April 2024: Nintendo will shut down online play and online communication for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

[oath2order]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1709418623566020975

It's a sad day but it's been long coming. That said, there are still ways to connect to the GTS and get Mystery Gifts and do ACWW/ACCF multiplayer modes, so I cannot imagine that there'll be ways to still do that for the 3DS.

The thing that I'm not sure how people are going to deal with Pokémon. Some people like to collect all ribbons. For some, that means getting a Pokémon in Gen 3, getting all possible ribbons, transferring them up to Gen 4, repeat, Gen 5, repeat, Gen 6, repeat, Gen 7, repeat, Gen 8, repeat, and finally Gen 9.

It means that this fun quest people do is going to be a lot harder, if not impossible. There's a Gen V softwall, if you don't get PokéTransporter before Bank goes down, and a Gen VI hardwall, where if Bank shuts down, you cannot move Pokémon further into Gen VII. As someone who enjoys doing this myself, it's sad knowing that one of the things I enjoy doing with Pokémon is gonna be over and that I have a timelimit to wrap up what I want to do.

 

[Xara]

i haven’t touched my 3ds in forever, but this has still saddened me. i’ve been thinking about trying to find a copy of new leaf so that i can play again, and if i do that now, i’ll have less than a year with dream towns, club tortimer, qr code custom designs, being able to buy from/trade with other players, etc. i won’t be able to scan in other people’s miis if i play tomodachi life again.

i knew this would probably happen sooner rather than later, especially if the switch’s successor does end up coming out next year, but i thought 3ds and wii u online functionality would have at least another 1-3 years.

i’m bummed thinking about all of the new leaf dream towns (aika village my beloved :c), club tortimer, custom designs, shops and services that people still offer (including on this forum), etc that’ll be obsolete come april. people won’t be able to take katie to other towns or earn the visitor/hosting badges unless they know people who still play irl.

it was fun while it lasted, at least.

 

[Darkesque_]

Dang, I was dreading this moment because I loved playing New Leaf with my friends and getting into shenanigans on Tortimer’s Island. I knew it was coming very soon, but it’s still saddening because of all the nostalgia

 

[DaisyFan]

This is depressing. I had a wonderful time playing some games on my 3DS for years.

 

[-Mars-]

Nintendo in 2022:

[Source]
Nintendo in 2023: "Actually never mind, let's shut 'em down"

Damn it, I will never ever forgive Nintendo for this

I have a copy of Pokemon Sun and Animal Crossing New Leaf that have been on the shelf forever that are in my list of "haven't played yet but I WILL play them in the future" games and I thought I always had time for them and I had plans to play them in late 2023 or 2024 so I can focus on my priorities for this year, I guess that isn't gonna happen huh? Time to boot up Pokemon Sun and scramble to complete the Pokedex while online play is available and boot up New Leaf and hurry and trade for my wishlist before online play is gone forever.

 

[LambdaDelta]

a Gen VI hardwall, where if Bank shuts down, you cannot move Pokémon further into Gen VII

to my knowledge, this service and only this service will be sticking around for the foreseeable future beyond the april deadline


anyways, I guess I should go and finish up my dreamer badges for new leaf soon, huh?

 

[Lancelot]

I can't wait to be forced into playing online on New Horizons with nothing to do instead of being able to play island games on New Leaf. Another Nintendo L.

 

[Yoshi155]

It's very sad. Anyone who hasn't gotten a dream suite in New Leaf or was planning to get one after wouldn't be able to get one. But there's also tons of other games that would be affected. And other Wii U games. It was completely inevitable. I know that Nintendo is probably going to keep Switch servers up for like 10 more years after the new console releases because they make money off it.

 

[KittenNoir]

This is sad news I miss being able to just play with friends without having to buy an online membership

 

[kisaker39]

this is really saddening. i knew it was coming at some point, but i didnt want to belive it would happen.
what about all the dream towns? club tortimer? are they all going to dissapear? i was worried about this ever since they announced the closing of the e-shop.

fortunately, i feel as if internet play will not be all lost. it wouldnt be a suprise if people are able to revive it using homebrew, much like they did with the wii and DS. I personally do not have my 3DS modded, but if homebrew is able to revive the online services, ill definitely consider modding it.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

It’s pretty sad to see the end of an era. Man, time does fly by fast.

But it’s just another reminder that the 2010s is over. First, Nintendo has officially discontinued all future production of 3DSs in 2020. Then they’ve been disabling eShop features in 2022, such as using credit card numbers and redeeming eShop codes. And then they closed the eShop down in 2023. And finally, they’re shutting down online connectivity to the 3DS.

It’s a good thing that my Pokédex from Pokémon HOME is complete (except for Enamorus and the new Teal Mask Pokémon), but I still have a couple missing moves and abilities from the move dex and ability dex. But yes, the discontinuing of 3DS Online means all of the following:

• No more playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf online. Rare items will be more difficult to obtain.
• Your Dream Addresses are down.
• Pokémon can’t be transferred to the Switch. The species that haven’t been usable in all Pokémon games on the Switch are essentially useless.
• The PSS and Festival Plaza are useless as well. At least on newer files.

 

[Corrie]

I'll miss Wonder Trade in ORAS! ;____;

 

[Rubygame]

It's really an heartbreaking day for me, but it is what it is, life goes on.
Yet as much as I am aware of it, it's one of those news that you metabolise over time, it may seem like nonsense but after more than 10 years of playing with a console that has saved me from loneliness, it's normal to need a little time to stop being sad.
I'm really grateful to all the people on the forum who helped me complete the Animal Crossing New Leaf catalog
I will miss the multiplayer for New Leaf, Mario Kart, Monster Hunter, Yokai Watch, Smash Bros, all the Pokémon and other games that I surely forget!
I am no longer a child or a teenager, today I have a different life and a thousand things to do, but I will truly cherish all my memories of the time spent with my faithful 3DS and and I'll continue to play obviously.
In April 2024 a part of all our lives will end, but it's only a beginning! Every end is a reminder to get back on the road stronger than before. Let's strive to make every period of our lives as memorable as possible

 

[Haru Okumura]

Reminds me all too well of when the DS and Wii servers closed down 9 years ago lmao, though sooner or later even Pokebank will be shutting down.

Time to boot up Pokemon Sun and scramble to complete the Pokedex while online play is available and boot up New Leaf and hurry and trade for my wishlist before online play is gone forever.

Be careful with the GTS in the 3DS games, the past few years they've been overrun with hacked Pokemon that'll freeze your system. Doubt there'll be many legit Pokemon from humans left.

 

[Halloqueen]

I'm more frustrated than sad about it. This was indeed an inevitability, and something I dreaded would happen sooner or later after they closed the eShops for the 3DS and Wii U earlier this year, but I didn't think it would happen just one year after those closures.

It's a bummer that I won't be able to play New Leaf and catch beetles and sharks or do the tours with my best friend, who lives long distance, ever again come Spring unless I were to bring my 3DS along for local play when I visit.

Kind of annoying for certain things like the dye houses in Pokémon Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon where you can only get them from interacting with other people. Maybe that's something I'll have to go about trying to get sorted in these last few months. Thanks for the long term planning with the Festival Plaza concept, Game Freak, appreciating that right about now.

My main concern is the Pokémon Bank as I use that a lot both for transferring Pokémon between generations as well as storage. Not even necessarily just up to Home but also between the DS and 3DS games themselves. Though they said that Pokémon Bank will still be supported past April 2024, how long after is still uncertain, it's still subject to possible closure in the future as well, and in honesty it's probably an inevitability too. Is it really that much of a drain for the highest grossing media franchise in history to continue to support this though?

I'll have to take a good, long look at my collection and decide which Pokémon I want to keep in the older games and which will make the jump into Home and the Switch (and the Switch's successor maybe) which is something I've never really wanted to have to weigh up to this point. For example, my first non-Lake of Rage Gyarados shiny, a Gliscor, that I've thus far kept in Gen V because I liked the sprite better than the bulky model; do I want to bring him along into the future or let him live in the older games? Probably calls for getting some National Pokédexes completed in any games where I hadn't bothered just to ensure access to those Pokémon in any given generation, though that also eats up a lot of the in-game storage space and cuts down on room for eggs in the boxes when breeding. What an absolute bother.

 

[wrenbow]

The most frustrating thing about this for me is that a subscription model will now be the only option for online play. I know it's what everyone's doing these days, but if there's no free option anymore then I wish we could at least choose to make a one-time payment for stuff like this.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

The most frustrating thing about this for me is that a subscription model will now be the only option for online play. I know it's what everyone's doing these days, but if there's no free option anymore then I wish we could at least choose to make a one-time payment for stuff like this.

And it might get worse with the current inflation crisis. Oh, and Nintendo Switch Online is very inferior compared to other online subscriptions from other consoles. Imagine if I started charging people to watch the sunset. That’s what Nintendo is doing.

 

[Bluelady]

Well this sucks. What will this mean if our game files corrupts and we need to redownload the updates and dlcs? That won’t be possible anymore?

 

[Ravenkitty22]

This is so sad. The 3DS was my most-used console from 2014-early 2020, and now all I’ll really have of it is memories. I miss club tortimer (back in its glory days) so much. I was also really looking forward to playing ORAS and gen 6, but that’s out of the question now.

Also it feels like a smack in the face for online play, as someone who doesn’t have NSO and wouldn’t use it enough to justify buying it. Being able to use online without needing a subscription was really nice, damn you Nintendo.

I think more than anything it’s a reminder that my childhood is over, and I don’t know how to feel.

 

[Corrie]

This is so sad. The 3DS was my most-used console from 2014-early 2020, and now all I’ll really have of it is memories. I miss club tortimer (back in its glory days) so much. I was also really looking forward to playing ORAS and gen 6, but that’s out of the question now.

Also it feels like a smack in the face for online play, as someone who doesn’t have NSO and wouldn’t use it enough to justify buying it. Being able to use online without needing a subscription was really nice, damn you Nintendo.

I think more than anything it’s a reminder that my childhood is over, and I don’t know how to feel.

Wait, you can still play Gen 6/ORAS. In fact, I highly recommend it. ORAS is my favourite Pokemon game.