The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop will be shutdown next year
All good things must eventually come to an end.
Nintendo has announced that in a year's time, the firm will be shutting down the Nintendo eShop for the Wii U system and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
According to the company, as of late March 2023, it will no longer be possible to make purchases. Furthermore, as this date draws closer, related services will cease to function.
This means that on 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.
And come August 29, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a Nintendo eShop Card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop for these systems. However, it will still be possible to redeem download codes until late March 2023.
Users who link their Nintendo Network ID wallet, which was used with Wii U and 3DS, with their Nintendo Account wallet - used with Switch - can use the shared balance to purchase content on any of these systems until late March 2023. After that, the balance can only be used to purchase content for the Nintendo Switch.
Not to worry, though: even after late March 2023, and for the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and participate in online play on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. So, that's good news.
Nintendo said shutting down the eShop for these systems is part of "the natural lifecycle for any product line," as it becomes less used by consumers over time.
The Wii U was the successor to the wildly popular Wii, and was released in late 2012. It went on to sell 13.6 million units.
3DS was released in 2011 and was followed up by the 3DS XL and 3DS LL in 2012. The 3DS family of systems sold over 75.9 million units during its lifetime.