Nintendo Wii U fans hang on for over a month after server crash, breaking record

Nintendo shut down its Nintendo 3DS and Wii U multiplayer servers in early April, but a group of dedicated Splatoon players remained steadfastly online, breaking a record set by other Halo 2 fans over a decade ago.

Summary: Nintendo announced in January that online multiplayer for Nintendo games published on both platforms will end on April 8, as the Wii U (released in 2012) and 3DS (2011) will no longer be supported. Both are effectively obsolete, now seven years into the lifespan of the Nintendo Switch hybrid mobile console, which will soon be released on the next successor console.

But the shutdown, at least for now, didn’t remove everyone from the servers, it just meant that new players couldn’t log in if they weren’t already there. Anyone who goes online can stay.

And they will apparently remain there as long as they keep their consoles turned on and the game running. Over the weekend, one such fan boasted that Pokémon XY, Mario Kart 7, Mario Maker, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Splatoon players are still tied, breaking the unofficial but no less impressive record set in 2010.

Halo 2 fans stayed for 25 days in 2010

That time two Halo 2 fans Apache N4SIR and Agent Windex members of the Noble 14 clan lasted 25 days after Microsoft announced that it would end access to Xbox Live on the original Xbox. (Halo 2 has since been re-released as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection in 2014, which is currently supported on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X via backwards compatibility).

Microsoft tried to kick fans out with beta codes (for Halo: Reach), but those two stayed, Apache N4SIR stayed the longest, 25 days, before Microsoft finally kicked everyone off the servers and shut down.

One of the Wii U players, Lcd101, has been alone in Splatoon for almost a month, sitting in an empty lobby, unable to play any multiplayer games because there is no one else to match. Last week, the reunion reached almost absurd levels when Lcd101 reported that the game’s final map rotation had been announced (by the game’s stars, squid sisters Callie and Marie) and was set to last for the next 10 years.

Nintendo fans are a passionate bunch, and Splatoon was a fan favorite, even though the Wii U was a sales disappointment for four years, it was a staple of Nintendo hardware. Remaining online after servers are shut down is not so much a protest as a unique declaration of fandom and loyalty, as was the case with Apache N4SIR in 2010.

But at some point, Nintendo will have to pull back the curtain. Let’s hope they thank these fans for their loyalty.

Featured image via Nintendo.com