So long, Miiverse, and thanks for all the drawings

It’s twilight for the Nintendo Miiverse, and a nice experiment in game social spaces is winding down into nothingness.

In case you didn’t know, Nintendo is officially shutting down its charming Miiverse on Wednesday morning — specifically 1 am ET. The small social area invented specifically for the Wii U is in its final hours now, and several fans are giving their tributes on social media.

Yacht Club Games 

✔@YachtClubGames

Farewell, Miiverse! We'll miss you!

Thank you to everyone who set down their Shovel Blade to share thoughts and drawings with the world!

8:04 PM - Nov 6, 2017

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slushpuppy @sw33kun

i just remembered miiverse is being shut down tomorrow so I'm immortalizing my favorite post

6:40 AM - Nov 6, 2017

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The Miiverse was an attempt to create something that didn’t otherwise exist: A family-friendly, cartoony social space within a game console. According to Nintendo: “We decided to end the service at this time because, among other reasons, many users are shifting to social networking services.”

It was a pleasant idea, but I do agree that users can now connect and share their thoughts on games in other spheres. While the Miiverse had its charms, I’m not sure it could have ever competed in the long-term with the likes of Twitter, Discord, and Facebook.

Nintendo has already made a guide showing people how to save their Miiverse posts and drawings should they want to. If you’re interested in learning more about what’s going to happen to games for which the Miiverse is an essential component — Splatoon and Xenoblade Chronicles X, for example, go Nintendo’s Miiverse postmortem page.