A recent update from Nintendo reports that they have shut down online services for new owners of the 3DS and Wii U consoles when players expected it to end by April 2024. It was announced earlier this year that Nintendo 3DS and Wii U servers would be shutting down early next year. The e-shops for both were closed this year. Users will be losing access earlier than they thought.
Updated October 2026. This article was first published in December 2023. Nintendo has since ended online play for all Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software on April 8, 2024; we also corrected the date the eShops stopped selling games.
Earlier, the 3DS and Wii U were very special to gamers, provided dual-screen 3D features without glasses, and worked as a bridge between traditional and handheld gaming, and the decision has made users nostalgic. The shutdown was initially reported by Pretendo, who said that the players are facing difficulties while going online for Wii U and 3DS games as a part of the pre-planned shutdown of two platforms.
Notably, this is not the first time that users have had to face this disappointment. Nintendo stopped purchases in the Nintendo eShop for Wii U and 3DS on March 27, 2023. The company also shut down its Miiverse social network in 2017. Many players who had planned to play online until the next year will need to overcome their displeasure. However, Nintendo announced in October that the services would be discontinued sometime around April 2024.
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While everyone knew it was going to happen, the early shutdown has left the fans disappointed. In addition, the company also gave an official statement earlier, which indicated that if circumstances require, the online service for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U can also be discontinued earlier than planned. This statement explains what is currently happening. Many players have faced error codes when accessing online play.
This shutdown has surprised the users, and it is considered to be a slow rollout process by Nintendo by reducing the number of servers. However, Nintendo still assures users that they will provide continuous software update downloads.
What happened next
Nintendo ended online play and other online functionality for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software at 5pm PDT on April 8, 2024. According to Nintendo, it is still possible, for the foreseeable future, to download update data and redownload purchased games and downloadable content on both systems, although demos can no longer be downloaded.
