Today, April 8th, 2024, at 4PM PT, marks the day in which Nintendo permanently ends support for both the 3DS and the Wii U online services, which include co-op play, internet rankings and data distribution, according to Nintendo's own news post.

This means that games that heavily rely on online services, like the original Super Mario Maker for Wii U (and 3DS), Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon's online multiplayer, and several other games will effectively stop working, more so for Super Mario Maker since that game is entirely relying on online user-created levels for the gaming experience.

However, all is not lost, as the fan and homebrew community is here to save the day (as is always the case), even in the most dire of events like the closure of all online service for said consoles, with the great community network known as Pretendo.

Pretendo is basically an entirely open source project that aims to replace Nintendo's network for both the 3DS and the Wii U, and even their respective emulators like Citra (or its forks given its recent demise) and Cemu, which will allow all users to interconnect with each other even after the demise of Nintendo's own servers later today, and while their compatibility isn't entirely 100%, they developers behind the Pretendo network are still hard at work developing the service so that more and more games get proper compatibility.

Those interested in trying out the Pretendo network can follow their own installation instructions found at their site, which includes installation guides for both Citra (or its forks) and Cemu, and in the case of the original hardware, the user will require a hacked console, be it a hacked 3DS and/or a hacked Wii U, depending on which console the user has. Just be aware that your current Nintendo ID (and everything that it entices, like friends list and other things) will not be carried over to the Pretendo servers, as Nintendo's servers hold that data, and repurposing the original ID for Pretendo could pose a severe privacy violation, so a new ID will need to be created for usage with Pretendo's servers.

A recommendation for a more detailed look into the Pretendo network is a recently released video by renowned game developer and homebrew enthusiast, Modern Vintage Gamer (MVG), gives takes a deeper dive into it, as well as its current status, usage, game tests and installation of the fanmade network into your own consoles.

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Source
Pretendo Network

 

[DragonMals]

Part of the reason why I'm glad I left the project is because how crappy the community is. I've done bad things, but I feel like I was overhated. I have my own quirks but I deserve as much respect as others.

Is this the actual Larsen dev talking? I didn't know that you were overhated. That ain't good. I don't know if you're fine with discussing about it, but what are some of the things you've done wrong? All I know is the Wii Shop Channel revival service and that's about it

 

[Larsenv]

Is this the actual Larsen dev talking? I didn't know that you were overhated. That ain't good. I don't know if you're fine with discussing about it, but what are some of the things you've done wrong? All I know is the Wii Shop Channel revival service and that's about it

Yes. Here's the last 3 things that happened

• Accused of stealing code and causing a ton of drama when WiiLink made their Nintendo Channel (it boiled down to 1 line being copied but I'm not sure people really knew what was going on)
• later on they accused me of copying the code for the Nintendo Channel to use on their version when I was told it was OK to use, so they create drama over it and mentioned I lied when the main dev told me I could use it if I credited it. Before I got the chance to do that, they created drama.
• Accused of doxxing people with Rii Shop based on a rumor that was not true and I frankly don't know where it came from

There are many more things, but I feel like it's probably not good to post it on a public forum. I'm done with RiiConnect24 and the merge was necessary for me to do a step down. It's probably good for my mental state

 

[DragonMals]

Yes. Here's the last 3 things that happened

• Accused of stealing code and causing a ton of drama when WiiLink made their Nintendo Channel (it boiled down to 1 line being copied but I'm not sure people really knew what was going on)
• later on they accused me of copying the code for the Nintendo Channel to use on their version when I was told it was OK to use, so they create drama over it and mentioned I lied when the main dev told me I could use it if I credited it. Before I got the chance to do that, they created drama.
• Accused of doxxing people with Rii Shop based on a rumor that was not true and I frankly don't know where it came from

There are many more things, but I feel like it's probably not good to post it on a public forum. I'm done with RiiConnect24 and the merge was necessary for me to do a step down. It's probably good for my mental state

Damn.... It seems that while you've done bad things in the past, people have been overreacting and such. My brother had something similar happen recently (him getting accused of saying suggestive stuff to someone underage) but despite the fact that it took 2-3 years, the same victim decided to out him out a couple days ago, and I witnessed even my friends not discuss speaking to him. Another case I know is a guy I know named Landon that also gotten affected unrelated to my brother, but something within the realm of WayForward.. Although his case was a bit more of himself due to him accusing other people, but I don't know if the person is young and something. iirc they're 17, and a bunch of people were attacking him for said reason. I also remember a case like this during my times in the Dark Witch Community, but I have since been out of that community due to many problems.

tl;dr- Overacting to situations can be a dangerous affect, and it's messed up to see people do it, T
hank goodness you've took a break from the scene. You're not coming back either?

 

[raxadian]

I know a few DS games have their own fan servers already. Like all the DS pokemon games for example, you just need to enter a specific DNS address to access it

Yeah but it doesn't work very well. Mario Kart DS is pointless cause it always ends in Yoshi vs Dry Bones using snaking, but it would be nice to visit other people towns in Animal Crossing for DS... oh wait vandalism.

Uh there is actually not many reasons to get online with the DS in the fan servers, not when you can just get any Pokemon you want with save editors and even make sure they are "legit".

Mario Kart DS is too broken to play online thanks to snaking, Animal Crossing requires your fellow human to not be an asshole and ruin your town, for Pokemon you can just use a save editor... there is some stuff that you could only legitimately get online in a few DS games but as that is actually just locked in the game code due to the DS being unable to get DLC or updates, then save editors or cheat codes can unlock it.

That's a tad depressing, I still have the Wii and DS wireless adapter for PC but it only works in Windows XP and Vista... although I heard there is ways to hack it.

You can get online for Mario Kart 7 without Pretendo by using CTGP-7, however is not exactly the same and you will be banned for cheating.

For Pokemon, there is save editors you can use to get any Pokemon you missed, even make them "legit", although for online battles yeah you have to use Pretendo or another fan server.

 

[pustal]

Meanwhile, is there a VPN client for the 3DS? It'd be cool to use Softether to play local multiplayer over the internet with friends.

 

[Paralel]

Well, I'm going based on what some of my friends and what I've seen online. I've heard someone got banned for accidentally saying "dude" to a transfem without knowing that they're trans, and another one had to pay money for them to get themselves unbanned. I also saw that today that they gotten banned, but I don't know the cause for that one.

That really sucks, because you can absolutely call a woman "Dude", that's well known. Whoever banned them was just being a jerk.

 

[MaxiBash]

You tell me. I wished that there was another alternative, but this is what we've gotten. Also about the Spotpass revival project... Why did it take people so long for them to do a project like this and not something during the 3ds infancy?

Late to the party, but this project was the idea of a friend of mine, and he tried to get the word out. He told me Pretendo initially denied collaborating because they couldn't verify the data is "legitimate", but the real reason might've been that this archive project was hosted by Rare Gaming Dump, but that's just pure speculation. Only since a few days ago did I notice that Pretendo had collaborated with the archive project when they did an @everyone ping.

Reading stuff like this, finding an old pin from 2022 about Juxtaposition causing serious issues and upset, and knowing that they initially denied one of my friends over bias right after submitting numerous network dumps containing very sensitive information makes me wonder how trustworthy Pretendo staff is. Only time will tell.

Edit: Just want to make sure people don't walk away thinking I'm shitting on these guys. I'm not. This is just curious skepticism at worst. What happened in 2022 might as well just have been growing pains, and one person getting justifiably banned for unacceptable behavior is something that occasionally happens.

 

[Larsenv]

Damn.... It seems that while you've done bad things in the past, people have been overreacting and such. My brother had something similar happen recently (him getting accused of saying suggestive stuff to someone underage) but despite the fact that it took 2-3 years, the same victim decided to out him out a couple days ago, and I witnessed even my friends not discuss speaking to him. Another case I know is a guy I know named Landon that also gotten affected unrelated to my brother, but something within the realm of WayForward.. Although his case was a bit more of himself due to him accusing other people, but I don't know if the person is young and something. iirc they're 17, and a bunch of people were attacking him for said reason. I also remember a case like this during my times in the Dark Witch Community, but I have since been out of that community due to many problems.

tl;dr- Overacting to situations can be a dangerous affect, and it's messed up to see people do it, T
hank goodness you've took a break from the scene. You're not coming back either?

Thanks for understanding. Yes, it sucks to be the center of drama. I know that I've done bad things, but all the drama has lowered my self esteem. I poured my heart out to making RiiConnect24 a great service, and all I felt like I got in return's negativity. The Wii community is crap and it's filled with children, but this is not the only community which is filled with drama. People hold grudges on you and I've made many fuck ups, but they can't realize the things I've done out of RiiConnect24. I was heartbroken that there had to be drama after I left RiiConnect24, but I feel like it might be the last nail on the coffin

 

[MaxiBash]

The dudes name is @Khentendo (person who got banned for saying dude)

Apparently later in the thread, turns out dude was just being an asshole and there was more of a reason for him getting banned lol

Gonna throw some oil on the fire and confirm this guy is a dick from a firsthand experience. When I asked if I could dump packets without modding my system, he was in chat telling me "no, mod your crap".

He isn't the only one, but it wasn't exactly a warm welcome.

 

[Larsenv]

I got banned on Juxtaposition because of a thing I did on Discord that hadn't been related to Pretendo. I don't really want to discuss it here. I did it when I was mentally unstable. I feel like it's unprofessional to ban on a Miiverse revival proactively, but I can understand why they did it. I feel like they probably could be better not doing it

 

[Paralel]

Part of the reason why I'm glad I left the project is because how crappy the community is. I've done bad things, but I feel like I was overhated. I have my own quirks and things that I had done that deterred people but I deserve as much respect as others

Post automatically merged: Apr 9, 2024

I only found your post when I was gonna reply to this thread to mention that Pretendo seems to ban people on Juxtaposition for things that happen outside of there

Overhated. That's a new one to me. I like it.

Gonna throw some oil on the fire and confirm this guy is a dick from a firsthand experience. When I asked if I could dump packets without modding my system, he was in chat telling me "no, mod your crap".

He isn't the only one, but it wasn't exactly a warm welcome.

What an incredibly awful thing for him to say... Clearly burning at the stake is needed...

 

[Larsenv]

Overhated. That's a new one to me. I like it.



What an incredibly awful thing for him to say... Clearly burning at the stake is needed...

yes I feel like they might want a target

 

[DragonMals]

Thanks for understanding. Yes, it sucks to be the center of drama. I know that I've done bad things, but all the drama has lowered my self esteem. I poured my heart out to making RiiConnect24 a great service, and all I felt like I got in return's negativity. The Wii community is crap and it's filled with children, but this is not the only community which is filled with drama. People hold grudges on you and I've made many fuck ups, but they can't realize the things I've done out of RiiConnect24. I was heartbroken that there had to be drama after I left RiiConnect24, but I feel like it might be the last nail on the coffin

I got banned on Juxtaposition because of a thing I did on Discord that hadn't been related to Pretendo. I don't really want to discuss it here. I did it when I was mentally unstable. I feel like it's unprofessional to ban on a Miiverse revival proactively, but I can understand why they did it. I feel like they probably could be better not doing it

Even I have done some bad things in my life, but then again, going back to all the things I've done in 2019, most of it isn't actually my fault. We all make mistakes, and it's a matter of leaving situations to make you feel more stable. RiiConnect24 is a good service and to see it get replaced with Wii Link... I actually don't know. I guess its a good thing because people want to make things more streamline? I don't know. But your contributions will definitely tbe regonized more than the negativity.

I didn't know that the Wii community was a bunch of kids either. But once you realize that, the problems that you've faced shouldn't be much of a problem unless you're having even your beat friends attack you. (I don't want to sound like I'm being offensive here, I'm not the best at finding the right words)

 

[Larsenv]

Even I have done some bad things in my life, but then again, going back to all the things I've done in 2019, most of it isn't actually my fault. We all make mistakes, and it's a matter of leaving situations to make you feel more stable. RiiConnect24 is a good service and to see it get replaced with Wii Link... I actually don't know. I guess its a good thing because people want to make things more streamline? I don't know. But your contributions will definitely tbe regonized more than the negativity.

I didn't know that the Wii community was a bunch of kids either. But once you realize that, the problems that you've faced shouldn't be much of a problem unless you're having even your beat friends attack you. (I don't want to sound like I'm being offensive here, I'm not the best at finding the right words)

WiiLink started to make their own versions of channels splitting the community and they finally realized that it was better to work together

 

[DragonMals]

WiiLink started to make their own versions of channels splitting the community and they finally realized that it was better to work together

That's why. I don't know how that's going to work with my modded system. Usually when I go too deep into modding systems (like I've done with Pretendo), I have a feeling that the more I tweak with the system, the harder it gets for me to eventually reconsider and reverting ig back to it's original state. But that's too difficult becsuse a high chance of a brick would happen.

Post automatically merged: Apr 9, 2024

Late to the party, but this project was the idea of a friend of mine, and he tried to get the word out. He told me Pretendo initially denied collaborating because they couldn't verify the data is "legitimate", but the real reason might've been that this archive project was hosted by Rare Gaming Dump, but that's just pure speculation. Only since a few days ago did I notice that Pretendo had collaborated with the archive project when they did an @everyone ping.

Reading stuff like this, finding an old pin from 2022 about Juxtaposition causing serious issues and upset, and knowing that they initially denied one of my friends over bias right after submitting numerous network dumps containing very sensitive information makes me wonder how trustworthy Pretendo staff is. Only time will tell.

So there's more to the Pretendo situation that I or a lot of people don't know about... Interesting. I just hope that Pretendo doesn't mess themselves up for their reputation. I'm going to use their service but I'm putting myself on an active timer cause I'm ready for that moment where I'm going to notice that my account is banned for the reason that they give. So far, I haven't done anything wrong.

 

[Thistles]

... So away from the topic of drama for a second and onto the topic of pretendo's services how exactly does pretendo handle mostly peer to peer connections? as a noob I couldn't exactly tell by looking at the progress section.
So for example if I were to try to trade with somebody on my friends list(which is currently empty for pretendo) in yo-kai watch 3 would I be able to because it is mostly a peer to peer system or would I be out of luck because yo-kai watch 3 isn't listed as one of the games pretendo is currently working on?

 

[Larsenv]

That's why. I don't know how that's going to work with my modded system. Usually when I go too deep into modding systems (like I've done with Pretendo), I have a feeling that the more I tweak with the system, the harder it gets for me to eventually reconsider and reverting ig back to it's original state. But that's too difficult becsuse a high chance of a brick would happen.

Post automatically merged: Apr 9, 2024

So there's more to the Pretendo situation that I or a lot of people don't know about... Interesting. I just hope that Pretendo doesn't mess themselves up for their reputation. I'm going to use their service but I'm putting myself on an active timer cause I'm ready for that moment where I'm going to notice that my account is banned for the reason that they give. So far, I haven't done anything wrong.

It's a seamless transition, however the Forecast Channel got updated so if you use the RiiConnect24 version you have to get the WiiLink version

 

[DragonMals]

It's a seamless transition, however the Forecast Channel got updated so if you use the RiiConnect24 version you have to get the WiiLink version

Thanks for the information.

 

[Larsenv]

Thanks for the information.

Yep

 

[The Catboy]

Gonna honestly wait to see how this service pans out. Seems like they weren’t quite ready for the influx of new users. Also seems like the staff situation is complicated.