If you're still using your Nintendo Wii U, a major title is about to be removed from the console's online storefront. Nintendo has announced that it will be delisting the original Super Mario Maker early next year, on January 13th, 2021. The game will be permanently removed from the Wii U eShop, and will no longer be available for purchase. That's not all, either--the game's online functionality will also be shut down a couple of months later on March 31st, 2021. After this date, you will no longer be able to upload courses to the game, look up your bookmarked courses, or rank others' courses.

Super Mario Maker originally released in 2015 for the Nintendo Wii U, and received a port to the Nintendo 3DS, with the latter lacking certain features from the console release. The game was suceeded by its sequel, Super Mario Maker 2, which released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019.

Discontinuation of certain services

From March 31st 2021, it will no longer be possible to upload courses in Super Mario Maker for Wii U. On the same day, the Super Mario Maker Bookmark website will also close.

It will still be possible to play courses uploaded before the service discontinuation.

In preparation for the discontinuation of these online services, Super Mario Maker for Wii U will be removed from sale on Nintendo eShop on January 13th 2021. It will still be possible to redownload the game after this date.

There is no impact on Super Mario Maker 2 for Nintendo Switch.

We would like to thank all players for supporting Super Mario Maker for Wii U over the past five years.

Planned service end date: March 31st 2021

Please note that depending on the circumstances, these services may be discontinued earlier than the above-mentioned date.

Services that will end

• The ability to upload courses in Super Mario Maker for Wii U
• The Super Mario Maker Bookmark website
  Due to this, the following features within the software’s Course World will also become unavailable:
  
  • Updating the ranking of liked courses
  • Looking up your bookmarked courses

An error message will be displayed when trying to access these discontinued services after their end date.

Source

 

[Kwyjor]

I am surprised they would shut down the online services for a specific game

I expect the issue is that some poor soul has to sit there and moderate all the content that gets uploaded – making sure that people aren't uploading levels with genitals or political messages made out of bricks, and so on.

... On that note, are the servers for LittleBigPlanet still operating? (I wonder how they handle it?)

 

[Ampersound]

It will be like many other Nintendo titles too. If the community around the game is large enough, they will work on restoring/enhancing functionality. Like N64 and Gamecube netplay, Mario Kart DS Custom Servers etc.

 

[Goku1992A]

All online services will die in a period of time. It makes me wonder 20 years from now how will you update a PS4 game if the online server is down

 

[Julie_Pilgrim]

nintendo has been really anti consumer recently

They’ve been anti consumer for a while

 

[Tweaker_Modding]

All online services will die in a period of time. It makes me wonder 20 years from now how will you update a PS4 game if the online server is down

by then the latest ps4 firmware would have been completely hacked and the pkg for games and updates would have been preserved online

 

[CathyRina]

Wouldnt surprise me if all Wii U online games get this treatment. The multiplayer is free so ofc they gonna yeet it the moment the playerbase sinks. Now if they did that to a Switch title, THAT would be scummy asf. since we're actually paying for their shitty online this time around.

 

[Deleted User]

Wouldnt surprise me if all Wii U online games get this treatment. The multiplayer is free so ofc they gonna yeet it the moment the playerbase sinks. Now if they did that to a Switch title, THAT would be scummy asf. since we're actually paying for their shitty online this time around.

Wait, what are you even talking about. they didn’t take down the online service for mario maker. theyre just preventing new stages from being uploaded, all previous stages are going to still be available...

 

[JohnnyShanley]

too scared if the 100 Mario challenge will shut down as well

 

[Valwinz]

The all Digital Future

 

[raxadian]

The all Digital Future

At least there isca sequel instead of the Mario Maker series being completely dead.

Now if people made new hacks for the 3DS game...