Goodbye, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection!

[Bounsweet]

Starting May 20, Nintendo is disabling the WFC for DS and Wii games - this includes Pokemon DPPt, HGSS, BW2, and Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros Brawl, and the Animal Crossing games.

Though this may not mean anything for people keeping up with the latest and greatest, some of us still rely on the Nintendo WFC for our DS and Wii games, particularly for Black and White 2, which were only released less than 2 years ago.

Will this have any effect on your gaming routines?

[ source! ]

 

[Magykx]

Whaaat?? Why would they do that? I don't understand (too lazy to look up logical reason).

 

[Sydian]

This is really going to affect my trade shop. All of my stock is gen V RNG'd Pokemon that I clone via Pokecheck and transfer into X. Without WFC, I can't use Pokecheck at all for cloning or even uploading any future RNGs I may do. There probably wouldn't be any future RNGs anyway, because I get my parent Pokemon from Pokecheck itself. This is bad news for me, basically. I just reopened my shop as well. :/ Guess I could have some big blow out giveaway when the time comes, because I won't be able to clone them anymore. Not within gen V, anyway.

 

[Meganium]

That also means no wifi battles for SSBB until the new game comes out. I'm sad. Now after May my Wii and my DS lite will be pointless objects. I also think this is a way for them to push consumers to upgrade to the WiiU, running on the nintendo network.

 

[Hikamaru]

Yeah I admit this will severely affect those who play 4th and 5th Gen Pokemon games a lot if they tend to do the wi-fi trading and stuff like that. It also means the WiiSpeak feature will be closing down according to the link in the OP.

While it might be a trick to encourage playing the latest games on 3DS and Wii U, the DS and Wii are probably already outdated anyway plus the 3DS uses different wi-fi mechanics compared to the DS, and I guess the same could be said between the Wii and Wii U.

I hardly use wi-fi because of connection issues anyway it won't be so much as an issue for me. But still, I guess it gives me even better reason to continue using my 3DS XL because well, my DS Lite's hinge got too loose and very well useless.

 

[Treecko]

Whaaat?? Why would they do that? I don't understand (too lazy to look up logical reason).

Most likely cause they're trying to make the DS and Wii obsolete. They're pretty much done focusing on those system and are pushing people to move on to the 3DS and Wii U. The original DS is almost 10 years old. The Wii is 8 years old. The Wii was discontinued in Japan and Europe in October 2013, so this is clearly cause they're trying to move on. The current generation is their main focus now. There hasn't been a DS game released since last October.

This does suck though. I'm still trying to get my Pokedex completed in my white version and having Wi-Fi really helps that. Without getting so many trades over Wi-Fi, my Pokedex wouldn't be so full. Personally I think they can just let people to keep using it and just stop selling Wii/DS games in retail store and stop producing games for them. Many people still have DS and Wii systems and rely on that Wi-Fi to enjoy the game they have to full extent.

I personally won't stop using my DS or Wii though. They both still have excellent games and there's still plenty of things I can do without Wi-Fi. They're not "pointless objects" to me! This does makes me want to get more 3DS games and an actual 3DS of my own though (still borrowing one from a friend) .

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

Interesting move on their part. But it does make sense, considering Wii U sales have been so dismal as of now. Most likely this will try to push consumers towards it, or they'll basically be shooting themselves in the foot by bringing a bad image to their company. It's a gamble, but it's a gamble I think they need to make if they want the Wii U to survive.

Question though: so if I own a Wii and I want to go to the shop to buy N64/NES/SNES games straight to my Wii, does that mean I won't be able to do that anymore? Is the shop already built into the Wii or does it require an Internet connection to access it? That would be a huge drag considering I would love to still spend money on some retro games.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Yeah the real question is will this affect the Wii shop?

First you take out the DKC trilogy from the shop, and a little over a year later you do this to me Nintendo? No forgiveness!

 

[Patrick]

^ This, mostly. And does it affect friend codes? I can live with distribution via friend codes if that's still a thing. Otherwise...

 

[Xander Olivieri]

I imagine the virtual shop for the wii will shut down as well since they are discontinueing all online support for the wii and the shop requires internet connection.

Basically, neither wii nor ds series wilk have any form of online interaction. If they used internet they will not be able to use it anymore.

 

[Cherrim]

http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/vyWpoM6CBIe6FjW8NIY7bvzOrgBURhzw

There's the official news release about it. The Wii Shop (and DSi Shop) will still work, but no games will have any online functionality. Offline stuff will still work--so you can still trade Pokémon with people who are in the same room as you--but no online stuff... so you won't be able to trade with people across the world via internet anymore. (So no more friend codes, no.)

Honestly, while this won't affect me at all--I haven't done any trading in Gen IV or V in ages and I haven't touched any other games with WFC in years--it's sad to see it happen. Especially since it reminds me that games are so reliant on servers and the like now. Even though plenty of people still use the online features of these games as evidenced in this thread alone, they have no control over whether they can use them in the future. It makes me scared to get attached to any online component of a game I play. :(

 

[Dragon]

I'm quite curious about this move too. Seems quite sudden, but, I'm sure it's for a good reason? Like, I guess there's not much merit for them to continue the online Nintendo WiFi services anymore? Hm, well, ever way, I don't play on the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection anymore - I used to only play it for Gen 4 pokemon games, and maybe some Mario Kart DS racing, but, that's pretty much it.

 

[eeveeandmew]

My friend is very angry with this. She basically lives on pokedit pokemon for 5th gen. She wanted to know if it would be affected? (I told her it probably is going to be...)

 

[Iceshadow3317]

I don't mind. To be honest, both the DS and Wii are very outdated. One thing about life, can't always stay in the past. I never used DS or Wii WiFi so I am fine with it all. In pokemon, you can still trade over from one game to another with others with local.

 

[cmtthws92]

Well that stinks. I didn't use the WFC that much but when I did, it was really fun. I'll miss being in the Platinum Wi-Fi Plaza and playing Mario Kart Wii.


The DS and Wii have outlived their usefulness, but we've got to move on into the future.

 

[lucariokul]

I have not even used WFC for Dragon Quest 9 yet, and they try to shut it down!! Protest!

 

[DavidtheDeadPhilosopher]

I have not even used WFC for Dragon Quest 9 yet, and they try to shut it down!! Protest!

Agreed, now my game will never be 100% complete because I KNOW there is gear on that service that your not going to get anywhere else.

 

[SypherAP]

I can't really see this effecting me too much. But I guess I can understand why some people might be annoyed... Especially for those who haven't got a 3DS/Wii-U yet.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

That also means no wifi battles for SSBB until the new game comes out. I'm sad. Now after May my Wii and my DS lite will be pointless objects. I also think this is a way for them to push consumers to upgrade to the WiiU, running on the nintendo network.

I don't know about you, but battling over wifi on SSBB was really shotty at best. There was always a lot of lag when my friend and I played. Now I don't know if that was just because of the connection between me and my friend, but I heard that was a general complaint with the multiplayer aspect of the game. At least now they can focus on making dedicated servers and hopefully not make the same mistake when they release the new Super Smash Bros.

Agreed, now my game will never be 100% complete because I KNOW there is gear on that service that your not going to get anywhere else.

This goes back to me complaining about how there shouldn't be achievements - talking about the Xbox 360 now - in games that are multiplayer based. It's unfair for the player to rush to get those achievements, or in your case getting gear, when the company is not going to stay dedicated to their servers. But I understand; it costs money to keep servers up so of course they'll shut them down if they aren't seeing any production or profit coming from them.

 

[pokefan648]

I think that either There will be enough ragers and angry Nintendo fans that they will have to keep the servers running, or someone else will operate the servers for at least another 2-4 years. I mean if they don't change things and make their fans/customers happy, they will lose popularity, and then sales.