Author Topic: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023  (Read 3767 times)

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Offline Shaymin

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But doomsday is coming sooner than we thought.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/59698/3ds-and-wii-u-eshops-shutting-down-in-stages-official-closure-march-2023

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:

  1. Starting on May 23, it will no longer be possible to add funds via a credit card on the device eShops (credit cards have been made non-functional in other territories over the last few months)
  2. eShop cards will no longer work for adding funds to the Wii U and 3DS beginning on August 29
  3. The final shutdown in March 2023 will include the use of purchased download codes and all game/DLC purchases in general

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.

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Offline pokepal148

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2022, 08:30:02 PM »
My 3DS collection is pretty much set but I want a few more multiplayer games on the Wii U.

Offline Khushrenada

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2022, 08:50:31 PM »
Uh-oh! It begins!!!
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Offline BeautifulShy

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2022, 09:14:27 PM »
I guess I need to stock up on e-shop cards for my 2DS.  Such a backlog of 3DS games to purchase. 
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Offline Enner

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2022, 11:33:57 PM »
. . . but what will I buy with my birthday coupons now?

Offline Adrock

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2022, 12:19:54 AM »
Any recommendations for eShop only 3DS games?

I was eyeing up Ironfall: Invasion because I like VD-Dev, but I haven’t been able to talk myself into spending $20 on the complete game. Hopefully, it’ll go on sale before the eShop closes.

Offline broodwars

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2022, 12:47:49 AM »
Looks like Nintendo's finally putting the last dagger into the twitching corpse of the Virtual Console, followed by pissing on its grave for good measure by talking up their shitty Subscription service. Not unexpected, but still...



This is why I don't trust digital-only games and avoid them as much as possible. Some day, inevitably, they'll get pulled when the people paying for the license or the infrastructure get bored.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2022, 12:49:20 AM by broodwars »
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Offline GK

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2022, 12:54:33 AM »
Any recommendations for eShop only 3DS games?


Gotta Protectors. It's like a hack & slash with slight tower defense elements. The NES look of it reminds me of Gauntlet.
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Offline Lemonade

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2022, 06:06:06 AM »
I just went though and added a bunch of games to my wish list on Wii U, which I will probably buy. I already bought a bunch last year, like Pandora's Tower and Konami Krazy Racers.
Wish list can be seen here https://imgur.com/a/RDVeXfG

I already own so many games on 3DS, but I will look through the eShop again, maybe pick up a VC title or two or 3D Classics. Probably also the few Streetpass games I didnt originally buy.

Will also check my US 3DS to see what isnt available on my regular 3DS. I know Rusty's Baseball is one of them.


Offline Mop it up

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2022, 12:44:17 PM »
I wonder if it costs more to run eShops than I think it does, as I figured that at least the 3DS shop would still be generating income. End of an era here!

Offline Ian Sane

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2022, 01:54:37 AM »
I've been intending to get Picross 3D: Round 2 for the 3DS for a while.  It's been on the Christmas list for a few years.  Guess I have to get on that now.  It's just a little bit more expensive then I would like but as a first party game I don't think it really goes on sale.

It would be nice if Nintendo could just get to a point where digital games are backwards compatible for a few generations and it's all one store.  You can play PS4 digital games on a PS5.  It would be ideal if Switch games were playable on whatever the Switch successor ends up being.  There are still issues with licensing and rights and games getting pulled because of that but at least a Nintendo first party Switch title would remain available for purchase for a long period of time on later consoles.  Nintendo essentially starts their eshop over each generation and the other companies have moved beyond that model.

Offline Adrock

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #12 on: February 17, 2022, 03:14:33 AM »
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. 😒

Offline Mop it up

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #13 on: February 17, 2022, 11:43:07 AM »
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.

Offline broodwars

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2022, 01:31:58 PM »
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.
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Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2022, 02:12:25 PM »
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.

Yeah, I imagine it is since on the Wii you can still redownload games you own if you need to, despite that systems online store being shut down for 3 years now.  So keeping the servers running that contain the games must not be that much of a hassle for Nintendo, it's just they don't feel these systems are worth dealing with credit card companies anymore.

I'm honestly surprised they kept the Wii U eShop as open as long as they did.  When it's last major title came out in early 2017 and they've ported about 99% of it's exclusives, I'd figured it would last until 2021 at most.  Of course it's not that big a deal for me since pretty much every Wii U game that I hadn't bought yet has now been ported to the Switch.

The 3DS eShop closing though is kind of a dick move.  The system lasted 2 years longer then the Wii U, and has a userbase that's 6 times larger and yet they'll shut it down at the same time.  Plus the 3DS has a much larger selection of games that are still exclusive to just the 3DS, unlike the Wii U that's ported almost all of its must owns.  Then again I've pretty much bought all the 3DS games I had an interest in by now so it's not a huge deal to me personally, but that's still pretty unfair to shut it down at the same time as the Wii U when the 3DS had more support and a longer lifespan.

Then again Nintendo has the sales numbers that we don't see, and I'd imagine with Switch sales really exploding the last 2 years, the 3DS eShop hasn't looked that hot.  I mean, even on the internet forums that are more hardcore then the average consumer, many were saying they stopped playing their 3DS by the end of 2017, hence the anger over some key 3DS titles that still got released for it after the Switch came out.  I mean there does come a point in asking how many people are still playing these old systems, let alone buying games for them.  If many were already over the system by the end of 2017, how many are still going to be buying games at the end of 2022?
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Offline M.K.Ultra

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2022, 03:45:24 PM »
Okay, I went back through my Best of the WiiU eShop lists and added the final games to my wish list. I should be able to get everything I want for about $100. Now I need to go though the Best of the 3DS eShop lists...

Offline Enner

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2022, 06:42:50 PM »
Hey, this means we need to get a Devil's Third Retroactive now, right?

Offline Mythtendo

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #18 on: February 17, 2022, 08:19:39 PM »
It's pretty funny to read some of the responses from Japanese fans on Twitter about this, including some people thinking that this will somehow stop you from playing your existing games

Offline Mythtendo

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #19 on: February 17, 2022, 08:22:26 PM »
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. 😒

I can understand why Nintendo didn't bother. Apparently most Virtual Console games sold so little  (some literally sold under 100 copies and many only sold a few hundred) that Nintendo had to practically beg Sega to release games on Nintendo Switch Online. If i released games on the Virtual Console and none of them even sold 1,000 copies, then i'm not sure I would bother to put in the work to make them available on future systems

Offline Mop it up

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Re: 3DS And Wii U eShops Shutting Down In Stages, Official Closure March 2023
« Reply #20 on: February 18, 2022, 03:03:24 PM »
If it's just a credit card thing then why not just disable that part of it and keep it going with eShop cards? There's probably more to it than just that. I s'pose both of these systems have been hacked and back since Nintendo long stopped updating them, so I wonder if it's also a security risk issue.