Nintendo to Reactivate ‘Mario Kart 8’ and ‘Splatoon’ for Wii U on August 3rd
After a lengthy wait, players can now enjoy online multiplayer for Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon on the Wii U. Nintendo has officially announced that both games will be accessible for multiplayer once again starting from August 3rd. The company has successfully resolved the security issue that led to the suspension of online services back in March.
Nintendo still hasn’t explained the error in more detail. However, hobbyist and tinkerer OatmealDome claims that the last-gen console is vulnerable to an “ENLBufferPwn” attack, which allows intruders to take over the console when it goes online. The company reportedly patched the bug for affected Switch titles and Mario Kart 7 last year, but hasn’t done the same for the Wii U versions until now.
You must update both games to continue playing online. The months-long wait isn’t entirely surprising when the Switch has been Nintendo’s current system for several years and is clearly more popular. However, this is good news if you’re in no rush to switch Wii U – you don’t have to stop using your old system if you still like the titles in question.
Thus, there is no doubt that Nintendo wants to wean players away from the previous console. The company shut down the Wii U eShop this spring, restricting users from reloading existing purchases. If you don’t grab physical copies, your game library is stuck unless you make the switch to Switch.
