Nintendo announced yesterday that it intends to shutter the stores of the 3DS and Wii U eShops in “late March 2023.”
While making the announcement on Twitter, the company shared a brief blog detailing why it made the decision to close the two digital storefronts. Fans have since expressed disappointment with the rationale presented here.
In the accompanying Q&A, under the question, “Why is this happening now?” the company said, “This is part of the natural lifecycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time.”
As of late March 2023, it will no longer be possible to make Nintendo eShop purchases for the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
More info: https://t.co/uGoxCcDZ70
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 16, 2022
The rest of the Q&A is pretty nebulous, but a point worth noting is that the Q&A currently included at the bottom of the post is an amended version of the original.
According to Kotaku, which caught the announcement shortly after it was initially made, one question has been removed from the FAQ: “Doesn’t Nintendo have an obligation to preserve its classic games by continually making them available for purchase?”
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Nintendo’s now-deleted answer reads as follows:
“Across our Nintendo Switch Online membership plans, over 130 classic games are currently available in growing libraries for various legacy systems. The games are often enhanced with new features such as online play.
We think this is an effective way to make classic content easily available to a broad range of players. Within these libraries, new and longtime players can not only find games they remember or have heard about, but other fun games they might not have thought to seek out otherwise.
We currently have no plans to offer classic content in other ways.”
The conscious removal of this part of the FAQ suggests that Nintendo recognized it had opened itself up to some justified flak. At the time of writing, a variety of beloved games are exclusive to the 3DS or Wii U, meaning there will be no legal way to acquire them after the eShops for these platforms are closed.
Written by Cian Maher on behalf of GLHF.
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