We’ve known for some time that Nintendo will be ending support for the eShop on both the Nintendo Wii-U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
Nintendo recently revealed that they would end digital purchases on these platforms in late March 2023. This includes downloading free content, including game demos.
Shutting the eShop down on these platforms will be a long process with Nintendo slowly reducing services available until the eShop is completely offline.
Nintendo announced 2 important milestones on their support page:
• As of May 23, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a credit card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
• As of August 29, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a Nintendo eShop Card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. However, it will still be possible to redeem download codes until late March 2023.
Fortunately even after the above payment methods are removed from the eShop, there is a way to continue to make digital purchases until the eShop is no-longer supported.
Users who link their Nintendo Network ID wallet from their Wii-U/3DS accounts, with their Nintendo Account wallet, can use their shared balance through to March 2023. This gives Nintendo fans a little more time to purchase content.
Nintendo Switch users will be glad to know none of this affects the Nintendo Switch eShop or purchases made on the Nintendo Switch.
The good news for Wii-U and 3DS users is, even after this transition is complete, and digital purchases can no-longer be made post March 2023, users will still be able to download previously purchased content, DLC and receive software updates.
Furthermore Online Play on the Nintendo Wii-U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems will still be available.
The closing of the Wii-U & 3DS eShop could hint that the next step for Nintendo is to bring more classic games to the Nintendo Switch eShop, similar to how Nintendo Adds Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards To Nintendo Switch Online for the N64 App.
Will the shutting down of the Wii-U or 3DS eShop affect you? Let us know in the comments below the article.
