Come next year will be the ceremonious end to the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS era of gaming, marking an end to both one of their most successful and catastrophic misfires in their history as mainline platforms. Nintendo's last generation platforms will see an end to their online access, as stated in a post on their social media.

As of early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end service for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. Thank you very much for your continued support of our products.

As of early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end service for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. Thank you very much for your continued support of our products.

Find out more: https://t.co/nOyzBImHCE

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 4, 2023

In the full statement, an official date will be revealed later. This was inevitable, as Nintendo had worked feverishly to leave the Wii U, one of their biggest console flop that suffered from low third party support and mismanaged marketing, behind. Functionality to the 3DS and Wii U eShop was cut off earlier this year, and Miiverse, Nintendo's self-contained social access site, had its servers shut down back in 2017, not too much longer after the Nintendo Switch launched.

As mentioned above, the 3DS thrived during the Wii U's run. With its vast library and premium first party software, one could make the case that the powerful little handheld kept Nintendo afloat financially throughout the Wii U's run. When the Switch launched, Nintendo spoke about the 3DS co-existing alongside it. Not too much long after, first party content and releases for it dried up considerably. The Wii U may have failed greatly, but I've always had a strong appreciation for this curious piece of hardware and its small, but unique library.

WHat are your favorite memories of the DS/3DS and Wii U lines?