Nintendo discontinued another 3DS and Wii U online feature as both consoles neared the end of their product lifecycles.
According to The Gamer, Nintendo discontinued an online feature of the 3DS and Wii U earlier this week. As of October 25, the 3DS and Wii U no longer support sharing images via Facebook and Twitter.
The Japanese game giant is trying to end support for the Wii U and 3DS this year. The company hopes to streamline infrastructure and optimize maintenance by focusing all resources on supporting Switch’s ecosystem. But the public did not receive the strategy well, leading to criticism that Nintendo was undermining video game history.
Last month, Nintendo announced it would discontinue photo sharing and confirmed it was disabling the 3DS and Wii U globally. The company no longer allows users to sign in to their Nintendo accounts on the 3DS or Wii U with their Facebook and Twitter accounts. It is unclear whether Apple and Google logins will suffer the same fate before all online services go down system-wide.
The move earlier this week as a next step marks the Wii U and 3DS getting closer to the end of their life cycle. Nintendo is expected to make its next big move to the online functionality of the two classic consoles on March 27, 2023, with the Wii U and 3DS eShop shutting down globally.
Since Switch sales are still growing strong after more than 5 years of launch, Nintendo’s decision to focus on this ecosystem makes perfect sense, especially since the Switch was created by combining console and handheld expertise to become an ambitious successor to both the 3DS and Wii U series.
And it will be many years, and at least one more console generation from Nintendo before all 3DS and Wii U games can be popularized again. While the company has tried out a first-party simulator in the past, it now seems more interested in releasing business remakes.