Nintendo is planning to cease online play for the 3DS portable game unit and the Wii U console as of April 8. The company had previously announced it would discontinue the services sometime in April. Now it says as of 4:00 p.m. PDT “online co-operative play, Internet rankings and data distribution” for the platforms will be ending. For the foreseeable future, players can continue to download updates and games they had previously purchased games for the foreseeable future. But Nintendo says it may shutter connected ops sooner “if an event occurs that would make it difficult to continue online services.”

“Players will still be able to use features and game modes that do not require online communication” for both platforms, Nintendo announced on a support page. For the most part, that means single player experiences. However, StreetPass functionality on 3DS will continue to support multiple players, since it connects over local networks.

“Once the fated hour comes, 3DS and Wii U users can expect online cooperative play, Internet rankings, and data distribution to be non-functional,” GameSpot writes. Most games will still be playable in offline mode, but “online-centric games,” such as the multiplayer shooters “Splatoon” and “Devil’s Third,” will be most impacted.

“Nintendo said there will be some exceptions to the end of online services and suggests that players of third-party games contact publishers to check whether they’ll keep servers running,” Engadget writes.

Pokémon Bank and Pokémon Transporter connectivity will continue to remain available, according to TechRadar, which says that when combined those services “can be used to transfer Pokémon from the fifth generation games … to sixth and seventh generation games,” and then to Pokémon Home, “the app used to store Pokémon on Nintendo Switch.”

Without Pokémon Bank and Pokémon Transporter, “Pokémon from older games may get stuck on their original cartridges forever,” TechRadar reports, expressing relief that they’re still supported, while conceding “Nintendo has stated that this ‘may also end at some point in the future.’”

Nintendo officially discontinued the 3DS family of systems in September 2020. In March 2023, Nintendo closed the eShops for 3DS and Wii U. Through March 11 the company is allowing remaining balances to be transferred by merging those digital wallets with a Nintendo Account.

“Sales of Wii U and 3DS hardware have gradually been phased out over the years, as the Nintendo Switch succeeded those platforms and went on to sell tens of millions of units,” GameSpot reports, adding that Nintendo said to have shown developers a Switch successor console in August at Gamescom.