Nintendo Announces Discontinuation of 3DS and Wii U Online Services

Nintendo has finally announced the inevitable. After many years, the online services for the previous console generation, the 3DS and the Wii U, will shut down.

Matt Buckley

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Nintendo recently announced that the online services for games on both the 3DS and the Wii U will be discontinued on April 8th. This won’t impact the ability to play games offline, and certain functions like StreetPass (which uses local communication) and the ability to update and redownload purchased software will still function. This next step in the slow wind-down of Nintendo’s previous consoles comes after the 3DS and Wii U eShops closed in March 2023.

Nintendo thanked players for supporting their products and in a statement that said “We sincerely thank players for using the online services of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software over a long period of time and apologise for any inconvenience.” Players will still have a few months to enjoy online services on these consoles, though Nintendo did also warn that in the event that they need to shut down services early, they may do just that.

Several important questions were also answered at the end of Nintendo’s statement, clarifying that certain features such as SpotPass will no longer be available after April 8th because this feature uses online communication, not local. Also worth noting, Nintendo recommended individuals contact certain third party publishers for further information about online services for specific games, but said: “With some exceptions, online services will end for all Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software.”

Pokémon Bank is the only software specifically called out as having online services continue for the foreseeable future, though Nintendo also said online services could “end at some point in the future” for this software as well. The ability to transfer individual Pokémon between games through Pokémon Bank is a valuable service for fans of the series, so certain fans will be glad to hear this.

What are your thoughts on this shut down? Do you still use your 3DS or Wii U? Leave a comment below letting us know your thoughts!

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Author: Matt Buckley

After studying creative writing at Emerson College in Boston, Matt published a travel blog based on a two-month solo journey around the world, wrote for SmarterTravel, and worked on an Antarctic documentary series for NOVA, Antarctic Extremes. Today, for Gamepressure, Matt covers Nintendo news and writes reviews for Switch and PC titles. Matt enjoys RPGs like Pokemon and Breath of the Wild, as well as fighting games like Super Smash Bros., and the occasional action game like Ghostwire Tokyo or Gods Will Fall. Outside of video games, Matt is also a huge Dungeons & Dragons nerd, a fan of board games like Wingspan, an avid hiker, and after recently moving to California, an amateur surfer.