Online functionality on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U will end next April

Earlier this year, Nintendo dropped eShop functionality for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, marking the beginning of the end for those devices. Now Nintendo has announced that online gaming and other device features that require online communication will also be discontinued.

More specifically, Nintendo says that online services for these devices will end in April 2024.

“In early April 2024, online gaming and other features that utilize online communication will be phased out for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software,” Nintendo’s announcement said. “This also includes cooperative gaming, Internet rankings and data distribution.”

Nintendo says it will announce a specific end date and time at a later date and that it reserves the right to discontinue these online services sooner if “an event occurs that precludes the continuation of the online services for 3DS and “Wii U would make it more difficult.” also points out that this includes software that is exclusive to the new Nintendo 3DS.

The company then answers a series of questions in an FAQ section of the announcement. It states that Pokemon Bank will continue to be usable after April 2024 and that “it will continue to be possible to download update data and re-download purchased software and downloadable content from Nintendo eShop for the foreseeable future.”

The fan-favorite 3DS feature StreetPass will thankfully continue to work as it uses local communication between devices, but SpotPass, which uses online communication instead, will no longer be available after April 2024.

For more information, see Game Informer’s Farewell to the Nintendo Wii U eShop.

What is your favorite online memory from the Wii U or 3DS? Let us know in the comments below!