Earlier this February, we brought you word that Nintendo has plans to shut down their Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service this coming May 20th, and now that the fateful day has arrived, the Japanese gaming giant remained true to their word, hence effectively ending online services for a slew of Wii as well as DS games. I suppose all good things must come to an end eventually, and hopefully there will be someone out there who is smart enough to come up with some sort of third party Wi-Fi service, although we can then expect some legal wrangling to kick off shortly afterwards. Ah well, it was good while it lasted, wasn’t it, despite the fact that you had to jot down your friend’s Friend Code before hooking up and trading some furniture in Animal Crossing or indulging in some mad Mario Kart races.
Apparently, this particular closure of Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connection service has something to do with the GameSpy shutdown, as Nintendo does use Glu Mobile’s server technology in order to power online play for its previous generation of gaming consoles. With GameSpy shutting down this week, Nintendo does not have a choice but to follow in its footsteps.
Nintendo shared, “We at Nintendo sincerely thank our fans for their continued support of our company’s legacy systems. Your enthusiasm for games made for these systems speaks to their longevity and the passion of Nintendo fans.”
If it is of any comfort to you, the Wii Shop Channel, Nintendo DSi shop, Internet Channel, DS Browser, DSi Browser and online streaming services will continue to operate as normal. [Press Release]
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