Nintendo 3DS users are being notifying that support for the YouTube video app will end next month.
Nintendo is still notionally supporting the little old 3DS, but not a week goes by without another sign that its days are numbered. The Nintendo Switch Lite arrives next month, and new releases are nothing but a trickle, so it’s no surprise to see another of the console’s online services close.
Nintendo 3DS owners in Europe and Japan are receiving console notifications that YouTube will no longer be available to download from September 2, 2019. The service will end a day later on September 3, 2019, at which point the app will no longer be useable. According to the notification, avid video watchers with New 3DS systems can still use YouTube through the console’s web browser:
“Owners of New Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 3DS or New Nintendo 2DS XL systems will still be able to watch YouTube through the built-in Internet browser. Thank you for using the YouTube app.”
Along with the arrival of a new Kirby game, the removal of video apps is a scientifically proven indicator that a Nintendo console is in its death throes. Hulu was also discontinued from the 3DS earlier this year and Amazon Prime Video is being retired from the Wii U in September. YouTube remains available on the Wii U for now.
YouTube is also one of the few video streaming services available on Nintendo Switch, along with Hulu and Inkypen. Strangely, there’s still no sign of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or even CrunchyRoll.
Update: It appears YouTube will also close in the US at the end of August.
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