3DS - Timeline
Monday20th Mar 2023
PSA You Only Have One Week To Purchase 3DS And Wii U eShop Games
Can we panic yet?
March 27th, 2023. Judgement Day. The day when Skynet will rain nuclear fire upon the earth and send a Terminator back in time to... Hang on. Sorry, wrong script. Two secs... March 27th, 2023. The day when the 3DS and Wii U eShops will shut down permanently, preventing users from purchasing new games and downloadable content. It's...
Sunday19th Mar 2023
Random YouTuber Spends Nearly $23K Buying Every 3DS & Wii U eShop Game
Jirard Khalil completes his preservation mission
The 3DS and Wii U eShop services are shutting down at the end of this month and that means you've only got so much time left to buy all of the digital games you possibly can on Nintendo's older storefronts. YouTuber, streamer and video game media personality Jirard "The Completionist" Khalil has taken...
Saturday18th Mar 2023
News Pokémon Game Boy Titles Dominate 3DS eShop Charts Ahead Of Service Closure
Get 'em while you can
We're now nearing the end of the month and that means we're getting closer to the end of the 3DS and Wii U eShop service. If you haven't got around to making any last-minute purchases just yet, and are wondering what's hot on the 3DS eShop right now, the weekly sales chart for North America should help you out. As you can see...
Thursday16th Mar 2023
Random The World's Largest DS Just Got A 3D Upgrade
And it even has a working Circle Pad
You might remember in July of last year, designer and all-around tech wiz BigRig Creates managed to build the world's largest working DS using a TV and McDonald's touchpad. Well, just as the DS gradually evolved into the 3DS, BigRig has managed to give his creation a dimension-adding upgrade. That's right, the...
Wednesday15th Mar 2023
Reminder Catch All The Pokémon Games On 3DS & Wii U Before The eShop Closure
Gotta purchase 'em all
The 3DS and Wii U eShop services are closing down at the end of this month on 27th March, and while all sorts of games and applications will no longer be available for purchase, one series in particular that's taking quite a hit is Pokémon. Serebii.net has put together a short social media reel to highlight what exactly will...
Friday10th Mar 2023
News Two 3DS Games Have Been Made Free To Download On 3DS eShop (Europe)
Kid Tripp and Digger Dan DX can be yours
Four Horses has made two of its 3DS eShop titles free to download in the run-up to the digital storefront's closure at the end of the month. Kid Tripp and Digger Dan DX are both currently free and will be free for the remainder of the eShop's life, Four Horses has revealed. (Thanks for the tip, Dogorilla!)...
News Capcom 3DS & Wii U Games Available For Just $2.99 In Final eShop Sale (US)
Get Phoenix Wright, Monster Hunter & more
The 3DS and Wii U eShops are shutting down at the end of this month, and ahead of this, lots of game developers have been slashing prices on their libraries across both platforms. Capcom is the latest to do this - with an absolutely massive sale currently taking place on Nintendo's slightly older digital...
Wednesday8th Mar 2023
News Shantae Goes Half Price In WayForward's 'Last Chance' 3DS And Wii U eShop Sale
Mighty Switch Force 1 & 2 also discounted
With the 3DS and Wii U eShops closing in less than a month, WayForward has joined a growing list of publishers discounting their games for one last sale before the end. There are a number of games across both platforms to go over here, including the likes of Shantae and the Pirate's Curse and Mighty Switch...
Sunday5th Mar 2023
Soapbox 3DS' Boundless Creativity Got Me, And Nintendo, Through Some Tough Times
A platform for change
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Andy McDonald celebrates and reminisces about a console that showcased Nintendo's off-the-wall creativity at its very best... With the 3DS’ days numbered as an active...
Saturday4th Mar 2023
News This Is What The Pokémon Bank 3DS Shut Down Update Looks Like
See one of the incoming changes
March marks the month of the 3DS eShop shutdown and as part of this, The Pokémon Company previously announced it would be making its Pokémon Bank service on Nintendo's handheld device entirely free. Serebii.net webmaster Joe Merrick has now highlighted one of the changes that will be made on the software side as...
Friday3rd Mar 2023
Update: Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 for Wii U taken offline
Update [Fri 3rd Mar, 2023 15:30 GMT]: Nintendo has announced that it has begun temporary emergency maintenance on Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U. While unconfirmed, it's heavily speculated that the maintenance - which at the time of writing has no time frame attached to it - is...
Thursday2nd Mar 2023
Talking Point Which Is Your Favourite 3DS Theme?
Main theme
As we continue our trip down memory lane before the 3DS (and Wii U) eShops close up for new purchases, firing up our old consoles recently has reminded us just what a bounty of gaming joy 3DS presents every time you crack open that clamshell. What a wonderful little console! (Check out our 'Countdown' series if you're looking for eShop...
News Atlus Cancels "Final" 3DS Game Sale Ahead Of eShop Closure
Sorry, Japan
The 3DS eShop is scheduled to shut down this month, and in response to this, publisher and developer Atlus (known for series like Persona and Shin Megami Tensei) was planning on hosting one "final" sale on the platform in Japan. Instead of going live today, yesterday the company announced it would no longer be happening. It apparently...
Monday27th Feb 2023
Reminder Today Is Your Last Chance To Get Fire Emblem Fates On 3DS eShop
Don't miss out
In one month, on March 27th, 2023, the 3DS and Wii U eShops will permanently cease new purchases on games and DLC. We're very sad. However, today (February 27th, 2023) actually marks your last opportunity to purchase Fire Emblem Fates, as Nintendo will be removing it from the eShop store on Tuesday 28th February, one month prior to...
Wednesday22nd Feb 2023
News 3DS Tactical Adventure 'Fragrant Story' Releasing Free DLC Expansion Before eShop Closure
Sniff this
Last year in April, a new 3DS 16-bit tactical RPG game known as Fragrant Story was released. It's one of the few physical releases on the handheld in recent years and is also likely to be one of the last. With the 3DS eShop closure on the horizon, the developer William Kage is now using the remaining time to pump out a few updates. The...
Thursday16th Feb 2023
News You'll Have One Year To Transfer Funds Once 3DS & Wii U eShops Close, Says Nintendo
Get that Nintendo ID linked!
Ahead of the 3DS and Wii U eShop closures next month, Nintendo of Europe has shared a reminder on Twitter on what you can do in the lead up and aftermath of the end of the services. Importantly, Nintendo has clarified that you'll have until March 2024 to merge 3DS and Wii U eShop funds with your Nintendo Account. In
Thursday2nd Feb 2023
PSA Don't Worry, 3DS System Transfers Will Still Be Possible Following eShop Closure
Well, that's something at least!
As you will all likely know by now (we hope), the 3DS and Wii U eShops will no longer allow users to purchase or download new games onto their systems come March 27th, 2023. Nintendo has been reasonably forthright regarding what will and won't be possible after this date, but one question that's been lingering in...
Thursday26th Jan 2023
Feature Best Japan-Exclusive 3DS Games - 13 Titles We Wish Had Come To The West
From strategy tributes to puzzle RPGs...
With the closure of the 3DS eShop fast approaching, it's got us feeling a little bit nostalgic here at Nintendo Life — particularly for games that we never got our hands on here in the West. It's a tale as old as time at this point. Many Japan-only games never get localised, and that's been the case for a...
Tuesday24th Jan 2023
Random Pocket Card Jockey Director Is 'Sad' About The 3DS eShop Closure
Aren't we all..?
As we all know by now (we hope), the 3DS and Wii U eShops will unfortunately be shutting down on March 27th, 2023. This of course means that in just a couple of months time, you'll no longer be able to purchase or download new games onto your 3DS or Wii U. Until that time, if your Nintendo Account is shared across your Switch, 3DS,...
Tuesday10th Jan 2023
Random Indie Dev Giving Away Free Game Codes Until Nintendo Closes Wii U & 3DS eShops
Both eShops will close this March
It's now officially 2023 and that means we're getting closer to the closure of the Wii U and 3DS eShops. The last part of the closure will take place on 27th March 2023 and after this you'll no longer be able to purchase in-game content, download demos, add funds or redeem download codes. In response to this, indie...
Tuesday3rd Jan 2023
News Game Freak's Secret Best Game Is No Longer 3DS Exclusive
Don't get your hopes up, though
At the start of December 2022, we reported that a trademark for 'Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!' had been filed by Game Freak. At the time, we weren't quite sure what this would be in reference to, but now we have our answer (thanks, VGC). We've got good news and bad news, folks. The good news is that the cult classic...
Video We Hereby Declare That 2023 Will Be The Year Of 3DS StreetPass
But we'll need your help
2023 is going to be a pretty big year for the Switch. It's only the start of January, but we already know that we're going to be playing the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Fire Emblem Engage, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, and Pikmin 4 within the next 12 months, and that's all while being fully...
Saturday24th Dec 2022
Full server shutdowns could be coming sooner than you think, too
Over the holidays we're republishing some choice features from the last 12 months. A mix of talking points, interviews, opinion pieces and more from NL staff and contributors, you'll find our usual blend of thoughtfulness, expertise, frivolity, retro nostalgia, and — of course —...
Tuesday20th Dec 2022
News Mario Kart 7 Gets Its First Update In Over A Decade
Update: New details about the changes surface
Update [Tue 20th Dec, 2022 03:45 GMT]: Dataminer OatmealDome has shed some light on last week's Mario Kart 7 update. It appears changes have been made to the game's netcode, and there's also been an update to stop Version 1.1 from being used with Version 1.2. 3DS homebrew developer and Mario Kart 7...
Thursday1st Dec 2022
News Game Freak Registers Trademark For Potential 'Pocket Card Jockey' Sequel
Or could it be a remake..?
Game Freak, the core developer behind the Pokémon franchise, released a much loved 3DS title back in 2013 called Pocket Card Jockey. Exclusive to Japan for three years, it eventually made its way to other regions in 2016 to positive reception. Now, it appears there may be a new game on the horizon, as a trademark for...
Wednesday23rd Nov 2022
Random Sounds Like Masahiro Sakurai Wants A Kid Icarus: Uprising Port As Much As Us
"It sure would be nice"
Masahiro Sakurai has put out another video through his 'Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games' YouTube channel, this time looking at the implementation of difficulty settings. Focusing primarily on the 3DS action title Kid Icarus: Uprising, Sakurai explains the concept of risk and reward with difficulty, going into the 'Fiend's...
Tuesday8th Nov 2022
Poll So, Animal Crossing: New Leaf Or New Horizons - Which Do You Like Best?
Don't Leaf me this way
Today marks exactly ten years since Animal Crossing: New Leaf was first released on 3DS. Outside Japan, we had to wait until June the following year to become mayor in our autostereoscopic 3D hamlets, although its Switch counterpart, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, would be the first game in the main series to get a...
Wednesday26th Oct 2022
News Nintendo's 3DS & Wii U Image Share Services Have Now Ended
"Thank you for using our service"
Last month, Nintendo revealed it would be discontinuing two more 3DS and Wii U features on 25th October 2022. It's now officially past this point in certain locations around the world, and this means the Image Share feature is no longer available on both of these devices. To remind everyone, Nintendo's Japanese...
Wednesday12th Oct 2022
News Bravely Default Developer Team Asano Asks Fans If They Want A New Entry
And how about some ports of the 3DS games?
As you might have already seen, the Bravely Default series is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. Yes, it's now been around for that long! During a special anniversary stream, developer Team Asano asked fans if they would like to see another entry in the series. Here's what was apparently said...
Sunday2nd Oct 2022
Poll Box Art Brawl: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
All-S.T.A.R Brawl
Happy Sunday, everyone; welcome to another edition of 'Box Art Brawl'! We've got another great one for you this week, but first let's take a look at the previous results. Last time, we featured the GameCube classic from Rare Ltd, Star Fox Adventures. Criminally underrated at the time of its release, the action-adventure title has...
