Nearly all online gaming will be unavailable beginning on Monday Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, so act quickly if you have unfinished tasks.
Last year, Nintendo declared that it would terminate its online services for 3DS and Wii U software in April 2024, after closing the eShop for both consoles.
That day is nearly here, with the shutdown scheduled for Monday, April 8, at midnight UK time. After that, accessing the internet will be nearly impossible except for two apps.
Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter will not be impacted by the online services shutdown (though this may change in the future) but they are not games, just a means to store and transfer pokémon.
The discontinuation of online services and absence of eShop means no purchasing digital games, no online co-op or multiplayer options, no internet rankings, and no data distribution.
Yet, all games and offline modes will still be playable after the services are turned off, as confirmed by Nintendo in a FAQ.
‘For the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to download update data, and redownload purchased software and downloadable content from Nintendo eShop,’ it states.
SpotPass will also no longer be available, but StreetPass will continue to be active, utilizing local communication between Nintendo 3DS family systems rather than online features.
As for games from publishers other than Nintendo, owners are advised to directly inquire if those titles will be taken offline or not.
The FAQ page confirms the affected formats as the New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 2DS XL, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS, Wii U Deluxe, and the Wii U Basic.
