Nintendo has announced that it will be resuming online play for Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon for the Wii U after commencing emergency maintenance back in March 2023. Both games will be back online from August 3rd, 2023.
The titles were taken offline entirely after a potentially severe vulnerability was identified during online game sessions. As previously reported, this vulnerability was likely to be an exploit known as 'ENLBufferPwn', which effectively allowed attackers to gain access to victims' consoles via remote control.
Thankfully, with Nintendo now bringing the games back online, it seems that the vulnerability has been fixed. It should be noted, however, that should any further issues arise with online play, Nintendo may discontinue the service entirely (which seems like an inevitability eventually, anyway). Other affected games that were identified back in December 2022 include Nintendo Switch Sports, Splatoon 3, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but all issues have since been resolved.
The exploit itself involved an attacker copying what's known as return-oriented programming (ROP) payload and executing it remotely, thus forcing the victim console to forcibly run a custom firmware installer, allowing the attacker to gain immediate access to sensitive information. This was completed during online sessions and, according to a video demonstration, could be executed in less than a minute.
So while the downtime might have proven frustrating for those of you who still play Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon online, it's undoubtedly preferable to having your information stolen remotely.
Will you be diving back into these Wii U titles now that they're back online, or have you left them to gather dust? Let us know in the comments below.
[source nintendo.co.uk]
Comments 47
Quite tempted to fire up the original Splatoon! Missing some of the old stages ^_^
I rarely touch my Wii U since I played Switch and PS4 games.
I don't think I will play my Mario Kart 8 Wii U with online play anymore as I already have the Switch version with more contents.
Yeah, but I got to imagine the conversation of shutting off the servers for good for everything Wii U/3DS has been discussed now, especially with a Switch 2 but a year away quite possibly.
Might be time to REALLY consider what online unlocks and final matches you're dying to do for last gen.
It great to see work that hackers do to help preserve all the games for everybody.
I didn't even know they had been offline this whole time LOL. I spent countless hours playing MK 8 and Splatoon on my Wii U, makes me slightly nostalgic. However, unless you're someone who is obsessed with firehopping, I can't see any reason to play the original MK 8. It's just so lacking in content compared to Deluxe. I do miss some of those stages(come back salt spray rig!) and the music from Splatoon, but still, 3 is vastly superior in almost every regard and Splatoon 1 doesn't even have my beloved Salmon Run, so really no desire to play it now.
I happened to plug in my Wii U a couple of days ago, may give these games a nudge to see whether they update. Then shut it down again and go back to the Switch versions!
It's kinda obscure, that Nintendo actually does something positive for existing Wii U owners after they cut down so many functions in the last years. God damn, I still hate them for closing the Miiverse.
But as others already said. MK8 Deluxe is absolutely superior to the Wii U version.
But I would play Splatoon 1 again.
@Angelic_Lapras_King I'd guess with Splatoon, Nintendo would at least wait until the missing maps are in Splatoon 3. There's still a few left which can't be played in Splatoon 2 or Splatoon 3:
The MK8 flame hoppers who refuse to move on be happy about this.
Oh, i dont know if i will play. I'm still little afraid hackers will gain access to my Wii U via remote control and enjoy games like Wii Sports Club for free while i'm sleeping
@Grumblevolcano Either that, or sell us a Splatoon 1 Switch version for giggles. XD
Huh didn't even know they were offline.
@dimi
The actual danger was they could access payment and account information stored on your Wii U system.
I'll give MK8 a spin on a big screen. I'm stuck with Switch lite atm.
Oh and I prefer one-item-only -policy on Wii U.
The three people who played online will be very excited.
Was this only in the UK? I swear I've played Splatoon on Wii U several times in the last few months.
Glad they fixed potential issues. I don't record payment information on my Nintendo account but I wouldn't want some hackers stealing the credit I leave on there.
I still use the Wii U daily for my Wii Fit routines.
When they closed Miiverse I assumed all online services where shut down as well.
But good to know it is still possible to play some of the games online for free (unlike on the Switch). There must be quite an active number of people on there for Nintendo to do this manoeuvre. I'd be curious to know how many.
This is why I really don't like hackers and viruses for the most part. At least hacking can sometimes be used for good. So I don't mind that.
But this type of hacking is just awful and annoying.
I forgot completely that the servers went down but remember hearing they did back then.
I’m done with playing Splatoon but I did have fun playing the game with other players around the world, I would only play it again if got remastered on the Nintendo Switch, other than that I still had fun playing it on the Wii U , I’m still going to watch the tournaments on the Nintendo YouTube channel and root on the competitors on the game.
Good! I'm really surprised they cared to fix it, after all these months. I might give it a try because I'm not currently paying for an online subscription on Switch, and in case you forgot, you can play online on Wii U for free (good old times huh?).
Honestly, when was the last time any of us played the OG Splatoon or MK8? We have Splatoon 2 & 3 as well as MK8D.
Wow! What a surprise! I'm going to have to fire up our Wii U to update and play!
I am totally liking MK8D with its extra tracks and 2 items . . . but when my daughter is playing the Switch . . . I'll fire up the Wii U to get my MK8 fix! LOL.
I’ve barely even touched my Wii U anymore ever since I’ve played Switch. There’s zero reason for me to play OG Mario Kart 8 and I would only play Splatoon 1 for its story mode, same way with 2 for its story mode and Octo Expansion. Both games seem to have become hacker havens.
@KalamStrifeVII I just played through the entire SP campaign last week - I was wanting to jump in to the MP but it was offline. Super excited it's coming back up!
Awesome! I will definitely revisit Splatoon. I've been wanting to for a while as well; for nostalgia and it does stand up well even today.
@KalamStrifeVII 5 Months ago and I swear I get less connection errors in OG Splatoon than in Splatoon 3.
My money's on a complete online multiplayer shutdown announcement for Wii U/3DS before the end of next year, but it's good to see Nintendo still sees at least some value on keeping the lights on a little while longer.
I should get Splatoon 1 now but I realized that Xenoblade X takes up most of the storage on my Wii U 😂
Would love to boot up the original splatoon again.. was by far the best in my opinion. Best levels too
I have a lot of respect for video game preservation, even if it means custom firmware.
I DON'T have respect for anyone who takes people's choices away in that regard. I might actually start calling this "Game Preservation Activism"
Thank God for Splatoon 1's servers coming back, I need those last clothes and weapons.
Finally!!Just in time for summer!
What a nice surprise!!
I play Splatoon 1 online on Wii U every summer since 2015 so I was very sad about this summer.
But just in time Splatoon come back!
Very Glad,I missed it so much!
Yesssssss! I'm so happy about this. Splatoon 1 is still my favorite game of the series. Gonna play it when I get home from vacation
@luckyseven buy a cheap hard drive to get more storage. It's worth it for Splatoon trust me
I'm guessing that with a Wii U players do not need to pay a subscription to play online. Seems like this could be a more favourable way to play Mario Kart 8, for some of the few people who own a Wii U.
Haven't most players already moved on to the games' Switch equivalents at this point, anyway?
Genuinely surprised and relieved that Splatoon 1's online is coming back. I'll definitely go on it tomorrow since there should be a fair few returning players and it's been years since I played some matches on good old Salt Spray Rig :')
@Will808 I checked and my Wii U has 5 gigs left, I’ll consider getting another drive eventually since my console is homebrewed and it would be good for it
@luckyseven Cool! I hope you enjoy it!! I just bought myself some storage for my Wii U myself, I've been meaning to get around to homebrewing it but I haven't yet. Want to make sure I do everything right
Man. I think there are more people online on CoD Black Ops 2 which came out in 2012.
As someone who didn't get a Switch until the very end of 2018 and still found an excuse to play something on Wii U the next two years afterwards, I would like an excuse to play Wii U again one day.
That excuse might end up being playing Splatoon without connection errors at this rate. :V
I'll boot up Splatoon 1 this week. It's still my favorite one. I miss the kraken.
Cool I'll try again and see for Splatoon 1 then. Not into multiplayer but might if I feel in the mood to, wanted to be sure they were safe to play on.
I had to move my Wii U out due to other games I've collected for PS1/PS2/PS3/Switch/Vita/3DS/PSP/PS4/Xbox One the past few (360 not as much but sometimes) but I still have a few on Wii U to experience (digital and physical) when I was ready. I love the console.
Dual screen gaming woo.
Splatoon 1 desperately needs to be preserved on the Switch or the next system. Imagine two years from now, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Nintendo's big new franchise with a completely dead game. I know lots of game franchises have suffered this fate, but Nintendo hasn't really had that problem before.
I booted up Splatoon 1 and I was surprised I managed to get into a few matches. It feels similar but different compared to 3, I love Splat 1’s music. Playing with the clunky gamepad is weird though
I'll play some Splatoon matches now
I am thrilled that Mario Kart was back online for the WiiU!! My Son is home from school for a month and we were able to get back to our old online fun again...had a blast. Very easy to find a match even on the 3rd, 1st day it was back. If you have a WiiU and this game, please get online if you can and help the WiiU online with more players!!
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