PSA: Nintendo will shut down 3DS and Wii U online play on April 8th

We now know the date and time when Nintendo will disconnect online services for 3DS and Wii U software, which is scheduled for April 8th, 2024, at 4PM PT / 7PM ET. If you’re in Japan, it will be the morning of April 9th, at 9AM.

If you’ve been using one of those systems, you should note this support page warning users that if you have an unused eShop balance tied to a Nintendo Network ID, you have until March 11th at 10PM PT to link the wallet with a Nintendo Account so that those funds can be used to buy items for use with the Nintendo Switch.

Even if you don’t have a Switch, you can still create an account and merge the funds.

Nintendo announced the spring shutdown a few months ago, explaining that while StreetPass, Pokémon Bank, and Poké Transporter will continue on for anyone still using those, SpotPass services and its Nintendo Badge Arcade are gone for good. As we noted at the time, the Wii U was one of Nintendo’s worst-performing consoles ever, with just 13 million or so sales, while the Nintendo 3DS racked up 75 million sales starting from its launch in 2010 and continuing through its discontinuation in 2020.

Just as Nintendo said last fall, even with the online service shutdown bringing an end to online play, leaderboards, and other data, “For the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to download update data and redownload purchased software and downloadable content from Nintendo eShop.”