Last Chance: Nintendo Stops Selling 3DS, Wii U eShop Games Today

UPDATE 3/27: As of 8 p.m. ET, Nintendo will no longer support purchases on the Nintendo eShop for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Free content, including game demos, will also be removed.

After today, however, Nintendo will let you “redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and enjoy online play on Wii U consoles and Nintendo 3DS systems…for the foreseeable future.”

If you have Nintendo eShop credits for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U, Nintendo recommends “linking your Nintendo Network ID to your Nintendo Account and merging your wallets(Opens in a new window), [which] will allow you to continue to use your balance to purchase digital download titles, DLC, content passes, and other similar items for Nintendo Switch,” the company says in an FAQ(Opens in a new window). That linking capability will be available until March 2024.

The company says the shutdown will “simultaneously take effect in software on…platforms where it is possible to make purchases, such as StreetPass Mii Plaza, the Theme Shop and Nintendo Badge Arcade.”

UPDATE 7/19/22: Nintendo confirms that both the Wii U and 3DS eShops will close on March 27, 2023. After that date it will still be possible to redownload purchased content (games, DLC), get software updates, and play online “for the foreseeable future.” What you can and can’t do in the months leading up to the closure and then afterwards is detailed on the Nintendo Support page(Opens in a new window).

Original Story 2/16/22:
Nintendo has announced it’s going to stop selling 3DS and Wii U games through the eShop before the end of March 2023.

In explaining the decision, Nintendo said(Opens in a new window), “This is part of the natural lifecycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time.” Thankfully, there’s still plenty of time left to pick up any eShop titles you missed, assuming you still own the hardware to play them on.

Nintendo hasn’t specified a date yet, but in late March 2023 it will no longer be possible to make eShop purchases for 3DS and Wii U titles. All free content (including game demos) will be removed, too, and download codes will stop working. Following that, on May 23 it won’t be possible to add funds to an eShop account for either system using a credit card, and then on Aug. 29, Nintendo eShop Cards can’t be used anymore to add funds for purchases on either system.

If you’ve linked your Nintendo Network ID wallet to the more recent Nintendo Wallet, the balance can only be used for 3DS and Wii U content until late March. After that, the balance will be limited to Switch purchases.

If you already own a load of digital content for the 3DS and Wii U, don’t worry. Nintendo says that, “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.”

The 10-year-old Wii U wasn’t very popular, but 783 games were still released for the system. The 11-year-old 3DS on the other hand, saw 1,374 games released and has many digital-only must-have titles including Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale, BoxBoxBoy!, Crimson Shroud, Pocket Card Jockey, and Pushmo to name a few. If you still own either system, check out what’s available and pick up any gems that haven’t been ported to more recent platforms before they disappear forever.

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