As of March 2023, Nintendo will be discontinuing operations of its Wii U and Nintendo 3DS storefronts and leaving users high and dry for purchasing classic content for these platforms.
The post, titled “Wii U & Nintendo 3DS eShop Discontinuation” outlined Nintendo’s plans to shut down the two eShops and the timeline, which would be effective a bit sooner than 2023 as it would be slowly going “offline” in stages:
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.
No changes are planned for the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch systems.
Players will still be able to redownload games and DLC that they previously purchased and receive updates. This will not affect their enjoyment of those games on those systems and online play on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS.
Nintendo stressed that this would continue “for the foreseeable future.”
When the post was originally put up, Nintendo included a section attempting to address the fact that it was shutting down its legacy games section for these two consoles – which it deleted. However, the company swiftly pulled it down after a massive backlash surged over social media.
The section asked the question: “Doesn’t Nintendo have an obligation to preserve its classic games by continually making them available for purchase?” And answered it by suggesting that many of these classic games were offered in newer systems, through the Nintendo Switch Online membership. Unfortunately, not everyone owns a Nintendo Switch and there are still people who own the other two consoles.
“Across our Nintendo Switch Online membership plans, over 130 classic games are currently available in growing libraries for various legacy systems. The games are often enhanced with new features such as online play,” the taken down FAQ read. “We currently have no plans to offer classic content in other ways.”
The Wii U storefront currently offers more than 300 classic games available and the 3DS storefront offers 191 in North America.
It is unlikely that a hostile reaction from Nintendo’s player base could sway the company. Nintendo is not well known for changing course when it makes broad, sweeping ecosystem decisions regarding older consoles and payment channels. For example, the company already suspended credit card and prepaid card payments for Wii U and 3DS shops in Japan as of Jan. 18.
For many players, this speaks to a broader concern about the future of consoles and the ownership of games as many new consoles begin to shift to digital platforms and online service models. As older consoles fall out of support, suddenly owners can’t get the full value out of their systems anymore because classic content that’s only bits and bytes that Nintendo could just keep on a server for download, just isn’t sold anymore.
Instead, console owners on social media feel as if they’re being pressured into a subscription-based model that could cut them off from their favorite games at any time.
Photo: Pixabay
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