The Wii U has now been offline since April of last year. However, this hasn’t stopped online gamers from seeking out unofficial means of still playing their favorite Wii U games online. Although this has been an ongoing situation since last spring, Nintendo has just now taken to social media to address this concern. In an X post made yesterday, January 14th, Nintendo has warned against using “unauthorized services” such as Pretendo to play Wii U games online, highlighting security concerns:
“We have confirmed the existence of unauthorized services that replace functions such as online play for the Wii U, which ended service on April 9, 2024. Please refrain from using such services as they may pose unexpected security risks.”
Now this is a seemingly “Well, duh” post. It’s the timing however that makes this interesting. Why is Nintendo saying this now? Perhaps Pretendo wasn’t on their radar until recently, but is it more likely that this post could potentially be a sign of things to come?
Nintendo did just recently reveal that their original plan for the Nintendo Switch Online service was a continuation of the Virtual Console concept. Could we see this, including Wii U games in its library, come to fruition with Switch 2? Time will tell and we’re all waiting to see what announcement Nintendo will make regarding their next console.
Until then, Pretendo does what Nintendon’t.
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Written by Matthew Powers
Nintendo has been Matthew’s preference for fun video gaming since 2004. In addition to his love for all things Mario, Metroid and beyond, Matthew also enjoys heavy metal, roller coasters, pinball machines, and being a proud cat dad.
