But doomsday is coming sooner than we thought.
If you still have a wish list on the Wii U or 3DS eShops, now is the time to clear them out.
Nintendo have announced on a support page that the last generation of Nintendo purchases will start winding down in May, with the final shutdown set for March 2023.
The service will stop in three stages for North America:
Until the final shutdown, the Switch eShop can be used to load funds that can be used on 3DS and Wii U so long as the accounts are linked. Redownloading content, game updates, and online play will still function afterwards.
UPDATE 9:09 PM ET: The Pokemon Company has announced (Japanese language link) that Pokemon Bank, the 3DS-era storage solution that can be transferred into Pokemon Home for Switch, will be available for free once the eShop shuts down. Previously, it sold yearly passes for US$5 or equivalent.
Any recommendations for eShop only 3DS games?
I'm a little surprised that they're keeping up online play. I would think that would be costing them more to run than the shops, since there is no sub fee. I s'pose that could also be a separate announcement to be made within the coming months though.
I'm a little surprised that they're keeping up online play. I would think that would be costing them more to run than the shops, since there is no sub fee. I s'pose that could also be a separate announcement to be made within the coming months though.
I suspect it's much like Sony's initial justification for shutting down the PS3 and Vita stores: they didn't want to pay to keep updating the credit card processing and security features to keep the stores compatible with modern payment standards.
I’ve purchased quite a few digital only indie titles on Switch, something I rarely did on Wii, DSi, 3DS, and Wii U. I’m not buying those again if Nintendo pulls that nonsense with reseting the eShop again. That’s some anti-consumer BS I’m not dealing with.
Some people had hundreds of Virtual Console games on Wii. We didn’t kick up enough of a fuss over how crummy it was that Nintendo just locked those purchases to the platform. Then, did it three more times. 😒