Nintendo accelerates shutdown of online play for Wii U and 3DS consoles

Nintendo has restricted the Wii U and 3DS’s ability to play online, according to multiple users. This started just before Christmas Eve. Nintendo originally said the shutdown would occur in early April. This may not impact every player just yet. Pretendo, an “open-source Nintendo Network replacement,” wrote about Nintendo’s April plans and hopes to eventually bring the two consoles back online. The company suggested that it could discontinue online services “earlier than planned.” This news follows Nintendo shutting down new games and its Miiverse social network on both consoles in 2017. This is sad, but it happens. Entire generations of games simply disappear. On the plus side, maybe we’ll be able to shell out full-price for some more remakes, with a Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon refresh.