Sentacotus Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 So its obvious that the Wii U is all but dead now with BoTW being pretty much the last thing to come out for it and the Switch being in full steam. Furthermore, the Switch is also having its own online service that will soon be paid with 20 dollars a year subscriptions. I'm genuinely curious as to how long the Wii U will be supported with online play as the inevitable fate of online games is that they do not last forever. Servers and the staff to maintain them cost money lots of it. I can still remember when Halo 2 online play got the ax and that being a big deal. Obviously this would impact games like Splatoon 1, Smash 4 and Mario Kart 8 the biggest. What is perplexing though is that Nintendo seems to be following a theme of porting "delux" editions of games previously released on the Wii U over to the Switch like Pokken and Mario Kart 8. At this point it even seems like its a possibility that Smash 4 might get a all DLC inclusive release on the Switch. Obviously the Switch versions will have online play thats supported for years to come. So its natural to ask how much longer will online last on the Wii U? Additionally there are things like the E-shop. Granted its supported pretty much across all of Nintendo's platforms since the 3DS but will they eventually cut it off on their older consoles? What would that mean for trying to get DLC for games like BoTW, TMS, Smash etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DancingDanny Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I'm not really sure about the online services for actual games, but I think they'll still be around for at least a little while longer. As far as the eshop goes... I think it'll be around for quite a while. The original Wii's online shop is still totally functional even to this day! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingddd Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) Eshop things I think will be around for quite a long time. Heck even the Wii's online store is still up to this day so that's not going away anytime soon. For online, that's a big question right now but it seems like they're still supporting online games considering they did recently updated the Wii U's firmware to prevent a popular hacking entry point for a lot of their online games. For example, there was a guy that was recently hacking Xenoblade X a lot and destroying an online boss that everyone wants to battle against but he kept hacking and destroying it in one hour or so even though the bosses last 2 days or so. The new update prevented him from exploiting it any further and now the fanbase is happy to be playing against it again without some random guy from ruining it. Not to mention Smash 4 is still widely played right now as we aren't getting any confirmation of smash 4 for switch anytime soon and the online is free so there is still merits to keep it up. So I don't think the online is going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe for a good 2 or 3 years or so since it seems like they have a significant amount of people are still utilizing its functions. Edited July 26, 2017 by kingddd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentacotus Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 14 minutes ago, DancingDanny said: As far as the eshop goes... I think it'll be around for quite a while. The original Wii's online shop is still totally functional even to this day! :D Wow thats honestly really surprising to me I thought that was long gone. I suppose if its making more money than it costs to maintain why not? 13 minutes ago, kingddd said: Eshop things I think will be around for quite a long time. Heck even the Wii's online store is still up to this day so that's not going away anytime soon. For online, that's a big question right now but it seems like they're still supporting online games considering they did recently updated the Wii U's firmware to prevent a popular hacking entry point for a lot of their online games. For example, there was a guy that was recently hacking Xenoblade X a lot and destroying an online boss that everyone wants to battle against but he kept hacking and destroying it in one hour or so even though the bosses last 2 days or so. The new update prevented him from exploiting it any further and now the fanbase is happy to be playing against it again without some random guy from ruining it. Not to mention Smash 4 is still widely played right now as we aren't getting any confirmation of smash 4 for switch anytime soon and the online is free so there is still merits to keep it up. So I don't think the online is going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe for a good 2 or 3 years or so since it seems like they have a significant amount of people are still utilizing its functions. Interesting that must have been what that latest firmware update on the Wii U was about then. I was surprised it had an update since the Wii U hardly ever gets them. I only got it when I went to check out the BoTW DLC in the Eshop and found that I needed to update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonLord Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I'd say still some time, considering Smash Bros for Wii U is still a strong presence for online. Unless a new Smash is coming soon for Switch, I can't see Nintendo abandoning that scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zera Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 The eShops will NEVER die, as they make Nintendo money. If you had a Free Money switch, why would you ever turn it off? As for online game support... I expect the Wii U will be safe until the inevitable Smash Bros. Switch comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentacotus Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 1 hour ago, Zera said: The eShops will NEVER die, as they make Nintendo money. If you had a Free Money switch, why would you ever turn it off? If the money to keep it running exceeds the money you are bringing in from it. Business restructuring...any number of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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