Nintendo shutting down Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection May 20

http://www.nintendo.com.au/termination-of-nintendo-wi-fi-connection

This news surprised me. Yep, it applies worldwide.

This affects the Wii and DS. I thought it sufficiently major enough to warrant its own topic.

So want to play Mario Kart Wii? Download the extra Layton Puzzles? Best do it quick.

Update: Complete list of affected games here. Everything from 100 Classic Books to Yu-Gi-Oh World Championship 2008. https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/games-wifi.jsp

no more Sujin Taisen multiplayer

  

Reading that list I'm surprised that so few Wii games had any kind of online functionality. I genuinely thought it was more, despite the Wii's reputation for terrible online access.

Also surprised by how much of the DS list is taken up by Pokemon titles.

Seems a bit early to shut the Wii's online down, especially when the Wii U doesn't have a Smash or a Mario Kart yet. Even when it does, there'll still be Wii owners who play on MKWii at least. I'm iffy about this.

I can't imagine the DS' online is used much any more anyway, apart from for Pokémon (and by Jaster).

End of an era. Some of the best moments on Wii/DS were from our NGamer online multiplayer sessions (Mario Kart Wii Sundays, Bomberman Blast/Blitz, Sujin Taisen), and I'm always up for playing those online.

Rum Rapture wrote:

Reading that list I'm surprised that so few Wii games had any kind of online functionality. I genuinely thought it was more, despite the Wii's reputation for terrible online access.

Also surprised by how much of the DS list is taken up by Pokemon titles.

That was just the Nintendo published titles. The full list is here. https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/games-wifi.jsp   

Isn't the Wii still selling, though? Perhaps that's the issue...

I'm reliably informed that the shutdown is due to this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameSpy

Quote :

GameSpy Technologies (the entity responsible for GameSpy multiplayer services) was bought from IGN Entertainment by Glu Mobile in August 2012,[2] and proceeded in December to raise integration costs and shut down servers for many older games, including Star Wars: Battlefront, Sniper Elite, Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Neverwinter Nights, with no warning to developers or consumers, much to the outrage of communities of those games.

It sucks but given Nintendo's current financial situation, I can understand their reasoning...

Yeah - and to be fair, Nintendo offered online play for many years completely free of charge. Now that the Wii isn't shifting, and likely because the new Mario Kart is due to come out a week or two after they shut the Wii servers down, it's a good opportunity for them to stop losing money on those servers and, with any luck, make some more money on the successors to the titles that used the servers the most.

When it comes to DS titles, is it clear what the deal is with Pokemon BW/BW2 and transferring the poogleminz from them to Pokemon Bank? Will that just not be possible from June onwards?

Pokémon Bank's only just been introduced! I can't imagine they'd take it off air quite so soon.

The link of titles affected says it's shutting down on the 20th of May,

Mario Kart 8 is out just after that so be a perfect time to get a Wii U, as you'll no longer be able to play your kart wii, has to be marketed some how.

Also what does B/W&2 and Bank have to do with the price of eggs.

Balladeer wrote:

Pokémon Bank's only just been introduced!  I can't imagine they'd take it off air quite so soon.

Bank won't be, but Nintendo's website says that wifi access for BW/BW2 will cease even if you're playing them on a 3DS. And if you need to be online to use the Transporter to move your Pokemon from the games to the Bank then presumably you're not going to be able to do it after Nintendo shut the servers. You'd only be able to do it from XY.

Transporter to Bank has to be online as it sends it over the cloud but surely the transporter just reads your BW&2 save file.

How I'm looking at it I put BW&2 in 3DS then go on transporter which reads my save file it sends all of my mon over to transporter. I then go on Bank which has the option of selecting from transporter which then would allow you send the mon to the bank/cloud.

I can't imagine Nintendo, much maligned though their online is, would be stupid enough to overlook that. There must be an exception there, surely?

If you don't need to be online to use the Transporter then there won't be an issue. I just wasn't sure if you had to be because I've never used it.

Just tried transporter works without internet.

Also doesn't affect me as my Wii hasn't been able to go online for ages.

Ohh and does seem a bit early to turn online off seeing as I can still use my Dreamcast online.

Funnily (but not funny) enough, I was playing Mario Kart Wii online last week, and after immediately going into a race with eleven other players I wondered when Nintendo would shut the server down; it was that busy that I couldn't envisage them ever turning the online off.

Eleven days later...  

I'm going to give Mario Kart Wii a few games at 1030pm tonight. Feel free to join me.

Yeah I'm up for that & having a last hurrah for the others would be nice too.

EDIT: scratch that I can't seem to find Mario Kart anywhere.

It's a shame that they're shutting down the servers now; granted, Brawl was choppy as hell online but MK and GE were bloody amazing. I spent a lot of time on both (perhaps too much time?). It looks like I'll need to get a few final games in.

Maybe we should actually try one last time to play out a league on Mario football?

Also, wasn't there a downloadable patch for Skyward Sword that was necessary for a game breaking bug?

Buskalilly wrote:

Also, wasn't there a downloadable patch for Skyward Sword that was necessary for a game breaking bug?

It's only game servers which are going offline, eShop is staying for the forseeable- assumedly the patch comes through the eShop.

NOOOOO guess that means I'll have to just dance on the Wii U now then

Anyone up for a game of Mario Kart Wii this evening?

I'll still be popping online to play some random matches, but if we can get a game going I'd much rather do that!

fronkhead wrote:

Anyone up for a game of Mario Kart Wii this evening?

I'll still be popping online to play some random matches, but if we can get a game going I'd much rather do that!

Yeah, count me in, though selfishly I'd preferably play in the early evening as I might be out Buskalillying it tonight.

I hope I'll be able to play but it depends on my progress with my dissertation/my internet connection.