The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS have been given a deadline, and fans will only get to purchase games from the Wii U eShop and 3DS eShop until next year.

Nintendo users are currently on the verge of an end of an era. Nintendo is officially shutting down its eShop for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. 

Nintendo made the saddening announcement both on Twitter and their official website. Both posts mentioned that as of March 2023, the eShop for both the Wii U and Nintendo will permanently shut down. The cessation of operations will gradually take place through a series of levels. The first level will begin on May 23 this year wherein users can no longer add funds via credit card. Then on August 29, users can no longer use Nintendo eShop cards to add funds to their account. The eShop will only honor download codes after August 29 until operations fully shut down by March 2023. 

Now would be the best time for the active users of either the 3DS or Wii U to stack up on games. Apparently, despite the cessation of operations, users can still access the eShop to download previously purchased games. On paper, it sounds like a bad idea to stack up since players will end up having a backlog. However, at least you have access to games you wish to play instead of having difficulty finding physical copies. 

Having the eShops shut down for the 3DS and Wii U can be disheartening to some. But, it was only a matter of time until these old Nintendo systems finally met their end. However, in our opinion, there is a small chance that Nintendo could take back their decision. After all, Sony made a similar business move for the PS3 and PS Vita then ended up reverting their decision. But who knows? Maybe it’s really time we said goodbye to these Nintendo classics.