Nintendo Switch Exclusive Has Been Removed From eShop Forever

A Nintendo Switch exclusive has been removed from the Nintendo eShop, as of yesterday, limiting the options of Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED users to buy the game. As you may know, delistings are becoming more and more common in an era where maintaining online games with dead player counts becomes too costly, where there is a need to maintain licenses, and where publishing rights are more complex than ever. Every year, many games are removed from digital storefronts, most of which aren't notable enough to notice, but sometimes the departures are more notable. The latest example of the latter is Nintendo Switch exclusive Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun from Bandai Namco. If you wanted to buy this 2018 game on the Nintendo eShop, well you can't, as you've officially run out of time as yesterday was the final day to do so. 

The good news for those that already own the game is you will continue to be able to play it and purchase DLC for it because while the base game has been delisted DLC is not being delisted. Meanwhile, you can also redownload the game, and the DLC, as you please. What you can't do is buy the game, at least not digitally. That option stopped being available yesterday. What you can do is hunt down a physical copy of the game, however, this will quickly will become challenging due to the increase in demand and short supply of the game. 

As for why the game is being delisted, we don't know. Bandai Namco didn't say at the time of the announcement earlier this year and that has not changed with the actual delisting. If this changes, we will update the story accordingly, but we do not expect this to happen. 

"Thank you for your continuous support for Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun," reads a previous released statement from Bandai Namco about the delisting. "We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our customers who have purchased or played the game, and we kindly ask for your understanding in this matter. Please also consider continuing the drumming fun with Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival for Nintendo Switch."

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