As of today (March 27) at 5 PM PST, Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS eShops will no longer be available. (8PM EST). After that, you won’t be able to buy new games for those systems anymore, but you will be able to redownload games you already own for the time being.
The business issued its initial warning about the eShop closures in February 2022, and on August 29th, it stopped allowing users to add money to their accounts. When the change was made, Nintendo stated that it was “part of the natural lifecycle for any product line as it becomes less used over time by consumers.”
That may be the case, but more than 1,000 digital titles, including Dr. Luigi, Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge, and Pokémon Picross, to name a few, will be lost during the shutdown. VGC reported that a total of 530 virtual console games, 450 digital-only Wii U games, and 600 digital-only 3DS titles will be discontinued. 335 of the latter aren’t right now accessible via Nintendo Switch Online.
Since physical copies of these vintage games have skyrocketed in value, they will be the only choice for people who want to play them. Meanwhile, many other download-only titles will permanently vanish.
