Pokemon and Splatoon fans fight Nintendo's 3DS and Wii U server shutdown by keeping their favorite games online for as long as possible

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"KEEP IT ALIVE FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN SOLDIERS"

Key art for Splatoon.
(Image credit: Nintendo)

It's truly the end of an era for Nintendo fans, as online services for 3DS and Wii U have finally shut down. With it, we say goodbye to online multiplayer for the likes of Splatoon, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Pokemon X and Y, and Xenoblade Chronicles X, with everything shutting off for good at 5pm PT/8pm ET yesterday (or 1am GMT this morning for UK folks). 

Or at least, that's what was supposed to happen. All over social media since the supposed shutdown, many players were left baffled as they found their 3DS and Wii U games continuing to function perfectly fine online as if nothing had changed. The hours since saw this devolve into a battle of sheer willpower, with fans leaving their systems on and permitting the online services to cheat death for as long as possible. And, for a surprising amount of time, this worked very well. 

This determination to hang in there was particularly prevalent within the Splatoon community, which began rallying together for a single purpose: "KEEP IT ALIVE FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN SOLDIERS."

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Two hours after the planned shutdown time, one fan advised: "IF YOU'RE STILL ONLINE FOR SPLATOON 1 DO NOT RESET YOUR WII U. It's still kicking for a LOT OF PEOPLE! KEEP PLAYING." 

Meanwhile, 3DS Pokemon players also found themselves inexplicably managing to complete online trades with fellow server shutdown survivors for hours longer than they should have, with one report even claiming to have successfully traded within the last hour. Others reported they were able to stay online until they themselves disconnected – at which point they weren't able to get back in – while others were eventually hit with error messages. 

It's not remotely clear what allowed some players to stay online while others were swiftly booted, but there is something oddly poetic about the community banding together until the very end. As the hours passed, many players voluntarily stepped away from their consoles, mainly to get some sleep, but some clung onto the dream until they were forcibly removed. At the end of the day, all good things must come to an end eventually, even if for nostalgic fans, it's admittedly a very bitter pill to swallow.

Of course, online functionality is still alive and kicking on Nintendo Switch. If you're looking for some new games to play, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best Switch games.

Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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