The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U online services, such as multiplayer and online communication, will close next year. However, those who use Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter will still be able to use the online services for those titles after the closure date.
The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U online services closure date
The online services for both the Wii U and 3DS will close in April 2024. Nintendo has promised to reveal a more specific time and date closer to April. However, the company has also said that services may be discontinued earlier than this month “if an event occurs that would make it difficult to continue online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software.”
The discontinuation of online services will mean the end of internet rankings and data distribution as well as online multiplayer (both competitive and co-op) and communication for all games and apps with the exception of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter. Players will still be able to download game updates and redownload any software they’ve previously purchased beyond April 2024.
Offline features will also remain available. As such, players will still be able to get StreetPass on 3DS because that uses local communication. However, SpotPass features will be discontinued because these use online communication.
Nintendo Badge Arcade on the 3DS will also display an error message after April 2024, so Nintendo recommends players finish placing badges before the 3DS online services close completely. Any badge data after that point will be saved to the SD card, so players will still get access to a maximum of 100 categories and 1,000 badges that they have already placed in the badge box.
Finally, Nintendo ended the message with an apology by saying, “we sincerely thank players for using the online services of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software over a long period of time and apologize for any inconvenience.”
