Nintendo Wii and DS games can kiss online services good-bye

Nintendo Wii
Newer titles like Pokemon Black and White Versions 2 are affected

Nintendo has announced that online features for original DS and Wii games will no longer be available worldwide as of May 20.

That means no online play or leaderboards for all Wii, DS and DSi games that use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service, according to the game maker.

The DS and Wii systems weren't known for their robust online capabilities, but this affects over 400 games total, including many that are still played today.

Some of the impacted games were released relatively recently, too, such as Pokemon Black and White Versions 2, which came out less than two years ago.

Fading legacies

That said, it's not uncommon for game companies to switch off the servers for legacy games and systems after some time. And that time frame is often unfortunately short for less successful titles or when a company needs the resources, even if some players are still enjoying the product they paid for.

"We at Nintendo sincerely thank our fans for their continued support of our company's legacy systems," Nintendo's announcement read.

"Your enthusiasm for games made for these systems speaks to their longevity, and the passion of Nintendo fans."

Wii U and 3DS games are unaffected. And thankfully Wii, DS and DSi systems will still have access to their digital game marketplaces (so you can still download games on them), their browsers, and streaming video services like Netflix.

However, the 3DS's Nintendo Video app will shut down at the end of March.

  • Who needs 'em anyway? Here's what TechRadar thought of the Xbox One and PS4

Via Engadget

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.

Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.

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