Nintendo Wii online services to close in June

With its Wii U and tablet companion now threatening to render the original Wii redundant, Nintendo is starting to close the door on Wii by shutting down most of its online services by June 28.

 

A report on Geek.com said the services about to be axed include the Nintendo Channel, the Forecast Channel, and the News Channel.

 

Other services to be shut down include the Everybody Votes Channel, a forum of sorts that lets Wii users vote on an issue, and the Mii Contest Channel.

 

"When the switch is flipped on June 28, if you can’t live without those online services, you’re going to have to hope someone revives them through the infamous Homebrew Channel.

Nintendo will still grant a few online services a lease on life, such as the Today’s Accomplishments announcements on the Wii Message Board, as well as the Wii Shop Channel, but the rest of the closures signify an official changing of the Nintendo guard," it said.

 

Nintendo will also "severely limit" data exchange with Wii friends, exchanging Miis on the Mii Channel, and data exchange within certain games, the report added.

 

The report suggested that with the shutdowns severely limiting the original Wii platform, buyers just might buy a Wii U.

 

"Granted, the Wii U hasn’t exactly sold well since its release, but maybe now that you can’t access core online features on the Wii, you’ll purchase a Wii U... Just kidding, we know you didn’t access any online Wii features in the first place, which is probably why Nintendo is shutting them off only five months after the Wii U released," it said. — TJD, GMA News