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Nintendo is closing Miiverse

The online service will end in November, when a key features in several games will also cease to function

Nintendo is closing its Miiverse online service, five years after it first launched for the Wii U.

According to Nintendo, the service will continue operating until November 8 this year, at which point all of its core functions will no longer be available.

That includes functions like posting and exchanging messages, and a in-game services and features in a number of titles on the Wii U and the 3DS. Before then, Miiverse users will be able to request a downloadable version of their post history via a new feature.

Nintendo launched Miiverse alongside the Wii U, a console that fell drastically short of the company's expectations. However, in a statement issued to Go Nintendo, the company said that Miiverse was being shuttered for different reasons.

"We decided to end the service at this time because, among other reasons, many users are shifting to social networking services," a company spokesperson said, referring to a problem that is largely of Nintendo's own making.

"Currently Nintendo has no plans to implement any services to replace Miiverse, but the Nintendo Switch system includes features for connecting with Facebook and other social networking services."

The death of Miiverse will result in the end of key features in popular games: in Super Mario Maker on Wii U, players will no longer be able to comment on shared levels; in Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8, players will be unable to post replays and gameplay videos to YouTube or create tournaments.

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Matthew Handrahan

Editor-in-Chief

Matthew Handrahan joined GamesIndustry in 2011, bringing long-form feature-writing experience to the team as well as a deep understanding of the video game development business. He previously spent more than five years at award-winning magazine gamesTM.