Nintendo appears to be closing online play on the Wii U and 3DS early
It looks like Nintendo is starting to limit the Wii U and 3DS' ability to play online sooner (via Nintendo life).
The possible closure was first reported by Jonathan Barrow of Pretendo, an “open-source Nintendo Network replacement” that aims to maintain online functionality for the two platforms in question. Barrow's findings highlight recent problems players are experiencing getting Wii U and 3DS games online, as part of a “slow rollout” of Nintendo's plans to shut down the services.
In October, Nintendo announced that online services for the Wii U and 3DS systems would end sometime in early April 2024. This would be the next step in sending the former home console and beloved handheld to the farm following their respective digital releases. storefronts were closed in March 2023.
“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,” the company said in a statement at the time. official statement, which could possibly explain the events we are seeing right now.
Polygon tested the problem by attempting to make a digital copy of Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS online, only to receive an error code previously assigned to the Pokémon bank app. A quick scan of social media revealed that users were encountering unsolvable connection issues with the same error code in several 3DS games, including Pokemon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon, Yo-kai watch 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force HeroesAnd Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
Polygon has reached out to Nintendo for more information and will update this story when we know more. Whether this is a concerted effort by Nintendo to put the final nail in the coffin of the Wii U and 3DS or a symptom of some other problem, it's clear that players have a limited window of time to enjoy online play on these two systems. to enjoy. If you fancy another round of the latest generation Super Smash Bros. Playing games while enjoying the holidays is something you have to start doing sooner or later.