Six final players are clinging onto shut-down servers in fan-favorite 3DS and Wii U games.
Nintendo officially shut down servers for 3DS and Wii U games on April 8, meaning popular multiplayer games, such as Kid Icarus Uprising and Animal Crossing New Leaf, lost online functionality forever. But in a bid to cheat digital death by keeping their systems on and online, six devoted fans are seemingly clinging on until the bitter end.
YouTuber GaffsNotLaffs previously archived more than 40 hours of footage showing the server's final moments, and they're now tracking how many players are still in-game via a Discord channel dedicated to the shutdown. According to their social media post, "six known players remain on the Nintendo Network."
- After shutting down the Wii U online services last year, Nintendo asks players not to use "unauthorized services" to replace them as they might pose "security risks"
- Wii U online replacement Pretendo says "we are committed to user safety" as Nintendo warns against using third-party alternatives to its dead servers
Pokemon X and Y, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario Maker, and Splatoon each have one single player staring out into the empty void. Mario Kart 7 is bustling in comparison, with two known players still drifting across tracks. These numbers may be slightly smudged, however, as some players might be online in other games not accounted for.
The whole ordeal - players desperately embracing their beloved online games for the very last time - reminds me of Halo 2's final days, when a handful of players discovered that they could keep playing online as long as their Xbox consoles were powered on and connected. That small community lasted for three and a half weeks after the official server shutdown. The final six 3DS and Wii U players have gone for 11 days, in comparison, and I wish them a very Happy End Times, even if I'm secretly incredibly jealous.
Players have decided to mourn, celebrate, and fight to preserve the 3DS and Wii U servers for months now. A Super Mario Maker community finally completed the game's impossible level just days before the server shutdown. The SpotPass Archival Project rallied to gather 23,000 data dumps and preserve nearly-lost DLC. And one Dragon Quest 7 superfan also raced to save the game's DLC in time. Godspeed.
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