Nintendo 3DS and Wii U servers were shut down almost a month ago, but eight dedicated players who refuse to turn off their systems are, miraculously, still online and holding on to both consoles, beating a record long held by the final Halo 2 superfans.
Nintendo officially killed 3DS and Wii U servers on April 8, 2024, meaning many beloved multiplayer games – such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Kid Icarus Uprising, and many more – lost all online functionality forever. (Kinda.)
According to YouTuber GaffsNotLaffs, who has been tracking the server’s final days and the resolute soldiers still connected, eight final players are still online across Pokemon XY, Mario Kart 7, Mario Maker, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and the original Splatoon, where one particular inkling is trapped in map purgatory for the next decade.
WE DID IT! EVERYONE ON THIS LIST HAS STAYED ONLINE ON NINTENDO NETWORK FOR LONGER AFTER ITS SHUT DOWN THAN @APACHE_N4SIR DID AFTER THE ORIGINAL XBOX LIVE SHUT DOWN ON HALO 2! pic.twitter.com/5BF8sRp74fMay 4, 2024
That means those eight players have held onto the disconnected Nintendo Network for longer than the final Halo 2 spartans did after the original Xbox Live was shut down. The Noble 14 similarly refused to turn off their OG Xboxes in a bid to desperately cling to their dying beloved, circa 2010, with the last superfan holding on for just over 25 days. Congratulations to the last people on Earth to be playing the 3DS and Wii U online, who just beat a new record, 14 years in the making.
The 3DS and Wii U went out with a bang, at least, with the community gathering to celebrate both console’s final days in style. A Super Mario Maker community raced to finish every single level in the game, including one that was thought to have been humanly impossible. The SpotPass Archival Project also rushed to preserve over 23,000 data dumps.
The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U’s real legacy is how they brought players together.