When someone imagines a video game console, there are a few key things that come to mind. Maybe they’re imagining playing their favorite games with their friends, downloading their most anticipated titles on launch day, or competing against others for the highest score in competitive leaderboards. It is common knowledge that these services require Internet access to function.
Unsurprisingly, not everyone thinks about the servers these functions should be hosted on — at least not until a company announces they’re shutting down one of these long-running services. While it’s always hard to accept, a sad reality of the ever-evolving live service industry is that not all services can be sustained forever.
9 The Wii U & 3DS eShops will close on the same day for good
The eShops for both Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS will close permanently on March 27, 2023. While the stores themselves will remain open for another six months, the cutoff to add funds, including with eShop-specific prepaid cards, is August 29, 2022.
While these stores currently still exist, it will take less than a week for fans to lose the ability to add funds to their accounts. Players in the UK haven’t had this opportunity since late 2019, so it’s only a matter of time before an official global shutdown takes place.
8 The loss of original Xbox Live meant loss of compatibility for many games
In the early console days, many players assumed that the services they played on would always be available. As time goes on and new consoles come out, older ones have to be put away to make room, with the original Xbox being no exception. Less than a decade after its release, the original Xbox Live was discontinued.
In Microsoft’s official statement, the shutdown was made to boost sales to the newer and more profitable Xbox 360. While this makes sense, it also means that many original titles lost their compatibility with online services.
7 A handful of classic Wii apps have finally been discontinued
The Nintendo Wii was one of the most beloved consoles of its time, and one can be found in almost every family’s living room. This would slowly change over time, with Nintendo in turn canceling many of the console’s once beloved channels. Perhaps the most famous closure was the Wii Shop Channel.
However, there are a handful of other classic Wii channels that have caught up in the crossfire. The Nintendo, Forecast, News, Everybody Votes and Check Mii Out channels were all closed in 2013. While they were all pretty basic services, they were also staples of the Wii and their discontinuation was felt by many fans.
6 Many older beloved Ubisoft titles had discontinued their online support
Ubisoft is one of several companies that have decided to pull the plug on many of its online titles over the years. Like many others, Ubisoft states that this will allow them to provide players with a smoother experience in their more recent titles.
Nearly a hundred titles from Ubisoft have received their online support to date, which is a huge blow to the many titles that are best experienced with or against other players. Some of the more notable titles losing online support are the first few Far cry games and a handful Assassin’s Creed titles.
5 Nintendo names social media as main Miiverse killer
Nintendo has tried all sorts of different avenues when it comes to its in-console apps. With the Miiverse for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Nintendo tried a social media-type app where users could share their thoughts on different games or share cute doodles with each other.
Even though Miiverse turned into a place full of trolls and off-topic discussions, it was still a charming and entertaining place that many users liked to check out. Nintendo ended support for Miiverse in November 2017, with the rise of other mainstream social media apps being the main reason for its decline.
4 The discontinuation of the Nintendo Wi-Fi service crushed longtime fans
One of the most crushing shutdowns for any Nintendo fan has to be the shutdown of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. On May 20, 2014, Nintendo pulled the plug on the connectivity service, which affects many Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo DSi titles.
While these three systems weren’t as popular in the 2010s, these systems all had a few titles that maintained a small, devoted fan base. Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Brothers: Brawl are two great examples of this, with a player of the first taking a screenshot of the exact moment the servers were shut down for good during a Mario Kart race.
3 The original Overwatch will soon be completely inaccessible
Fans often prefer older titles in a series over their more recent releases, making Blizzard’s decision to scrap the original entirely overwatch a puzzling one this coming fall. Overwatch 2 finally comes out in October and Blizzard has decided to close the original overwatch‘s servers for good after that.
Players can access all of their original skins in the game’s sequel, but other than that, nothing remains of their old accounts. To make up for this, the sequel’s PvP-focused elements will be Free-to-Play, but many are still unhappy with this decision.
2 TERA’s doors closed last summer after a decade
All MMOs are doomed to eventually meet their last day, with TERA Onlineis incredibly recent. As of June 30, 2022, TERAI‘s servers are closed for good, marking the end of service for a decade-old MMO that still had a small, but devoted, fan base.
It turns out that the team behind TERAI themselves were not keen that their title would be discontinued. However, Bluehole – the only remaining publisher of the game – made the decision to stop development, which meant the team had no choice but to follow suit.
1 Online support for Xbox 360 Legacy Halo titles was discontinued late last year
The Xbox One has been out for almost a whole decade, but many fans still prefer to play their favorite 360 titles on their original system. Despite a dwindling fan base as many moved to the next-generation Xbox, many players still preferred the 360’s classic titles.
While the Xbox 360 is still widely supported, companies can choose whether to keep support for their titles. 343 Industries, responsible for the Halo franchise, decided to withdraw support for their 360 titles late last year. While players can still progress through the single player sections of these games, all multiplayer features are now unavailable.
0 Comments