Wii Street U Service Being Discontinued In March, Leaving eShop This Month

It's a cool app, but yeah, I don't really find myself using it much, so I understand Nintendo's decision to cut it. I imagine it's costing them money somehow.

Not much of a loss. I only ever used it a few times at launch anyway.

So I assume they have ongoing maintenance with it to keep up with changes Google makes to Google Maps/Streetview as a whole? Which is understandable. Except didn't I pay $4.99 for this thing? I really don't know what I'll do when digital games take over the whole industry. The idea that they'd just turn off software you buy is disconcerting. Then again, while I liked some of the tricks they built with this app, it never did load/navigate as fast as you wanted. Not sure where the performance bottleneck was.

yeah not good for those that paid for it. I still use it before I travel to different countries, really p*ssed off to be honest.

Did you actually get anything for finding all the locations?

@TTGlider
Yeah I agree. There are some people who still use this app, and some paid for it. Think I won't be jumping on board when NX comes out, will stick to what I have now until it breaks eventually haha!

Why remove it?

@Plainsville maps NX confirmed

Meh, no one hardly ever use it so I could see why it's removal is a good thing.

Totally forgot this existed. So many bad ideas this generation (TVii, this, the name WiiU, Wii VC and WiiWare games not truly compatible with WiiU and its eshop, a fun once you play it but super scary looking controller, etc etc.)

Did anyone actually actively use this? I used it once... to see what it was and then removed it.

I liked the service and used it a fair bit at first but sadly I haven't since. this is probably due to the fact the NO NEW LOCATIONS WERE ADDED! JFK space station was super awesome and using the miiverse sharing was a brilliant idea that sadly not many people used. Walking around places like the great wall of china or time square New York using your wii u fit board was kinda fantastic too. Just like the Panoramic videos, these are amazing ideas that were dropped the second they were launched. Very sad

this does not brother me, i used the app once and never touch it again.
sucks for the people that did paid for though

Like many others here I used it a few times at launch and am sad to see it go. I mean Nintendo has a way of shutting down all of it's non-gaming features on it's platforms over time, which makes it hard to really want to embrace any of them (TVii, Wii Weather, etc). Will have to check out JFK Space Station. Anyone have any other locations that are worth checking out while the service is around?

If it won't work soon then why is it still on sale for the next two days?

I'm curious what percent of Wii U owners knew about this. I, for one, was excluded.

I actually liked the software, it was my first holiday out of the U.K. Last year, this software allowed me to look at my hotel, nearest restaurants to the hotel and allowed me to look at areas of Universal Studios

@heathenmagic hahahahaha omg. Of all the I'm not buying the next console because Nintendo did this reasoning people post in these forums. Hahahahaha

I used it a few times and I thought, while not the most usable app in world, it was pretty interesting in how it was operated. It was also pretty cool while I was in the Navy and had friends from all over the world that could literally show me where they lived. I was also able to see what the house I live in looked like prior to it being built. Unless its costing more money to keep tgis sevrice available, i see no reason to stop the service....even if I might just look at it once in a blue moon

I've actually really enjoyed this app, even though it sorely needs some updates. Well, instead of updates, we're getting discontinuation and removal from the eShop. Sounds about right for Nintendo. As a Day-One adopter, I feel like my Wii U experience has been a major letdown. Interesting ideas weren't quite ready at launch, and were never fully explored or implemented. The Wii U has really turned out to be a gimmick machine. The tablet/TV interface is great for web browsing, but beyond that there's nothing that really stands out about it. Big letdown.

I love this app. I thought it could have really used more support as far as new locations to find, but I used it a lot just as a map and viewfinder app.

Its a cool app.I use it once in awhile,but I understand why its leaving.

Pff.. And I was hoping/waiting for a discount. The use of the gamepad has been really disappointing on wiiu, barely any game made good use of it.

I had to delete it recently to make room on my hard drive.

They should at least give those who paid for it a refund. And stop letting unwitting customers buy it from now on. It's sad but you just can't trust Nintendo with any service on their consoles or handhelds..

@faint I actually totally agree with @heathenmagic. Although the loss of this program will hurt only a very small group of users, it speaks volumes as to why one would give full support to Nintendo with regards to their Digital Shop. The fact is, people paid money for this service and boom now it's gone.

While I didn't personally use this feature much, my friend loves it, and it being discontinued is pretty disappointing.

I really liked this app, used it a lot for planning journeys etc. But I paid full price for this and feel ripped off by Nintendo for having it removed and not being given a refund. I paid for the internet browser on the wii and they refunded everybody back for those that paid, I just hope they decide to do that this time again.

@Mrclaycoat this is an app not a game. I'm thinking Google is pulling it. I can still play wiiware games I payed for six years ago on my wiiu while still able to buy new ones. What is your point?

@Raptor78 I think Google is pulling the app. Also when did you get your wiiu. The app was free for the first year and a half

I admit, I just woke up so I might not be reading this right, but it goes away in March, not January, right?

@Sligeach with any service? Do explain

I loved going inside the TARDIS and the JFK propulsion center

@faint my point lies in my initial post to you, pretty clear dude. Also you said you "think" so you do not "know" so we're all in the dark. The only "fact" is that people who paid for this service are having it taken away from them. A service that was never really supported once released and that, whether Nintendo or Google's doing, hurts a Nintendo consumer on a platform riddled with big promises and poor support, a consistent theme surrounding Nintendo and the Wii U

@faint yeah it could be google, that was my first thought, but we will never know. It was kind of cool to use the gamepad for something else, and also the balance board sometimes - although a bit of a gimmick maybe ha!

@Mrclaycoat Thanks! I didn't pay for it also, I know people who have. I still like using it so it is really annoying, just better than staring at google maps on a laptop and I find it really easy to use.

@Vineleaf yup, just can't buy after January.

@Mrclaycoat Welp you don't know ethier but Nintendo is the one to blame right? The only time something has happened like this before was the game spy thing with the Wii and that was on game spy's end.

Thought this was really cool, and used it quite a bit at first. However, along came the games...

@Mrclaycoat Also its not even been 3 years that it has been available I think? Heck, I use some apps elsewhere that are digital / web based and have been going for ten years or more and still supported.

Isn't this app top of the UK Wii U eshop charts for all-time popularity/sales? Or near the top at least?

I really don't like this. Not because of the app itself, but the general attitude towards digital purchases.

"What's that? You paid for it? Too bad, we're pulling it and it won't work anymore, so tough sh*t!"

This sort of behaviour does nothing to turn people away from piracy etc.

Unless software has a published expiry date at launch, it should be left alone.

Sure I didn't use it too often, but when I wanted streetview, I went for this. It controls a whole lot better than streetview on PC and was much more immersive.

RIP Wii Street U.

I liked using it. Too bad.

@faint Can't say whether it's Nintendo's fault or not (as I stated previously) but it does hurt the perception of accountability with Nintendo's digital services. The obvious example being the outdated account service that STILL exists today. If my Wii U dies, the struggles I'd go through just to retrieve these games would be most difficult and unique to Nintendo's customers and not Sony or Microsoft's. I'm not sure about Game Spy but will look into it.

side note, I really enjoy your passion buddy. Good dialogue is hard to find sometimes.

Was considering this as my final Club Nintendo reward. Glad I didn't.

@heathenmagic Exactly! This is why I'm very hesitant to buy into the NX. Not because of this act in and of itself, but the message moves like this and the cancelling of TVii tell it's customers. I adore my Wii U but if you look at the initial Wii U advert video (at E3 in 2011 or was it 2012) so many of the promised features never came to be and some others, like the previously mentioned gets cancelled without any effort to really utilize the apps.

And I forgot about Tvii, that was one thing that I was wanting to try. I am in UK, so never got a chance - heard it wasn't so great, I still would have used it for casual use. But if they made more effort and actually delivered what they promised, things would have turned out better. Crazy! There was this thing about connecting Wii U to 3DS but that has gone kind of quiet too.

That's sad to hear. It is a great app!

We lost Wii Street U? Nintendo is doomed!

This is in the top 3 most downloaded pieces of e shop software. If this can get pulled so suddenly then it raises questions over the supply of any services, even paid one's! I feel sorry for anyone who might, for example , have bought this last week or at Christmas and are getting majorly ripped off!!

I feel sorry for anyone that actually paid money for it. It wasn't really worth paying for, but to be time-limited without that ever being clear before now makes it even more of a ripoff.

Nooo! Take some time to start this up and just look around someplace. I've walked away with vivid memories of what entire streets look like in three dimensions.

I won't be able to access my Wii U until two months after Wii Street U shuts down, so somebody get out there and explore that thing for me.

So Google places the app on-sale for $1.99 to get people to buy the app and then once the sale is over they announce that the app will be discontinued in two months?! WTF? That is such a weaselly business practice. I'd never pay for the app, but those who were tricked by last week's sale into purchasing the app need to grab out their pitchforks.

I am just kidding btw, I don't condone violence.

Lol, are they gonna refund people all their money back? They're essentially taking away what you paid for.

@90sRetroGaming When they discontinued service for the DS and the original Wii, it's the same concept. You paid for them but they are no longer relevant. The same with this app. It was hardly used and probably cost way more in maintenance than what money it was receiving so it makes sense to discontinue service.

@Phantom_R I'm planning on loading it up this weekend. I'll explore some new places for you!

@Mrclaycoat isn't that the point of my Nintendo?

So many posts so I don't know if anyone mentioned there was a notification about it on the eshop in NA.

Wow, this is sad news.

Many people didn't use the app, but (unlike TVii) it worked, and worked extremely well. Yes, it's essentially just a fancy Google Maps interface... but that's still really cool. Being able to virtually visit remote locations from the comfort of your couch was awesome

We happily spent a few hours with the app, and used it (infrequently) on an ongoing basis. I'm sad to hear it's shutting down!

Also I downloaded it for free but you can use the Wii U browser to do the same thing.
https://www.google.ca/maps/streetview/

Like a lot of apps it's redundant. Though I do think the app ran I little faster so there was some point I guess. Also not sure if mentioned already due to the ridiculous amounts of posts.

@Raptor78 Nintendo already made clear from the beginning that it would only be available until march this year, so I'm pretty sure there won't be a refund as you could have informed yourself of the discontinuation before you bought it. You could see it on their site and on the press release they had when they launched the app.

Why do they remove such a cool app? And Tvii! What happened to make them remove Tvii?

@Damo
Maybe the article should mention you can still use the Wii U browser to access the same thing.

I've not heard of this before. It sounds obsolete due to Google Street View being very useful now.

@faint I guess that will depend on what My Nintendo actually is. I hope it will fix all the shortcomings though.

@gcunit Except Nintendo made clear from the beginning that this app would get discontinued in 2016. So what you're saying is definitely not correct. Those who bought it, could have easiky informed themselves how long it would still be available to them. Of course it would have been better if it were available forever.

Not happy with this. I bought it with my remaining Club Nintendo points just before it closed. It wasn't exactly cheap in point terms. I've only used it a couple of times but it's not the point. If it was a free app for everyone then OK but as of right now it's still for sale.

It's a neat app but I haven't used it in almost a year, since I gave up on trying to find those stickers.

@TTGlider It would be the same if this app was physical, this is just like how you can't play MK Wii online anymore, anything which requires a server is bound to stop working some day, although this case was quite short...

Pissed want my money back or a credit for something else !!!!

Please understand => Please refund!
Or give us eshop credit.

@DrkBndr It did? I don't think I ever heard that. Where was this stated just out of curiosity?

Used it once in a while and enjoyed it, it was a nice present. Why would "one" give a present and take it back? ----> booooo

I just got a notification on my Wii U that the service is ending. I am in NA.

@Mrclaycoat It said so on the website of Nintendo themselves and also on the eShop page in the description. Here is the press release from nintendo uk, where you'll find them mentioning this beneath: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2013/February/Wanderlust-comes-to-Wii-U-with-Wii-Street-U-powered-by-Google-724644.html

And here is a blog post from 2013, proving that they didn't just add it today or something: http://train2game-news.co.uk/2013/02/27/train2game-news-explore-the-world-with-your-wii-u/
I think this site also mentioned it when it first came out, but I can't seem to find the article.

Welp, Nintendo; looks like you f***ed up. The same goes for TVii.

@faint I got my wiiu November 2013 when the app was no longer available for free. The app wasn't free for 18 months like you said, only for about 9 months and I literally missed getting it for free by a couple of days. So long Wii street u, its been good while it lasted.

Watch, I bet if they do a subscription service, it will stream your Dish or cable through an app on NX or something like that, otherwise they're missing out on stuff mobile devices are doing.

@DrkBndr I had never noticed that before and I'm totally gutted that it was only available for a limited time. I could understand that the would stop supporting it in terms of updates but I imagined that it would have used the info from the standard street view server. I guess I will have to catch the rest of the aliens pretty quickly if I want to finish the rest of this game before they shut it down.

@DrkBndr I tip my hat to you, this certainly changes everything. Although I wil say that this was not very well advertised as I watched the direct video and read up on this and never once heard of an intended end date. Also, isn't it super weird that there would even be an intended end date? Doesn't make much sense to me.

Not gonna lie...im a little pissed about this. Im one of the few that paid for it and thought it was really cool.

@polarbear
EXACTLY. They seriously should reimburse the folks that bought it.

@Mrclaycoat yeah, I did find that weird. 3 years also isn't so long.
I'm guessing Nintendo made a contract with Google in order to use Street View, and that that contract is going to end in March. They probably could have the choice to prolong the contract, but didn't see it as something important enough to warrant the costs.
It's a shame for those who bought it though. Nintendo should have reminded everyone a year earlier, in my opinion.

Eh, it was an Ok looking app, I guess? Never paid for it though.

This is a disgraceful act considering that Google Earth is FREE to use, and I'm pretty certain that Wii Street U is utilising the same satellite images as Google Earth, so I doubt that this is costing Google any more than what it's already costing them to keep Google Earth's satellite images up-to-date.

I thought it was a pretty crummy app as it would take forever to load the next location, rendering the Wii Balance Board function to be useless as a result. (as cool as it sounded on paper), though this fault may be attributable to Australia's absolutely pathetic internet.

The interface was clunky and not particularly user-friendly, and I didn't really get anything out of the experience. I'm really, really, really glad I didn't pay for it though (it was free at launch and become a AU$6.50 paid app some months later), and I'll definitely think twice about any buying any non-retail game with online functionality from now on.

Wake me up when they release Google Earth VR.

I really liked this app - Didn't use it much, but it was cool and I'll be sad to see it go as it was a great fit for the tech.

Looks like I won't be buying any future apps on Nintendo platforms though. I got it for free myself, but this is very unfair to all those who actually paid for it.

...here comes the NX, ..starting to shut off the lights at Wii U... Shut off TVii, click!....shut off Wii Street U, Click!...

@Captain_Gonru hmm, I guess you could use it for that. I just used google really as it was so much easier to use and much faster.

It's a shame, I got Wii Fit U a couple months back, and saw the Balance Board was compatible with this. Almost tempted to get in on it in its twilight weeks... <painful flashbacks of PlayStation Home's closure>

@ShanaUnite I agree.

And nothing of value was lost.

Absolutely gutted Like many others I use this to plan journeys and scope out potential holiday spots. Sometimes I just wonder around different countries, visit the dodgiest places and neighbourhoods that I'll never visit. I thought it was an elegant way to use google maps and I'm very disappointed it's going. Nintendo started shutting down services on Wii and look what happened with the Wii U launch shortly afterwards! Not happy, sort it out Ninty...

@heathenmagic

Which apps? I'd be interested to know

@Mrclaycoat
Those ninty games don't need to make an authentication call to mother base to work though, unlike ms and Sony. I'll take Nintendo approach of you bought it, you own it thanks anyday. I haven't ever had a system death on ninty hardware

Soooo - can I cancel my $5 that I gave them for it? Can they give me a credit? This is kind of a boner. I hope they don't do this to all of my games!!

@Marlowe1877 well ai don't think anyone can argue that point. I have never had a Nintendo system die on me yet. They make those things to last! Especially GameCube discs, man I've seen some so badly scratched there's no reflection on them at all and they still work just fine. I hope this stays true for the Wii U because that gamepad looks like it may not have that signature Nintendo shelf life.

@Mrclaycoat - If the removal of a third party supported app from the e-shop after four years is reason enough to stop you from buying the next Nintendo console, then I wonder what made you stop buying other consoles?

Wait, that doesn't apply and you just wanted to bash Nintendo for something that may or may not be their fault? Got it.

@Mrclaycoat said: " I hope this stays true for the Wii U because that gamepad looks like it may not have that signature Nintendo shelf life."

Your concern in noted!
Concern is real!

Can't believe how many posts this has

I was going to get this to mess around with but always found something else that caught my eye. I think I will let this one just slip off into obscurity like it was never there. I know it would be one of those apps you play with 1 to 3 times then never touch it again. So with that RIP Wii Street

: -( i liked the music on this

@faint - it's an easy shot to jump on the Negativity bandwagon and pretend to be so concerned and upset with Nintendo for an app that most people never used.

@Action51 lol buhwha? I wouldn't call this the reason, but it is yet another form of bad news for Wii U owners, but another person showed me that this end date was always stated (although a bit hidden). No my decision on stopping support for Nintendo isn't in stone yet but after the embarrassing E3 showcase this year, the NX will have to literally blow my socks off. Now I tend not to wear tubes socks so that does make it a bit easier but still...

Maybe we could get together and have a class action lawsuit find a sympathetic judge who uses this app on his or her Wii U!

This is crap! The whole reason we bought a Wii U was for Wii Fit and the street view!

And I sure a Heck not going to buy NX so that in a couple years that will become irrelevant. I would expect this from PlayStation and Xbox.. But Nintendo?