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Online petitions rarely succeed, even when they accumulate a significant number of votes. They may sometimes get the attention of their targets, which is perhaps 'job done', but often struggle to achieve their end goals. This is especially true when related to video games and Nintendo; the big N typically does its own thing regardless of what a few thousand people say online.

Now there's a petition to bring Miiverse back to the Switch, a reaction to the news that the bespoke network won't feature on the new system.

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Miiverse has been the most amazing social revelation on a modern console system.

The community of artists and gamers gathered there have helped create a unique and special place.

Now with The Nintendo Switch promising a new subscription based mobile service it seems the future of Miiverse may be threatened.

We want Nintendo to keep Miiverse because we love the platform and the art and gaming environment it offers.

In fairness, there's validity to the sentiment here. In the past we've praised the platform for giving Nintendo fans a place to share their passion, which is expressed best in some of the fantastic artwork that's appeared. Frankly, that aspect will be missed, especially as major social networks like Twitter and Facebook don't offer the same features and 'safe space', to put it one way.

Nevertheless, the end of Miiverse is unsurprising. Its usage has fallen away in recent times, and Nintendo seems to have dialled back its efforts to moderate it quite so extensively. It's still ticking along, but it's not as vibrant as it once was - Nintendo likely looked at traffic, the costs of running it, and decided that the sums didn't add up.

Of course, petitions happen a lot online, and this one is struggling to gain any traction. Some never get off the ground as many realise the futility of launching them - there's a Reddit thread that's basically a petition for a petition to make 1-2-Switch a pack-in game; that didn't go well.

Miiverse, ultimately, will fade away once the 3DS and Wii U are fully retired, which in the case of the portable may not be for a little while yet.

[source change.org, via neogaf.com]