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Nintendo has announced that it will be discontinuing online services for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U consoles in just a few months’ time, which will also affect StreetPass Mii Plaza.
The company made the announcement on its official channels, thanking fans for their support of the older consoles. “In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. This also includes online co-operative play, internet rankings, and data distribution.” meaning that you’ll no longer be able to take these consoles online to play multiplayer or indeed download content for those machines. Crucially though, it also means players will no longer be able to play Puzzle Swap in Nintendo StreetPass Mii Plaza.
As a quick refresher, StreetPass Mii Plaza was a fun minigame preinstalled on most Nintendo 3DS consoles that allowed you to ‘meet’ other people as you passed them in the real world. Using the console’s local communication, you could exchange Mii characters and even play minigames with them such as the wonderful Puzzle Swap. In this, you’d collect puzzle pieces one at a time from each person you passed, which when completed would reveal unique 3D pictures related to popular games and Nintendo series like Mario, and Zelda. It was a fantastic little addition to the portable console, as you could collect these pieces – and friends – sort of like Pokémon, and build up a collection of cool images. In addition, periodical Spotpass drops would allow you to meet special character Miis, such as the late Satori Iawa himself. Sadly, as the Support article reveals, while you’ll still be able to pass people, you’ll no longer be able to get new Puzzle Swap pieces, or use Spotpass features.
Of course, more than ten years and a new console later, it largely makes sense as the 3DS hasn’t been Nintendo’s focus for a while – in fact, even its successor, the Switch is now at the point people are clamouring for news on a rumoured Switch 2 – but it’s a shame to see another cool feature go the way of dinosaur as it’s put out to pasture. While the Streetpass feature itself will still work, it’s fair to say it’s a lot less likely in 2023 you’ll be passing anyone with a Nintendo 3DS in their bag. Still, we’ll pour one out for one of the most interesting console-exclusive features as we mourn its passing.
As for the online services shutdown, you’ll still be able to download update data and redownload any games you already may own on your Nintendo 3DS and Wii U “for the foreseeable future” and you’ll still be able to play games in offline modes and any modes that don’t require a connection to the internet. However, Nintendo warn that should issues arise, it could shut down the online features before the given April 2024 shutoff date.
