It’s another sad day for Nintendo gamers, or at least those who are living a decade in the past. Nintendo is shutting down online play services for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in 2024, but there is an exception.
Pokémon fans won’t need to fear losing Pokémon Bank access as Nintendo has already assured players that these services won’t be stopped—at least not yet.
Early April 2024 is the time when Nintendo will bring a close to its online play and other functionalities used by these devices. While Pokémon Bank will survive this deadline, Nintendo says that it will be closed down at some point in the future.
Pokémon fans can breathe a sigh of relief, but there’s no time to relax as this service is going to end eventually. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a shock. Old online services are constantly getting closed down across the gaming space and you can move Pokémon from Bank to HOME fairly easily.
Earlier this year, Nintendo closed down the eShop for both of these previous-generation devices. Prior to this happening, fans stocked up on all of their favorite titles as while there is no way to purchase them anymore, you can download those that you have already bought.
Similarly, even when online play services are switched off, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U gamers can still download their previously purchased games or updates for them.
We’ve still got plenty of time to enjoy the online fun that can be had on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems. Nintendo hasn’t yet decided on the exact date for these services to be closed down but it will be coming in April of 2024.
The bottom line is not even the closure of Nintendo’s online play services can kill Pokémon Bank.
