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Video game preservation is one of the most hotly debated topics right now, especially in the age of online-focused live service games. Many games have vanished from existence in recent years, and many more have seen functionality diminished. Later today, the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U will see online functionality end as servers are shut down for good, which could include 2012’s Call of Duty Black Ops 2.
U/Calwings took to Reddit to let the community know their plans to revisit one of the often forgotten versions of Call of Duty Black Ops 2. Despite the series being closely associated with PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, Call of Duty has a storied history on Nintendo’s platforms, with some earlier titles receiving unique ports that took advantage of the Wii’s motion controls. Black Ops 2 was released on the Wii U as a launch title, which was followed by the release of Ghosts then following year, which served as the final entry to be released on a Nintendo platform, likely due to low sales.
It is worth noting that it hasn’t been confirmed whether or not Call of Duty Black Ops 2 will be included in the shut down. Call of Duty 4, Black Ops 1, and Modern Warfare 3 survived the Wii online server shutdown as they were hosted by Activision and not on Nintendo’s own servers. These games lasted another nine years with online functionality before finally being shut down by Activision. If the Black Ops 2 online servers are hosted in the same way then it could become one of the few games to survive for now.
Although the Nintendo Wii U is largely dead now, not that it ever really got off the ground to begin with, some games including Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Wii U, and Splatoon will lose a core part of their functionality, which is sad news for anyone still playing and highlights the importance of video game preservation both by developers and publishers as well as the community.
If Black Ops 2 survives the shut down then its dedicated player base can still enjoy the game for a while longer, but it will still only be temporary as its servers will go offline one day. If you enjoy any of the older Call of Duty games, it could be a good time to jump into the online mode because you never know when it’ll be the final time.
