Today comes with bad news for Nintendo Wii U and 3DS enjoyers: the marketplace for both consoles will close down on March 27, 2023.
Nintendo announced that in six months, it would no longer be possible to make purchases on Nintendo eShop for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Not only won’t you be able to spend all your hard-earned money, but free content like game demos will also disappear from the marketplace.
If you have a Nintendo eShop Card and want to spend it on Wii U or 3DS games for some reason, don’t wait until March 2023 to cash it. You can only add funds to Nintendo eShop for Wii U or 3DS until August 29, 2022. Past this date, the marketplace will not accept eShop Card.
However, you will still be able to redeem download codes until March 27, 2023. The same goes for buying games: everything continues to work as usual until that fateful day. So if there are still funds on your Nintendo eShop balance, make sure to spend every last penny before the end of March.
Past that date, you won’t be able to purchase new games. However, you can still download games you already own and all their DLCs, play online with friends and receive software updates.
Besides the Nintendo eShop, three other software offered to make purchases: StreetPass Mii Plaza, the Theme Shop, and Nintendo Badge Arcade. Everything will close down on March 27, 2023.
For some reason, one game will leave the Nintendo eShop one month before the others. Sales of Fire Emblem Fates will end on February 28, 2023. All additional content for this game will remain available until March 27.
These changes don’t affect Nintendo eShop on the Switch. So if you linked your Nintendo Network ID funds (used on Nintendo eShop for Wii U and 3DS) to your Nintendo Account (used for the same thing but on Nintendo Switch), then you can share funds to purchase content on any of these platforms. At least, until March 27: after that date, only the Nintendo Switch marketplace will accept new purchases.
To remember all the good times you spent playing on Wii U and 3DS, Nintendo set up a website showcasing your play statistics.
