Nintendo announced on Tuesday, 2/15 that the Wii U and 3DS eShop will shut down in late March of 2023. The option to add funds to your account by credit card will cease in May 2022, and by eShop gift card August of this year. So even though the purchasing of games will still technically be allowed through the holidays, the time to actually add the funds to do so is closing soon.
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.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 16, 2022
More info: https://t.co/uGoxCcDZ70
The removal also applies to free demos, which will become unavailable in May of 2023. One respite for this announcement is that Pokémon Bank, a tool that allows users to store and manage Pokémon from different games, will become free once the change goes into effect next year. Nintendo added within the FAQ that there are no plans to end online for the Wii U or 3DS.
While the eShop on both Wii U and 3DS systems shuts down in May of 2023, you only have until May of this year to add funds by credit card, and August by gift card. To learn more about the announcement, you can see the official statement on Nintendo’s website here.
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