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Shortly after Nintendo issued a warning to players to "refrain" from using "unauthorized software" to keep their Wii Us online since it "may pose unexpected security risks," unofficial Nintendo Network replacement Pretendo has shared its own response, noting that "we are committed to user safety."
Nintendo shut down the official Nintendo Network-powered Wii U and 3DS online servers last April, but fans haven't been willing to give up on their favorite games that easily. While some simply kept their consoles for as long as possible past the shutdown to avoid disconnecting, others turned to alternative means like Pretendo. It's still a work in progress, but the open-source project is using "clean-room reverse engineering" to recreate the official service established by Nintendo, and has been usable for quite a while already. It works on the 3DS family of consoles and the Wii U – the latter doesn't even require a hacked console for it to function (although its features are more limited if used that way).
It's not clear what prompted Nintendo to speak out about Wii U online replacements on its Japanese customer service Twitter account today of all days. It didn't specifically call Pretendo out, but the unofficial network service has now weighed in on the matter itself. To an extent, it's actually on board with Nintendo's warning, as it says: "We understand Nintendo's warning, always be cautious of what you're installing and do proper research!
"That said, our tools/servers are open source and we are committed to user safety, going so far as to release security patches for games Nintendo themselves no longer supports," it continues.
We understand Nintendo’s warning, always be cautious of what you’re installing and do proper research! That said, our tools/servers are open source and we are committed to user safety, going so far as to release security patches for games Nintendo themselves no longer supports 💜 https://t.co/3TvMZrYCGTJanuary 15, 2025
Backing up that point, Pretendo says that it previously "released security patches for Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon fixing critical vulnerabilities several months before Nintendo released official updates," and 3DS and Wii U era aside, its team "regularly contributes to Nintendo’s bug bounty program to report modern exploits."
Needless to say, it seems Pretendo is confident that its own services don't pose a risk, although Nintendo clearly isn't too comfortable with the existence of such software – why it's airing those concerns over nine months after the official Nintendo Network shutdown is rather strange, though.
Looking for a last-gen throwback? Be sure to check out our roundup of the best Wii U games of all time.
