Discontinuation
Nintendo announces the closure of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop: date and details
After its closure in Latin America in 2020, in a matter of months it will be the turn of the global eShop. What will happen to the purchased games?
Nintendo of America has announced the closure of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop on a global scale. After the closure of the services of both platforms in some Latin American countries last April 2020, the Japanese firm has made the decision to close the services of purchase and redemption of codes in the international versions of the digital store of its platforms of the last generation at the end of March 2023. Here are all the details and information.
The end of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop, now what?
Scheduled for March 2023, users of New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 2DS XL, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS, Wii U Deluxe and Wii U Basic (all existing models of the two families of consoles) will not be able to make purchases in the Nintendo eShop. Nor will it be possible to download free content, including demos (if it is the first time we acquire them). In addition, from the date of the closure, the following services will cease their activity:
- 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.
- It will not be possible to download free demos.
- It will not be possible to make purchases of video games or additional downloadable content (DLC).
- StreetPass Mii Plaza, Theme Shop and Nintendo Badge Arcade will no longer allow microtransaction purchases.
What will happen to content already purchased on 3DS and Wii U?
It will be possible to continue downloading previously purchased games, demos and DLC on both Wii U and 3DS. All previously purchased content, as well as updates, can continue to be downloaded as normal after March 2023.
“Even after late March 2023, and for the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and enjoy online play on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.”
However, the online servers will not be closed: games with online options will remain active until further notice.
What will happen to the money I have in my Nintendo Network ID account?
All users who have funds in their Nintendo Network ID account (the official name for financial transactions on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U families of systems) will be able to migrate their funds by linking their NNID to their Nintendo Account (the name used on the Nintendo Switch family of systems) by the end of March 2023, when the services of the platforms featured today will be shut down.
When asked why this announcement is being made now, in February 2022, Nintendo explains on the official website: “We are providing this notice more than a year in advance of the end of purchases so users will have plenty of time to prepare.”
Additional information | Nintendo of America