Nintendo confirms Wii U and 3DS multiplayer shutdown date for April

Dungeons and Dragons just revealed the release dates of a half dozen new books it has planned over the next year. These six new Dungeons and Dragons books include the revised Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual, which will be released as a part of the One D&D project.

Xbox Game Pass subscribers have yet another day one game to look forward to, as the upcoming Botany Manor has been confirmed for release on April 9. Botany Manor was first confirmed for Xbox Game Pass last December, with a handful of other 2024 Game Pass titles confirmed on the same day.

WitchSpring R will launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox One in addition to its previously announced Switch version, developer KIWI WALKS told Gematsu. Release dates for the console versions are not yet fixed, but a physical edition is planned.

A group of Super Mario Maker players are attempting to beat every level ever created by other users before the Wii U's online services shut down for good. With the Nintendo Switch currently being the Japanese game giant's focus, Nintendo has been phasing out the services of its previous consoles, the Wii U and 3DS. While fans knew that these were being shut down, Nintendo finally confirmed the exact date the Wii U and 3DS servers will go offline. This closure will affect all games released on these systems that have online play and communication, such as the first Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, and Super Mario Maker.

Popular upcoming mobile game Love Live! School Idol Festival 2 Miracle Live has announced both the launch of the game's Global version and its shutdown date at the same time. The newest game from the massively popular idol anime franchise comes on the heels of its predecessor, Love Live! School Idol Festival, ending its service early last year. The original mobile rhythm game boasted more than 40 million players at its peak in 2018, split between the Global and Japanese versions. Now, the game has announced the launch of the Global version, while also confirming its end-of-service.

Polish developer People Can Fly, which is arguably best known for making the third-person co-op shooter Outridersand first-person-shooter Bulletstorm, has confirmed that it’s laid off a number of its staff. A spokesperson described the situation as “unfortunate.”

Nintendo has confirmed the date and time of the online multiplayer server shutdown for Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS for 8th April.

Nintendo has announced that the online services for its older platforms—namely the 3DS and the Wii U—will be shut down on April 8. The announcement comes a few months after the shut down of the online services was announced back in October. For the sake of context, the ability to purchase titles on the eShop on these platforms was already discontinued back in March 2023.

Nintendo has revealed exactly when most remaining online services for the 3DS and Wii U will come to an end. After 7AM ET on April 8, it will no longer be possible to jump into a multiplayer match on the original Splatoonor check out other players' levels in Super Mario Maker. Online co-op play, leaderboards and data distribution are among the features that won't be available on either console (unless you find an adequate homebrew solution). The Badge Arcade feature, which allows players to customize their Nintendo 3DS home menu, is going away too.

The Nintendo Wii U and 3DS online services will be terminated this April, but users will still be able to download purchased software and updates for their games.

Apple plans to introduce significant changes to the iOS App Store, allowing users to download apps from third-party sources. The company is reaching a deadline imposed by the EU under the Digital Markets Act, which requires the company to allow the installation of apps from outside the App Store. The company has until March 6 to implement the app sideloading, and iOS 17.4 appears to be the update that will bring the necessary changes.

Nintendo is ending online play services for both the 3DS and Wii U on 8th April, the company confirmed earlier today. Previously, this shutdown was simply slated for some time in early April.