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Updated at 10:12 p.m. Pacific with comment from Nintendo.
Come May 20, Nintendo will shut down its Wi-Fi Connection service, an online network for Wii and DS games.
Gamers will no longer have access to either platform’s matchmaking and multiplayer features. This won’t affect Internet browsing or online stores for either system.
Nintendo has not announced such plans for North America, but the company’s Australian and Japanese websites (via Kotaku) both offer the following statement:
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As of May 20, 2014, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service will be discontinued, and it will no longer be possible to use online features of Nintendo DS/DSi and Wii software such as online play, matchmaking, and leaderboards.
The company no longer sells the DS. The Wii Mini, a newer, low-cost alternative to the Wii, does not connect to the Internet at all.
Nintendo of America provided more details:
As of May 20, 2014, certain online functionality, including online play, matchmaking, and leaderboards for many Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo DSi games will no longer be accessible. For a list of Nintendo games and services that are affected, please check http://www.nintendo.com. Users can still play these games in offline mode, which continues to offer a rich gameplay experience. Other online functionality on Wii and Nintendo DS, such as access to the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Shop, and video-on-demand services, are also not affected at this time.
Online play for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games will be unaffected (aside from the Wii mode on Wii U and Nintendo DS games played on Nintendo 3DS family systems).
Our focus now shifts to readying our Wii U and Nintendo 3DS matchmaking services for upcoming games such as Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros.
We at Nintendo sincerely thank our fans for their continued support of our company’s legacy systems. Your enthusiasm for games made for these systems speaks to their longevity and the passion of Nintendo fans.
You can view a list of games that use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection here.
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