Nintendo removing major online features from the Wii and DS

Nintendo truly is now more than ever taking the proverbial dying dog (their last generation of consoles, in this case) around the back of the shed to be put down with a shotgun. 

Click. Boom. End of an Era.   

Earlier this week it was officially announced by Nintendo that they would be shutting down all online play, matchmaking, and leader board functionality for their dying consoles the Wii and Nintendo DS. 

A post on Nintendo’s official site states “As of May 20, 2014, certain online functionality offered through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is no longer accessible. The discontinued services include online play, matchmaking and leader boards for many Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi games.”.  

However, Nintendo has promised fans that offline game play remains completely intact. 

This news comes shortly after the announcement from middleware matchmaking company Gamespy that they will be “…ceasing all hosting services for all games…” still using their services. As you may have now guessed, Nintendo was one such company using GameSpy for the majority of their previous generation console online functionality. 

The good news, however, is that Nintendo took other online services such as the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSI shop in-house, so they will still remain functional across all of their previous generation consoles. 

The bad news? No more online Animal Crossing: City Life shenanigans. What a shame. 

Nintendo has thanked their fans for “…their continued support of our company’s legacy systems.”

A full list of the affected Nintendo Wii and DS games can be found here