Nintendo is beginning to shut down online services for its previous generation consoles. Starting in March 2023, the eShop for the Wii U and the 3DS will shut down, although some widely used payment methods will stop being supported much sooner. 

Nintendo warned that this was coming back in February of this year, but now we have more specific dates and details. The Wii U and 3DS eShop will close for good on the 27th of March. Support for direct purchases with a credit or debit card has already come to an end. From the 29th of August, you will no longer be able to add new funds to your eShop using gift cards.

From the end of August until March 2023, you will only be able to redeem codes on the eShop. However, there is an exception – Fire Emblem Fates will be withdrawn from sale on the 28th of February 2023 and its DLCs will also be taken down on the 27th of March.

Once the eShop shuts down on the 27th of March 2023, you will still be able to access it to re-download previously purchased games. Online services for 3DS and Wii U games will be unaffected.

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KitGuru Says: This was bound to happen eventually, but it is always a shame to see an old console store go down, especially when the replacement console doesn't include backwards compatibility. 

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