Game Over: Nintendo eShop for 3DS and Wii U Shuts Down for Good

The Nintendo Switch has grown in popularity since debuting in 2017, leaving its predecessors to fall out of importance as Nintendo focuses on the future of their consoles. Because of this, the company has decided to close the curtains on the 3DS and Wii U’s online shop. This applies to the entire family of 3DS systems as well as the Wii U Basic and Deluxe. As of today at 8:00 PM EST, it will no longer be possible to purchase games on either storefront, as well as downloading free games or demos. The service of using a credit card to add funds was disabled in May of 2022, as was the ability to use an eShop gift card in August of 2022. Funds already on an account can be linked with the Switch, not letting the money go to waste. Similarly, games that use purchasing through these consoles will cease, such as Theme Shop, Nintendo Badge Arcade, Pokèmon Bank, and StreetPass Mii Plaza on the 3DS, as well as Wii Sports Club on Wii U.

This is a sad time for many people who enjoyed these systems. On a brighter side of things, it will still be possible to redownload games and demos that have already been bought and receive updates for software and DLC. Online play will still be supported as of now and for the foreseeable future, so you can still play games with friends using these consoles at least.

Nintendo announced this over a year in advance, but the sting still hurts for many. This is all a part of the “natural lifecycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time,” according to their Q&A. They provided a new website that allows you to link your Nintendo account and see your overall playtime, most played games, and share your memories with friends. This works for both the Wii U and 3DS, leaving fans with some remanence of their time since 2011.

This is not the first time that this has happened to a console’s online services, and it won’t be the last either. In May of 2014, the online services for the Wii and DS systems were shut down aside from video-on-demand services and their respective eShops. However in late January of 2019, these storefronts were discontinued altogether.

Now that the eShop is officially discontinued, the icon still opens up and shows a barren storefront, where only the Nintendo Selects category remains to show what was once a vibrant land of games. Happy music rings through the speakers, but when you try to purchase any of these Selects, the software is considered “unavailable.” This is better than the Wii’s case, where nothing can be found today. It is a very bittersweet sight…

As sad as it is, there is one positive that sticks out. For the 3DS and Wii U, you are able to revisit the games that you played on your connected account. This was not possible for the Wii and DS systems. You are also able to play games from consoles such as the NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64 on the Switch, making it possible for a future console to provide a way to play the games from its past. The archiving of these services will hopefully continue to improve as we move further into the future of playing video games.