Nintendo has announced that the online services for its older platforms—namely the 3DS and the Wii U—will be shut down on April 8. The announcement comes a few months after the shut down of the online services was announced back in October. For the sake of context, the ability to purchase titles on the eShop on these platforms was already discontinued back in March 2023.
This means that all online services, which includes functionality like friends lists and online multiplayer on the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U will stop working on April 8. Aside from the lack of online services, the platforms will still be usable and games will remain playable.
It is worth noting that the ability to redownload purchased games and update data will still be available even after the online services have been shut down. Other features, however, like SpotPass, will cease functioning, since it makes use of online communication. The two online services that will still work on the Nintendo 3DS are the Pokemon Bank and the Poke Transporter.
The Nintendo 3DS will still be able to make use of its StreetPass functionality, since it doesn’t really rely on an Internet connection to work. Interestingly, games that support local multiplayer on the 3DS, like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, will still retain some semblance of multiplayer functionality. Online multiplayer for most titles, however, will be completely shut down.
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