New systems are great and everything, but there’s always a caveat when they come out, as they’re meant to replace older hardware on the market. And that means those older systems are usually put out to pasture, with their services shut down to boot. And with that, it appears that the Nintendo Wii’s time is coming to a close.
Nintendo announced just before the weekend that it would be shutting down the Wii Shop Channel on January 30th, 2019, making the many games available for the service unavailable to purchase. This includes a variety of Virtual Console games, as well as original titles like Contra Rebirth and My Life As a King, amongst many others.
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So that said, you still have time to get the games and add them to your Wii or Wii U library. However, you’ll want to keep a couple of things in mind.
First off, you won’t be able to add Wii Points to your account after March 26, 2018. That means you won’t be able to buy them, nor will you be able to use Wii Points card, if for some reason you can still find them. On top of that, Nintendo has noted that it will shut down the option to re-download previously purchased Wii and Virtual Console games to your service, though it hasn’t provided a specific date for that just yet. You also won’t be able to transfer content from your Wii to the Wii U after this point, whenever that is.
Does it seem like a drastic move? Somewhat. But Nintendo is going full steam ahead with its new online services, in which games are tied in with a Nintendo account instead of a console, which was the system it used for both the Wii and the Wii U. So it’s probably just making sure its services are optimized.
Still, you’ve got time to download a number of classics for the Wii – at least a few months – so it’s not the end of the world. Might we suggest some Turbo Duo classics like Lords of Thunder and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood? And we’ll talk about some of the better original WiiWare games as well in an upcoming special.
