3DS and Wii U online play and communication functions to be wound up from April 2024 - Pokémon Bank to continue operating for now

Earlier today, Nintendo announced in posts on their official social media channels that core online play and communications functions for the 3DS and Wii U consoles will sunset from early April 2024. After this date, users of these consoles will no longer have access to online play, internet ranking, or other data distributions for the majority of 1st party Nintendo titles, including Pokémon games, though some titles from 3rd party developers may continue to be supported by their publishers. The sole exception to this shutdown is Pokémon Bank, which the announcement Q&A posted to Nintendo of America's support site explicitly notes will continue to operate.

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A post on Pokémon's official Japanese account on X (formerly Twitter) notes that while there has not yet been a determination on when the Pokémon Bank service will end, these services may be terminated in the future, and suggests players should transfer their Pokémon from Pokémon Bank to Pokémon HOME ahead of time.

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In conjunction with the shutdown of 3DS online services, service for all features of the Nintendo Badge Arcade will also end, and the software will no longer function. While players will continue to be able to decorate their Nintendo 3DS HOME Menu with badges acquired from the Arcade, only the contents of player's badge boxes at the time the service is discontinued will be remain available.

This sunsetting of features explicitly does not include remaining eShop functionality on either the 3DS or Wii U consoles, and at this point in time, Nintendo has stated that users will continue to be able to download update data and redownload any previously purchased digital games for the forseeable future. Given that it's still possible to download Wii titles, more than 4 and a half years after the Wii Shop Channel closed to new sales, it's likely that purchases will remain available for many years to come.