Nintendo has confirmed earlier reports that they will be ending Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection services worldwide on May 20. Games will still be online, but online play for Wii and DS games will go with it.
Wi-Fi Connection was designed in such a way that online games would be easy and quick to initiate. Partial support was provided on 3DS for the DS games there, and Wii U for Wii Mode. For the sake of child safety, the system also implemented friend codes. Most gamers derided the system for being inconvenient, but to its credit, it did what it set out to do.
This will not affect applications such as Hulu, Youtube, or the web browser. You will also still be able to buy games on Wii’s and DS’s online stores.
Of course, that gives online over two months to go, so in between the launch of Mario Kart 8, you ought to get as much online Mario Kart Wii as you can now.
Image is of Mario Kart Wii.