Nintendo ending WiFi online Internet service on Wii and DS gaming systems in Spring of 2014

Nintendo this week announced that certain online features for the gaming consoles Wii and DS will cease. Just to be clear, the online features won't be completely wiped out. After this change, users will still be able to access Internet Channel, Nintendo DS Browser, Nintendo DSi Browser, Nintendo DSi Shop, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play, Wii Shop Channel, and YouTube.

Here is the announcement, which was originally posted on Nintendo's Australian website and then updated on the official website of the gaming company:

As of May 20, 2014, certain online functionality, including online play, matchmaking and leaderboards for many Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi games, will no longer be accessible. For a list of Nintendo games and services that are affected, please check https://www.nintendo.com. Users can still play these games in offline mode, which continues to offer a rich game-play experience. Other online functionality on Wii and Nintendo DS, such as access to the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Shop and video-on-demand services, are also not affected at this time.

Online play for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games will be unaffected (aside from the Wii mode on Wii U and Nintendo DS games played on Nintendo 3DS family systems).

Our focus now shifts to readying our Wii U and Nintendo 3DS matchmaking services for upcoming games such as Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros.

We at Nintendo sincerely thank our fans for their continued support of our company's legacy systems. Your enthusiasm for games made for these systems speaks to their longevity, and the passion of Nintendo fans.