Outstanding!

StreetPass is one of the coolest elements of the 3DS hardware and was encouraging people to venture outdoors long before Pokemon GO turned up. Sadly, Nintendo chose not to continue the service on Switch, and we're slowly but surely seeing it fade into history as the 3DS winds down.

A sign of things come to has just been announced in Japan - Nintendo is shutting down StreetPass Relay Stations in that region. For those of you that didn't know, Relay Stations collect the data of passing players and store them, redistributing them to passing 3DS owners as StreetPass hits. 

It might sound like a minor thing, but for many (including us) these stations were a vital way of racking up hits; when you think about it, the chances of actually walking past another 3DS owner - even at the height of the console's popularity - were always going to be quite slim, especially if you live outside of a large city.

While there's been no confirmation that Relay Stations will close elsewhere in the world, the operation has already started winding down in the UK. Previously, mobile operator O2 and fast food joint McDonald's supported the service, but now it can only be found in branches of GAME.

[source nintendo.co.jp]