For those who want to buy Nintendo Wii U and 3DS games from the eShop, there are only a few hours left.
As promised over a year ago, Nintendo will be shutting down these digital storefronts at 8pm tonight after suspending the ability to add eShop funds in May 2022. I’ve purchased from those stores before, but that could obviously change in the future.According to VGC’s research, closing the e-shop means that 335 Virtual Console games that are not available on the Nintendo Switch Online service will be sold. You will lose access to approximately 1,000 digital-only games, including
This kind of drastic move might make sense from a business standpoint, but it poses serious dangers to many games stored in the system’s library. As Ars detailed earlier this month, video game preservationists are held back by laws and regulations around remote access to DRM-protected works. Nintendo, through the Entertainment Software Association, is one of many organizations that are lobbying to stop the library from providing legal access to archived games.
Today’s shutdown also marks the end of Nintendo’s virtual console, which made it possible to purchase individual games from Nintendo’s catalog without a subscription. Not intending to, and in the eShop closing FAQ, it currently states “We have no plans to offer classic content in any other way” (since it has been removed, but is archived here). However, we do offer a website where you can “bring back your game memories” for 3DS and Wii U titles you’ve purchased and played.
Completionist explains how he spent almost a year buying every available 3DS and Wii U game before today’s shutdown.
If you’re wondering what it takes to buy all the games on the eShop, someone has already done it. The Completionist, aka Jirard Khalil, downloaded 1.2 TB of Wii U and 267 GB of 3DS games, took 328 days and cost $22,791. “Since the industry began, we run the risk of losing games forever, every day,” Khalil tells viewers in the video. “That’s why this is important.” Khalil said he donated the console and storage, including all the games, to the Video Game History Foundation, and on April 15-16, he will be making his donation for the foundation on his Twitch channel. Host a Preserved Play fundraiser.
