It’s going off the eShop and removed from sale
In what has basically become a monthly eulogy series, another Wii U classic bites the dust. Super Mario Maker, cool amiibo costumes and all, is going away. Digitally, at least.
Here’s the full statement from Nintendo: “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 the Switch sequel, but it could meet this same fate one day.
More than likely, just as EA has extinguished barely-played games in the past, this is because hardly anyone is engaging in an old Wii U game that was basically trumped by the sequel in just about every way (except for those amiibo costumes). I mean, the very site this was announced on got rid of the Wii U section of the sidebar a while back, so it was only a matter of time until the Wii U’s online services were slowly picked apart. The absolute irony is that on that very same page, the tagline “A Mario game that never ends!” is used. Well, pack your stuff Mario, because your watch ends on March 31, 2021.
I feel like I need to say a few things about this one, as folks mostly forgot about it when Mario Maker 2 was released. But it did a whole lot right, and completely wowed casual and hardcore audiences alike when it was released. It went viral on multiple levels, with people challenging each other to their own creations: a joy I used to experience with trading levels as far back as games like Tenchu 2. It’ll be missed, even if there’s a replacement.
Super Mario Maker [Nintendo]
