It finally happened! After an impressive 209 days, as of November 3, the last enthusiastic player of Nintendo’s defunct Wii U and 3DS servers, known as Fishguy6564, was disconnected when his Nintendo 3DS unexpectedly shut down. For almost two-thirds of a year, he had kept the connection to Mario Kart 7 servers alive [thanks to GamesRadar]. Though this marks the end of an era, not all is lost.
For those still holding onto their trusty 3DS and Wii U consoles, there’s a silver lining. Custom system firmware can unlock new possibilities, including access to Homebrew software and Pretendo—a fan-driven service that resurrects Nintendo Network servers for once-dormant games. While the library of games available on Pretendo isn’t vast, it ensures that some beloved titles remain playable.
Before the end of this remarkable journey, Fishguy6564 managed a small miracle by keeping a server running with bots—even after the official shutdown—just to see how long this could last. In an earlier conversation with GamesRadar, he confessed, “I didn’t think we could survive the official shutdown. From that point on, it was just about seeing how long we could keep it going.”
The journey eventually came to a stop as expected, but Pretendo servers are here to keep the spirit alive for modded hardware users. On the Nintendo 3DS, Pretendo supports games like Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Mario Maker 3DS. Wii U enthusiasts can enjoy games such as Mario Kart 8, Mario Maker, Splatoon, and Pokkén Tournament. The level of online play and server features Pretendo can bring back varies by game.
Sadly, many exclusive titles from the eShop for both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U are now out of reach unless previously installed. While these aren’t titles that sold systems, it’s disappointing to see them fade into obscurity. This highlights the painful reality of offline gaming: when official servers go down, preserving these games relies entirely on the dedication of historians, modders, and, sometimes, pirates.
