Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop shuts down next year

Sadly, good things come to an end as Nintendo has announced that they will be shutting down the Nintendo eShop for both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in March 2023.

As of late March 2023, it will no longer be possible to make Nintendo eShop purchases for the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

More info: https://t.co/uGoxCcDZ70

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 16, 2022

This simply means users of the Wii U and the 3DS will no longer be allowed to add funds to their account through a credit card on March 2023. The use of Nintendo eShop cards to add funds will also be unavailable but much earlier as it will no longer be possible starting August 29, 2022. You can read the full details from Nintendo here. 

If you’ve purchased games on the Wii U or the 3DS, Nintendo announced that any digital game or DLC purchased before March 2023 can still be redownloaded even after the store shuts down next year. All software updates and use of the game’s online features will still be available for both the Wii U and 3DS. 

Nintendo said that this decision is “the natural lifecycle of any product line”, though i’m sure the main issue here is that many games will no longer be available, and players will have to wait again for select games only found on the Wii U and 3DS will be available on the Nintendo Switch, the company’s primary system at the moment. 

The eShop for the Wii U and the 3DS hosts classic games from the Game Boy to the SNES.

Fans have expressed their concerns with such a decision as one pointed out on Twitter that certain games will no longer be available in the west.

Not to mention the fact that a bunch of great games just won’t be available for sale in the West anymore on 3DS like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies or Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice.

I didn’t like it with Sony, I hate it with Nintendo too.

— Stealth (@Stealth40k) February 16, 2022

The Wii U was the next console to follow up the widely successful Wii and was released in 2012. It sold only 13.6 million units. The 3DS, on the other hand, was released in 2011 and sold over 75.9 million.