The Nintendo 3DS is finally dead as its last player is forced offline

Dedicated superfans have been keeping the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U servers alive long past their expiration date, but those days are now over.

The online servers for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U consoles were shut down back in April, but this didn’t stop enthusiastic fans from trying to stay connected anyway. In fact, it wasn’t until July when the final Wii U player was disconnected, marking the console’s ‘true’ death.

This left only one Nintendo Network user, Fishguy6564, to keep its legacy going for as long as possible. Through some technical knowhow they’ve managed to keep an online lobby for Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS open since April, despite having no one else to play against.

As of November 4, 210 days after Nintendo shut the servers, the dream has been forcefully ended, and online support for the 3DS (as non-existent as it was) is no more.

Fishguy6564 broke the news on X, sharing a screenshot of their 3DS displaying an error message. ‘It’s over. Rest in peace, Nintendo Network,’ they wrote. Their post was shared by GaffsNotLaffs, who had been keeping track of the 3DS and Wii U’s remaining online users and added, ‘We can all go home now.’

To those closely involved with keeping the 3DS and Wii U servers alive, it must be surreal for this saga to have finally wrapped up. Lcd101, who made a name for themselves by being the last Splatoon 1 player online, posted: ‘I’m still sitting here and processing that this era of our lives is over. We can move on now. I’ll never forget it, nor would I trade it for anything.’

While most Nintendo fans will have long since moved onto Switch titles for online multiplayer, there remains a devout following who still want to experience older titles, like the original Splatoon and the Wii U/3DS versions of Super Smash Bros., with friends. As such, one group of fans has put together the homebrew Pretendo network as an alternative, which Nintendo surprisingly has yet to take down.

Which games are only available on Nintendo 3DS?

With the 3DS well and truly dead, along with its online store, there is a not insignificant number of exclusive games you can’t play anywhere else. Any digital-only titles are now impossible to get hold (at least legally) and second-hand physical copies of certain games may well become rarer and expensive to purchase.

There have been rumours of the Switch getting at least one 3DS remaster, to help pad out Nintendo’s release schedule until the Switch 2 arrives.

Another Wii U remaster, Xenoblade Chronicles X, was recently confirmed for a March 2025 launch, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a handful of other older titles are waiting in the wings on Switch.

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