Topic: Transferring Data from WiiU or DS to Nintendo Switch

Hey I know this sounds like a stupid question and I have a idea of the answer but I haven't seen many people ask it. So I'm trading in my 3Ds so I can afford the Switch this time of year is the worst for a console release also I know that my 3Ds will end up been left sitting once I get the switch but I have purchased a lot of Retro games off the eStore so I'm worried that as soon as I trade my DS in all that money I spent is gone. I think a lot of other people will be doing the same really I see the DS dying as quick as the GBA did when they released the DS at first it seems to be a habit Nintendo have where they say its a new product along side of the old then suddenly the old product disappears without a trace.

I am keeping my WiiU and cant wait for the games value drop to the floor there are some jems that I can't bring my self to spend over €70 on 1 game. I know other people my have purchased games on the WiiU eStore and may loose out if they trading the WiiU console. do you think Nintendo will leave us high and dry like that ? I'm leaning to Yes

I really can't see any content that is on my 3DS or Wii U being able to transfer accross to the Switch due to the different architecture of the machines in question. Sony didn't do it form PS3 to PS4, so why will Nintendo?
We might get a chance to buy versions of virtual console games at a discount like we do from the Wii to the Wii U, but again that question has not been answered by Nintendo as of yet.

That's pretty much what will happen. You trade in your 3DS, you're surrendering your right to whatever you have downloaded.

The consoles aren't backwards compatible, and Nintendo aren't going to give everybody a refund for no longer wanting their old consoles. They're hardly leaving their customer base "high and dry" when you have already gotten what you have paid for. If you no longer want your console(s), then that is your prerogative. Your options are to trade in your old consoles and lose everything on them or to keep your old consoles for prosperity.

You will want to format your consoles before selling/trading them in so that the future owner of the hardware does not have access to your eShop balance. However, once you restore your consoles to factory settings and your eShop account removed from the hardware, you will no longer be able to redownload your old software, even if you change your mind and link your existing NNID to your 3DS or Wii U.

Honestly I'd keep the 3DS and trade in the Wii U.

Nintendo already said that the Switch is not backwards compatible.

You can't expect Nintendo to keep rolling games over from one conesole to the next. The cost, time and effort to do so wouldn't be worth it.
If you want to keep your old games. you need to keep the hardware. We had to do that from the NES all the way upto the GameCube.

Indeed. The only systems that allowed transfers were the 3DS and Wii U.

Keeping the 3DS makes more sense as many of Wii U's best titles are or will be ported to the Switch. Hell, I'd double dip on most of the Wii U's library for the added portability.

Hope DKC Tropical Freeze and Paper Mario Color Splash will be ported to Switch. Especially Paper Mario, that game will be extremely rare and costs hundreds of dollars in the future.

This is clearly a big topic, but I'll go out on a limb and say that Switch won't have a system transfer feature.

The Switch OS would need to have some form of native emulation to enable PowerPC software to run on ARM. This seems highly unlikely to occur because it introduces stability issues; plus the emulation may not have been high on their priority list, which is understandable. You will recall that Virtual Console software titles for Wii/Wii U normally begin at around 15mb for a NES game, and will rise for each console generation. This is because the bulk of that download is actually the emulator itself - each game has it's own 'container' to ensure maximum compatibility with the system. This means that the Wii/Wii U is then simply running software-within-software.

GameCube, Wii and Wii U have all used PowerPC, but Nintendo had to implement a separate 'Wii' partition to the storage on the Wii U, just to guarantee that all software and features of that system would be compatible. This wasn't at all convenient, and since it would be impossible to run the Wii U OS on Switch from a partition (due to the dual screen features and different CPU architecture), the chances of built-in emulation are almost zero.

What's more, even if eShop titles were transferred directly from a Wii U to Switch, they would be inoperable without that special 'container', which Nintendo develops uniquely for each software title.

So from a logistical and financial standpoint, the short answer is that we will have to wait until those Wii U titles appear on the Switch eShop, emulated. Reggie has already confirmed that past purchases are now linked to Nintendo Accounts, so I would hazard a guess that the titles you've already purchased will either be heavily discounted, be free of charge, or replaced by 'Deluxe' editions at full price...

If you own physical copies and plan on getting Switch sooner rather than later, I'd advise selling them ASAP if you want to get the most money for them.