Pokémon And Mario Kart Fans Fight Nintendo Network Shutdown To Beat 14-Year-Old Halo 2 Record

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In 2010, a group of Halo 2 diehards called "Noble 14" stayed logged into the multiplayer shooter for weeks after Microsoft turned off the online servers for the original Xbox on April 14. The service's last player was Apache N4SIR who finally got booted just after midnight on May 11. Fourteen years later, a group of Nintendo fans battling last month's Wii U and 3DS online server shutdown in games like Pokémon X and Y and Xenoblade Chronicles X, just beat that record.

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They've taken to calling themselves the "Crazy 8" and some of them are still playing online even though Nintendo officially turned off the servers for its last generation of consoles on April 8.

"We did it!" tweeted YouTuber GaffsNotLaffs, who's been documenting their efforts. "Everyone on this list has stayed online on Nintendo Network for longer after its shutdown than Apache N4SIR did after the original Xbox Live shut down on Halo 2!"

The Crazy 8 included players Amanda in Pokémon X and Y, Fishguy 6564 and Gearworks in Mario Kart 7, SlitherySheep in Mario Maker, Lcd101 in Splatoon, and Omoroid, Eeveh-roo-deh, and Gorrah!! in Xenoblade Chronicles X. "The Crazy 8 of the Nintendo Network have officially beaten the Noble 14's record. It's been an amazing, amazing journey. I love all of you," tweeted Lcd101, the lone surviving squid kid.

The circus began after Nintendo brought the networks for online play on Wii U and 3DS offline last month. Players who kept their games running stayed connected though, able to still view multiplayer lobbies and use internet features as long as they didn't turn off their consoles. "Good morning, squid researchers!" wrote Lcd101 on April 10. "As you can see, I'm still in the lobby. I ran out of food, but I've discovered that drinking one's own ink could be a suitable replacement…"

Being the only player left in the original Splatoon, they weren't able to actually play a match, but they did report on each day's map rotations and item updates in the shop. The Squid Sisters' last broadcast was on April 30, at which point the game remained fixed on Blackbelly Skatepark and Port Mackerel for Turf War, and Bluefin Depot and Moray Towers for Rainmaker.

Nintendo superfans were so enthusiastic about the Crazy 8 that at least one lied to pretend to be a part of it, falsely claiming they were still online in Pokémon Ultra Sun. "April 11th was when I actually disconnected," wrote user TKJTK in a confession in the group's Discord after sending in an edited photo of their handheld to fake still appearing online. "I did this because I found it cool to be one of the last people online even if I wasn't actually online today." They said they had bailed earlier because their 3DS had been getting really hot, even when it wasn't charging, and they didn't want to risk the battery exploding.

The last days of the Wii U and 3DS network services were filled with other twists and turns. When stalwarts thought their numbers were dwindling, a secret group of additional Xenoblade Chronicles X players who were still online were discovered overseas. Meanwhile, Cyndaquil_x, the last Mario Kart 8 player, was kicked just days before the record was broken after suffering the most unlucky two minute internet outage imaginable.

The Crazy 8 is now the "Lucky 7" after Xenoblade Chronicles X player Gorrah!! disconnected on May 5, but it appears for now the rest are still going strong. It's unclear when some of them will ever log off. "This is your captain speaking with your daily update, sponsored by Forge!" Lcd101 tweeted yesterday. "It's day twenty-seven and Forge has these awesome Pilot Goggles in stock at Cooler Heads again! They still remind me of a squid I knew many- HEY!! Get that scrap of paper with the date off my screen!!"