Nintendo Closing Wii U and 3DS eShop, “No Plans” to Offer Classic Content in Other Ways

[Tsing]

Image: Nintendo



Nintendo has published a support article confirming that it’ll be closing its eShop for the aging Wii U and Nintendo 3DS platforms next year.



Beginning in March 2023, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS users will no longer be able to purchase content from the eShop, a service that Nintendo launched around a decade ago as a primary destination for downloading purchased games and free content such as game demos. Nintendo users have reacted negatively to the closures, particularly in response to a now-deleted portion of a Q&A that revealed there would be no other way to download and own classic games in the future, a seemingly clever way of encouraging gamers to switch to Nintendo Switch Online’s subscription-based model for older titles.



Nintendo has clarified that eShop users will retain the ability to redownload purchased games and DLC, receive software...

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[DrezKill]

That's okay, 3DS soft-mod covered everything a long time ago (the "[fre]eShop" was hilarious when it existed), even doing things like Themes far better, and Wii U soft-mod covers that system now too. It's ridiculously easy to mod a 3DS these days. I heard Wii U is easy too, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Brian_B]

They will bring it all back in a retro-shop in 5ish years and make you buy it all over again. That's the Nintendo business model.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

It's sorta funny. They sued however many people into oblivion and then maybe 1 to 2 years later they announce they're dropping it too. I agree with @Brian_B that there's probably another strategy in the works already.

 

[Denpepe]

They will bring it all back in a retro-shop in 5ish years and make you buy it all over again. That's the Nintendo business model.

You will still be able to download what you already own, just not buy new anymore.