for the foreseeable future." Local communication-based features like StreetPass will also remain unaffected.

However, there is one exception to the discontinuation of online services. Pokemon Bank will remain available on the 3DS beyond April 2024. This decision by Nintendo is not surprising, as preserving players' creature collections has been a prominent feature of Pokemon Bank since its launch in late 2013. In March 2023, the eShop closure made Pokemon Bank free for 3DS owners, who previously had to pay an annual subscription fee of $4.99. However, only those who had downloaded the app prior to the eShop shutdown will still be able to access and reinstall it.

The shutdown of online multiplayer servers for both the Wii U and 3DS is expected to occur just under a month before the ten-year anniversary of the Wii and DS experiencing the same fate in May 2014. This previous occurrence coincided with the release of the Nintendo 3DS XL. Interestingly, history may repeat itself once again, as there are reports suggesting that the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 is planned for spring 2024.