Nintendo Ending Wii U and 3DS eShop Support
Nintendo has officially announced that it will be ending eShop support for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The announcement was made via Twitter tonight, but fans can rest easy knowing that they still have a significant amount of time left to make purchases: the eShops will both close in March 2023. The news is likely to come as a major disappointment for those that still enjoy playing games on the two systems, but hopefully the advanced warning will give users time to make the purchases they want before things come to an end!
"As of late March 2023, it will no longer be possible to make Nintendo eShop purchases for the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems," the company wrote on Twitter.
In a post on the company's website, Nintendo revealed that Wii U and 3DS owners will not be able to add credit card funds to either eShop starting on May 23rd, 2022. On August 29th, 2022, users will not be able to add credit from eShop cards. However, users that have their Nintendo Network ID wallet linked to their Nintendo Account wallet will be able to continue using those funds through the end date. Players will still be able to re-download purchased software "for the foreseeable future," so users won't have to worry about not being able to access the titles that they have already purchased.
Unfortunately, closures of digital storefronts present a major problem for the video game industry. When storefronts like these close, titles that were available exclusively as digital downloads become completely unavailable to future users. However, it costs time and effort to keep these storefronts updated and working, and it's easy to see why companies like Nintendo eventually have to cut things off. Still, that doesn't make it easier for fans; after all, there are many games that are available on the Wii U and 3DS eShops that aren't on Nintendo Switch yet, including the Game Boy Pokemon games, Metroid: Zero Mission, and more. Hopefully, Nintendo will use this opportunity to make more of these games available on Switch!
Were you still buying games on the Wii U and 3DS? Are you disappointed by this news? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!