Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection shuts down for Wii and DS
Nintendo has shut down its Wi-Fi Connection online services for Wii and DS, rendering various functionality inaccessible for games like Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, and various Pokemon games.
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the online functionality on Nintendo Wii and DS, has been discontinued today. That will mean online modes, matchmaking, and leaderboards for several of those games are no longer accessible, though Nintendo notes that Wii U and 3Ds games have been unaffected.
A list of affected games is available on Nintendo's site. This will impact the sharing functionality in games like WarioWare DIY, downloadable content updates in the Professor Layton games, and online sharing functionality in Pokemon games. On Wii, it notably impacts online play in Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, and Animal Crossing: City Folk. None of those franchises have received newer versions on Wii U, though Mario Kart's is just around the corner.
"We at Nintendo sincerely thank our fans for their continued support of our company’s legacy systems," reads a statement from the company. "Your enthusiasm for games made for these systems speaks to their longevity and the passion of Nintendo fans."
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection shuts down for Wii and DS.
Nintendo has shut down its Wi-Fi Connection online services for Wii and DS, rendering various functionality inaccessible for games like Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, and various Pokemon games.-
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Yes, because GameSpy shutting down which also happens to be the back end for Wii and DS multiplayer services is Nintendo being stupid AGAIN...
You take every chance to take shots at Nintendo when you don't have any information. Always with a knee jerk reaction, and then you admit to supporting them anyways.-
reasons to not give the keys to your critical online service infrastructure to a third party...
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A couple of my favorite PS3 games relied on Gamespy, and they're just done now. Local play only. It's too bad, but new versions are on the way.
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Cause I'm not crazy or a hater!
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I would hardly call the Wii and DS online services as critical at this point
well that's a whole different failing...
And yes, you may recall the big thread we had when EA announced the games of theirs that will be shutting down their online services as a result. People don't like when that happens. On the other hand I don't think it's as reasonable to demand a 3rd party to own their own online network, while a platform owner should. And for the most part they were shutting down things like BF1942, not fairly recent things.-
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both the Wii and DS have only recently been "replaced" by their newer brethren. Do you think the 360 and PS3 online services will disappear in 2 years? The original Xbox's online services shut down ~5 years after the 360 came out. The 3DS and Wii U specifically advertise backwards compatibility with DS and Wii games. If I buy one of those games now to catch up on what I missed the online is just gone?
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The other consoles have the advantage of using the same online services between consoles. That's why the eShop is the only thing running on the Wii since it is the same service they use for the newer consoles. The only thing Nintendo could have done was to buy GameSpy and keep it running for their older generation platforms only, or patch all the old games that use it. Both of those things aren't too feasible since there are concentrating on the new platforms.
I doubt we'll see a similar shutdown after their next hardware releases since they will most likely utilize the current Nintendo Network.-
and...? I understand the reason it's happening, it's a series of poor decisions that their customers are paying the price for. You're saying it's no big deal, I'm saying it's generally a big deal when this happens and this time is no exception. It's surely the case that a lower percentage of Nintendo console owners are online compared to other platforms but given the raw install count there's still a non trivial number of people and as I mentioned a real selling point of the new systems is you can still use and go back to the old games.
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You make it seem like you can't get value from Wii games anymore when only a very small selection of them even played online. The list is a very small fraction of what would be considered must have titles. The reality is three core Wii games are affected. You could still enjoy them locally with other people. They have all been replaced or will be soon. Every other game will function the same as it has on the Wii or the WiiU.
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I can't get the full value those products initially delivered no. The whole reason to have online play is because I don't live in a dorm anymore to play 4 player local Mario Kart whenever I want.
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That is a little irrational in and of itself
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How old are you, dude? Crazy posts ITT.
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That install base is so large because it is mostly non core gamers. The type that never play a game online to begin with. This isn't the first thing that Nintendo cut from the Wii, they've been stripping features and channels before the GameSpy shutdown. It obviously doesn't hurt them as much as you think it does or they would have done something.
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How is suggesting that Nintendo just go out and buy GameSpy not just plain silly? Especially so considering that Nintendo shut down production of the Wii last year.
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The GameSpy shut down hurts Nintendo big time. As I mentioned in the "5 Wii/DS Online Games You'll Miss" (cheap plug) article, Nintendo has such a large install base whose world is about to get rocked when they can't play Mario Kart Wii online anymore. And given how much effort Nintendo put into making that online environment what it is, this hurts them in a big way.
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I really hope they keep the actual Wii Shop open for a long time. The vitual console selection is pretty great, and I'm thinking they're not going to get nearly as many VC releases on the WiiU.
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This is all I care about, too. I want the Wii eShop to outlive us all!
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The really aggravating thing is that the Wii eshop still exists and most of the games require the Wii Classic or Classic Pro controller...which Nintendo has stopped selling. So even though I can access and PURCHASE all of those games from the WiiU (through the Wii channel), I can't play them. Mind-bogglingly stupid.
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Oh shit, I never thought about this. They might use this as a justification to shut the service down one day...
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