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With its newest generation of consoles well underway, Nintendo has announced that it will be shutting down Wi-Fi services for Wii, DS, and DSi software this May.
Beginning May 20, players will no longer be able to compete against one another in online matches or view leaderboards in any Wii, DS, or DSi titles. Wii U and 3DS games will be unaffected by the shutdown, and players will still be able to purchase software through the Wii and DSi Shops.
Some of the most notable titles losing their online functionality include Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime Hunters, and all fourth and fifth generation Pokémon titles, among many others. For a full list games being affected by the shutdown, click on the following link.
Of course, it was inevitable that Nintendo would eventually pull the plug on its past generation consoles, but that doesn’t make the news any less sad, especially considering that DS and, especially, Wii aren’t even that old yet. What do you think of the decision to shut down the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection so soon? Is there a particular Wii or DS game that you plan on playing before the service ends? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Nintendo
No more WiFi?! Where else am I going to get OP forged Brave weapons on Shadow Dragon? This is a dark day for Fire Emblem…
I guess it’s time to upgrade to Fire Emblem: Awakening.
No coincidence that it’s set to shut down right before Mario Kart 8 launches on Wii U. Smart timing.
It’s been quite a while since I played a DS or Wii game online, but it’s still sad to see the service go.
I especially loved swapping WarioWare DIY games and entering the themed contests. That was pretty short-lived (they stopped running stuff for that long before now) but ranks among my favorite online gaming experiences.
This kind of thing is a fact of life for modern gaming, but what if instead of the service just vanishing forever, enthusiast players could take over the maintenance work and run the servers themselves? Even if the quality went downhill, those of us who still care about our older favorites could keep using online features. I’d buy and maintain a WarioWare DIY server myself and host it over my lousy DSL if it meant I could swap games with other players again.
(Sorry, my Linux is showing. ;^)
Man, I woke up to this news and was pretty bummed. Every once in a while I get semi-nostalgic and check out DS games to see if anyone is around. I mean, usually not many people are, but it’s neat to see communities that still exist.
I think the loss that will hit me hardest is that Animal Crossing Wild World and City Folk is going offline. I used to have a lot of great times with those. In fact, I used to meet up with my friend in Animal Crossing WW over Wi-fi all the time to play around after I moved away and didn’t get to see him as much.
I think when it gets closer to May an article or two should be in order. A Nintendojo issue to send off WFC?
I think that can be arranged. ;)
It’s pretty sad. A lot of memories wound up in all the games getting the axe. I’d offer to do a WW game night… But I’m scared to see who moved! Lol.
A lot of great “I’m playing Mario Kart with someone in Japan… and getting destroyed” moments when this first came out!
It’s a shame that it’s going, but with so many of those franchises on 3DS and Wii U now (and coming in 2014), you can see why they are doing it.