Nintendo is shutting down the Wi-Fi Connection service for DS and Wii on May 20, Nintendo of Japan announced today.
While Nintendo DS/DSi and Wii users will no longer be able to access online features such as online play, matchmaking and leaderboards from the announced date, according to a Nintendo of Australia press release, the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop will not be affected. Browsers for the DS and DSi will also be accessible beyond the date, as well as the Wii's Delivery Channel, Hulu, Internet Channel and YouTube.
The service's retirement will affect 20 Nintendo published Wii games and Wii Ware titles, including Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Pokémon Battle Revolution. More than 40 Nintendo published DS and DSi software titles will also be affected, such as Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Pokémon Platinum Version, Professor Layton and the Curious Village and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. The full list of titles are available on the official Nintendo of Australia website.
We have reached out to Nintendo to confirm if the Wi-Fi Connection service termination is worldwide.
Update: "This is a global termination which will take place on 20th May 2014 Worldwide," a Nintendo spokesperson told Polygon.
Update 2: Nintendo issued Polygon the following statement:
As of May 20, 2014, certain online functionality, including online play, matchmaking and leaderboards for many Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi games, will no longer be accessible. For a list of Nintendo games and services that are affected, please check http://www.nintendo.com. Users can still play these games in offline mode, which continues to offer a rich game-play experience. Other online functionality on Wii and Nintendo DS, such as access to the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Shop and video-on-demand services, are also not affected at this time.
Online play for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games will be unaffected (aside from the Wii mode on Wii U and Nintendo DS games played on Nintendo 3DS family systems). Our focus now shifts to readying our Wii U and Nintendo 3DS matchmaking services for upcoming games such as Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros.
We at Nintendo sincerely thank our fans for their continued support of our company's legacy systems. Your enthusiasm for games made for these systems speaks to their longevity, and the passion of Nintendo fans.