Nintendo fans heartbroken as beloved console finally breathes its last breath

One man’s rage against the (literal) machine has finally come to a head, as the conclusion of his journey marks the end of the Nintendo Network’s life.

This is all a rather dramatic way of saying that one dude tried to keep the Nintendo 3DS servers online for as long as possible, 210 days after they officially switched off back in back in April this year.

As reported by GamesRadar’s Catherine Lewis, the tale of Fishguy6564 is one of perseverance. After Nintendo announced the closure of both the WiiU and Nintendo 3DS’s Nintendo Network servers, our intrepid hero hatched a plan.

However, Fishguy6564 didn’t do it alone. This thankless task would have been impossible if he hadn’t been assisted in his journey by another selfless hero; Marioiscool246.

Marioiscool246 figured out what exactly would cause Mario Kart 7 “to die as soon as the servers went out” and devised a patch to help counteract it. The two then tested their theory by switching off their internet during a race and then turning it back on, which proved that (even with the Nintendo Network servers offline) they could reconnect and continue playing.

The two set out to keep a Mario Kart 7 lobby running for as long as possible past the point of the servers going offline. Unfortunately, even though he was instrumental in hatching the plan, Marioiscool246 was the first to fall - as his 3DS froze sometime in May.

Fishguy6564 chugged on. He left his 3DS running and allowed two bots to race each other in perpetuity. Then, tragedy finally struck.

Yesterday, at exactly 1:52 AM GMT, Fishguy6564 announced on Twitter that his 3DS had finally given up the ghost.

“It's over” he tweeted, assumedly as tears rolled down his face and onto his keyboard. “Rest in peace, Nintendo Network.”

That tweet was sent 210 days after the servers officially shut down. This guy kept the 3DS alive in our hearts (and Nintendo’s servers) for seven whole months. Maybe the real Nintendo Network was the friends we made along the way.