Highlights
- Nintendo fans preserved game content on 3DS and Wii U before servers shut down, ensuring historical data remains accessible.
- SpotPass Archival Project succeeds in preserving extras and updates for games like Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem.
- Closure of 3DS and Wii U servers impacts game functionality, highlighting the importance of game preservation efforts.
Nintendo fans managed to preserve a good portion of game content on the 3DS and Wii U before the servers were shut down. On April 8th, Nintendo shut down the servers for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, removing all online capabilities. However, to ensure that some features wouldn't be lost to history due to the lack of connectivity, a community of fans mobilized to create the SpotPass Archival Project.
The SpotPass Archival Project aims to preserve all the extras and game updates that games on the 3DS and Wii U received through SpotPass. Similar to StreetPass, SpotPass was a feature embedded in the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U that automatically connected the consoles to the internet and downloaded additional content from installed games. Before Animal Crossing: New Leaf shutdown, players received distributed items via SpotPass, while in Fire Emblem: Awakening, it was possible to acquire unique characters and optional chapters, for example.
Every First-Party Wii U Game That's Been Ported To The Switch
Players can still enjoy these first-party Wii U games on the Nintendo Switch.
With the shutdown of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U servers, many of these extra contents would be lost forever. That's why the SpotPass Archival Project community moved to preserve numerous SpotPass data, and luckily, they succeeded. On the project's official website, they listed which 3DS and Wii U games had their SpotPass preserved. The SpotPass Archival Project aims to ensure that this data is accessible in the future, even without access to the online servers or the 3DS and Wii U eShop.
3DS and Wii U Server Shutdown Hinders Games
The closure of the 3DS and Wii U servers is already impacting old games. Although most of these console libraries can still be enjoyed without online functionality, players who never purchased DLC for a specific game or perhaps deleted it from storage have lost it forever. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS DLC can no longer be re-downloaded, which means characters like Cloud and Bayonetta are forever lost in the annals of time.
Another example is that all the Pokemon stored in the Global Trading System are permanently lost. Another game that lost much of its functionality is Super Mario Maker on the Wii U. The main feature of the game was sharing player-made levels with others, and although this led to notorious impossible levels in Super Mario Maker, it's a unfortunate to see that all user creations are gone overnight.
Game preservation is becoming increasingly prominent as time goes on. On one hand, history has proven that many companies are not interested in preserving old games, even though some offer streaming services with a retro game catalog. On the other hand, situations like this bring the community together to create projects like the SpotPass Archival Project, which tries to confront the passage of time.
Nintendo Wii U
- Brand
- Nintendo
- Original Release Date
- November 18, 2012
- Hardware Versions
- Nintendo Wii U
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $299Deluxe Sets: $349
- Weight
- 3.3 lbs
