It's finally, officially over. Nintendo's 3DS and Wii U online servers were meant to shut down in April, and while they did for most, the efforts of dedicated fans around the world kept them going for way longer than they were supposed to, including one final player who's only just disconnected, and not by choice.
The legend of Fishguy6564 is one that'll go down in 3DS and Wii U history. He was far from the only player to attempt to stay connected to the servers, but he was certainly the most successful in terms of how long he managed to keep things going. He and another fellow player, Marioiscool246, set off with a clear goal – "keep a lobby alive" in 3DS racing game Mario Kart 7 for as long as possible, by implementing a patch which "supposedly prevented the death of a lobby" and deploying two bots to race each other endlessly. Even after Marioiscool246's 3DS crashed, Fishguy6564 kept going for the weeks and months that followed until he became the last connected player, and that journey is now over, 210 days – or almost seven months – later.
"It's over. Rest in peace, Nintendo Network," Fishguy6564 wrote a few hours ago, an image of his console displaying an error message serving as a sad confirmation that there's no recovering the situation now.
- 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
It's over. Rest in peace, Nintendo Network. pic.twitter.com/rlbFZVGJ0qNovember 4, 2024
GaffsNotLaffs, the owner of the Nintendo Network After Hours Discord server who's been posting updates on the surviving players since the shutdown, confirms that the noble player's system straight up "crashed," and I suppose there's little wonder after months of running without a break. "The Nintendo Network is finally truly dead," GaffsNotLaffs adds. "We can all go home, now."
We spoke to Fishguy6564 back in August about his efforts, at which point he told us that "in theory, this could go on forever," and that "the only thing that could stop me is if the 3DS somehow gave in." Tragically, that's exactly what ended up happening, but no one can fault him for his sheer determination up to this point. GG, Fishguy6564.
While you're here, be sure to check out our roundup of the 25 best 3DS games of all time.
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