As of March 2023, the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops will no longer be available. Hardware from the 3DS family was formally discontinued on September 16, 2020. Most countries still have access to Nintendo Network services; however, the Nintendo eShop will close on March 27, 2023.
A tweet from the authorized Nintendo of America Twitter account revealed the news in February 2022. This update ensures that we have over a year to make digital purchases through the eShops on the 3DS during that time. Also, the Wii U shop must be closed before purchases are permanently prohibited.
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What is Nintendo 3DS?
The Nintendo 3DS is a portable gaming system manufactured by Nintendo. The Nintendo DS replacement was introduced at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 after being announced in March of that year. Video games for the Nintendo DS are compatible with the system. Its main rival as an eighth-generation system was the PlayStation Vita from Sony.
The Nintendo 3DS was made available in Japan on February 26, 2011. It was then made available globally beginning in March. Within the first two years of its debut, the console became one of Nintendo’s most popular handheld platforms. By September 30, 2022, the Nintendo 3DS family of systems had been purchased by 75.94 million people, and 388.89 million people had purchased the systems’ games.
Hardware from the 3DS line was officially discontinued on September 16, 2020. Most countries still have access to Nintendo Network services; however, the Nintendo eShop will close on March 27, 2023. As of the end of August 2022, the option to add funds for the 3DS has been deleted.
Nintendo 3DS discontinued
Nintendo has announced a date of March 27, 2023, by which purchases on its 3DS and Wii U systems will no longer be possible. At the end of March 2023, adding funds, downloading samples or themes, using a download code, or purchasing items won’t be possible.
The Wii U/3DS eShop’s closure will make it impossible to access the 1,799 currently offered. These include GBA Virtual Console titles and a variety of other special upgrades, such as the 3D Classics remakes. Although many 3DS and Wii U games may be bought physically, the closure of the eShop will increase demand and drive up costs overall.
In addition to its statement, Nintendo also provided a FAQ on the change. The business asked, “Doesn’t Nintendo have a duty to preserve its classic games?” in the document’s original form. To which it responded that it gives users access to some of those titles through the NES,
SNES and N64 digital emulators on the Nintendo Switch. Outside that “increasing” list of roughly 150 games, it was said that Nintendo has “no plans to provide classic games in other ways” at the moment.
Reason for discontinuation
When Sony announced that it was ending service for the PS3 and Vita stores in 2021, PlayStation users were in the same situation. Though Sony CEO Jim Ryan stated that it was “obvious that we made the wrong judgment here,” Sony finally decided to keep the stores open.
With the closure of the Wii Store in 2019 came Nintendo’s plan to discontinue the 3DS and Wii U. The Wii U’s online social network, Miiverse, was likewise shut down in 2017.
The 3DS’s demise is not shocking. Since its debut in early 2017, the Nintendo Switch has replaced chiefly the Nintendo 3DS as the brand’s cutting-edge portable. The New Nintendo 3DS, XL, 2DS, and 2DS XL, end the 3DS’s nearly ten-year history, which began with its launch in February 2011. It also included multiple model upgrades and variations. Nintendo’s extremely well-liked DS line of handhelds, which started in 2004 and ended in 2013 with 154 million units sold, was replaced by the 3DS.
Conclusion
But there is still hope. On both the 3DS and Wii U, users can still redownload already-owned titles, DLC, and software upgrades after March 2023. This is according to a statement from Nintendo. Logically, game archivists would be somewhat alarmed by the news, but Nintendo could always decide to withdraw this feature.