Solo Gamer Maintains 3DS Servers for Months

• Nintendo shut down 3DS servers in April.
• One player keeps Mario Kart 7 online.
• Uses uninterruptible power supply for 3DS.
• Players known as Crazy 8 stayed online.
• 3DS owner aims to see how long he can go.

News

One Lone Nintendo Fan Has Been Keeping the 3DS Servers Alive for Months

A player has their console connected to an uninterruptible power source to keep Mario Kart 7 alive.

Nintendo

By Zack Zwiezen

Published Thursday 4:50 PM

In April, Nintendo officially shut down the 3DS online servers.

But some players didn't log off and stuck around, keeping the servers going.

However, after nearly four months, it seems just one person is left standing.

They are now the last person still playing their 3DS online in 2024.

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In January, Nintendo officially announced its plans to shut down both the 3DS and Wii U online servers on April 8 at 7 PM ET.

A lot of people weren't happy about this as it meant online-focused games would become nearly unplayable.

But that didn't stop the Mario maker from killing the servers as scheduled.

Some Wii U players stuck around, becoming known as the Crazy 8.

They ended up beating an old record set by players who failed to quit Halo 2 when the OG Xbox network was shut off.

But even these persistent players and other 3DS stragglers have since disconnected due to technical issues.

And now, only one person is still around, a sole 3DS owner still playing Mario Kart 7 online.

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In a recent and large interview with GamesRadar, Fishguy6564 talked about his refusal to let the 3DS servers officially die.

He told the outlet that at first, he wasn't even sure if he and others would get to stick around once Nintendo flipped the kill switch.

"I didn't think we would even survive the initial shutdown," said Fishguy6564.

But once the servers had died, he realized that he hadn't been disconnected and that all the bots in Mario Kart 7 were still racing around the track as if nothing had happened.

Now he says it's simply a test to see how long he can keep going.

Fishguy6564 told the outlet that to ensure he's always connected and his 3DS is always online, he's set up an uninterruptible power supply to the handheld console and stashed it in a cabinet where no one can touch it.

While it's possible that his internet connection could go out or the 3DS could die from a number of failure points, Fishguy6564 says that he could go on forever if everything works out.

However, he did admit that eventually, "there will be a point where I think it will be appropriate to send off the service on my own terms."

When that happens, he'll get to decide when to officially completely kill off the 3DS online network.