Nintendo Removing Credit Card Support From 3DS And Wii U eShop In Europe

so uh... if we want to buy something, what do we use? Nintendo points cards? Are they even still a thing? And if they are, won't they become more and more scarce?

@Incognito_D It's the exact same eShop gift cards that work for the Switch. They won't dissapear until after they decide to create another kind of eShop after the Switch dies.

As long as we can buy games directly from the Nintendo webpage with creditcards it doesnt really matter

@Incognito_D eshop cards are still widely used with Switch too, so it’ll just be a bit harder. It’s unfortunate, but goes to show they aren’t selling much on those eshops right now.

If your accounts are all linked-couldn’t you add funds on switch with a credit card and use them on 3ds and WiiU too?

nintendo: please stop pirating our games!!!!!

also nintendo:

And so it begins....

I'll be keeping an eye out to see if NoA follows suit soon.

My 3DS games are 99.99 % physical so i won't worry at all about credit card since i redeem the fund by eshop voucher code. 😏

This does NOT appear to be the case in the Americas right now: https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1286/p/994/c/536

It does appear to be caused by changes in EC banking/credit card regulations.

September? That’s only 5 sleeps away! That’s terrible advance warning! Can we still use cards on the website? What about PayPal? Can we still use cards if the funds are being spent immediately, not stored for future use?

Dang. That's gonna be a big roadblock to purchasing digital games and it's really going to hurt sales. No way around it. Sorry y'all.

Oh wait, I’ve probably already bought anything worth getting on either shop...

@mike_intv I'm 100% sure it's because of PSD2 regulation that comes in force in september. As usual nintendo is too lazy to support properly old devices and prefers to cut functionalities

Really Nintendo (@#&(&@#&*@&!!!

Sorry but if they said they do this in a month or 3 or maybe even next year I would be fine with that, but this is very late announcement and it sucks because a lot of times I do small purchases and those €15 and €25 cards over here are annoying it you want something that is let's say €15.99

Pff this sucks a lot.

@Cero I've heard people warning for this, kind of stupid Nintendo solved it this way.

It's stupid because on the Vita (aka that "dead" system in Sony their eyes) I will still be able to purchase stuff with PSN Cards, PayPal, Creditcard and on their desktop site there are even few extra options (yes Nintendo it's 2019, we still use browsers sometimes)

Meanwhile if this was the Switch the issue would be less because there is a PayPal option on that, but on the Wii U and the 3DS it was eshop cards and creditcard only.

@ferryb001 from what I just heard on few Discord groups that won't be a option for those 2 systems, only the option for adding funds (€15 or more) on those 2.

Switch is a different story.

But there is no confimation yet for that.

The 3DS lives!

@Bobb @Incognito_D @ferryb001 @ARPK @gaga64 I don't even have a credit card, most people don't in my country. And I checked on the site, you can use eShop cards and use paypal to put currency on your account.

The 3DS should've been phased out already. The Switch Lite is coming next month, and although everyone still owns a 3DS and/or a Switch, stores are carrying less 3DS games, prices on those are at $29.99-$35.99. Mainly the 3DS still lives, but for how long?

Heck I don't even use my credit card for this.

I wonder what the reasoning is. Do those servers really cost them that much money to maintain?

Sales must have really fallen off a cliff for them to no longer be interested in making easy money.

This is kind of a surprise. Nintendo just phased out adding Wii Points via credit card a year or so ago, and that was a few months before closing the Wii Shop Channel altogether. I doubt Nintendo plans to close either the Wii U eShop or the 3DS eShop anytime soon.

Couple thoughts: is this something we should expect to happen worldwide (doubtful), and is this a permanent change or something that could be updated after some time (hopeful, but doubtful)?

The link they give as if it was to an instruction page isn't: it brings you to the already selectable methods, just one of them will disappear soon. For me it's a problem, because I don't always use eShop cards to add funds. I don't know why they did it, but it's a clear sign that Nintendo didn't only withdraw support of Wii U and 3DS, but they're going to close their eShop departments sooner than later. After all, browsing 3DS and Wii U games digital offers is harder than ever these days.

Now this is a bummer. Thankfully credit cards still work for the webstore (although if you can't buy a game right there, as in the case of Risky's Revenge, you'll have to dish out a minimum of 750 rubles for the eShop wallet), but browsing it feels even more awkward at times than 3DS eShop itself. Guess it's gonna be a back-and-forth between the console and the phone now.

Hopefully this doesn't escalate further within 3DS eShop's lifetime because Nintendo paycards decidedly don't exist in Belarus and I don't recall seeing them even on Russian web markets. My wishlist on the platform remains sizeable and I'd prefer not to have it at the mercy of chance to dig out a Russian paycard from the depths of G2A or the likes.

It’s just too hot. Too hot

Not sure I understand this. Can I still buy a game in my browser and pay with my credit card?

Another sign of 3DS lifespan coming to an end.

Waiting to buy the 3ds version of shakedown Hawaii. Just think the game will be better on a smaller handheld, with a proper D-pad. Come on Nintendo, VBlank has been waiting for you to add it for some time and now they will lose sales due to the new inconvenience of adding funds.

Can't we use PayPal with a Credit Card like we can on Switch? Or did they only add that feature with the Switch?

Hahaha, good joke!

At least standard eShop gift cards you can get at any store will still work to top up 3DS and Wii U eShop cards. That said I feel like the Wii Shop on the original Wii had a longer stay of execution than what the 3DS and Wii U have been given. I wonder if this is the preamble to a quick termination of all eShop functionality for the two systems sooner rather than later?

Is it just credit cards or is it affecting debit cards aswell ?. People seem to just merge both together but they’re two different types of cards.

So the EU is to blame?? Oh the shame... Boris should have put this on his Bus.

Amazing what trouble the EU gets blamed for...

Be better when we are out.

We won’t have food or drink or drugs but we’ll be able to pay for 3ds games with CC

Wow sorry to hear this. It would be smart of Nintendo to do a massive 3DS eshop sale for about a week or two before support ends. I would definitely purchase a lot.

I see no "required only" option.

Now that’s a good reason to embrace piracy if you didn’t already.

@Kanbei eShop support isnt ending, you just can't use a credit card on your 3DS/Wii U anymore, you have to do it on a webpage or buy a top up card.

The games are safe.............for now.

@JudaiMasters Switch only

@LethalX08 eshop doesn't support debit cards, Wii U and 3DS support credit card and eshop card, the Switch does that + PayPal.

This seems to be to do with the new EU secure payment regulations where you ha e to authenticate online payments using your phone. Guess whatever payment code the 3DS and Wii U eshops use is not compatible with the new standard.

@Hinade I can't speak to the spending habits of your specific country, especially not knowing where you're from. All I can say is that not having the option to make quick and easy purchases directly from a digital device, even on one that's dead and another that's on its way out, is inconvenient. The more hoops a person has to jump through to buy something, the more likely it is they'll change their mind along the way. It's likely a measured move on Nintendo of Europe's part, it's just unfortunate nonetheless.

@Rayquaza2510 I've only ever used a debit card on my 3DS/Wii U/Switch though, so how can this be the case?

so they remove cc usage, then giftcatds, then you can't buy anything, then you can't download anything you ... "own" ... nice move, just like what they did with the wii.

...coz n can get away with anything, their customers don't blame them but buy next system with next mario instead terrible practice.

Seems crazy soon. I mean they are still pushing the 2DS line.

I hope that doesn't come to North America for at least another year. I just bought a 3DS since I missed out on a lot of the later games. I'm really enjoying playing through Pokemon Crystal and the GBC Zelda games. That being said, I have purchased most of what I want to, I'll just have to make sure to do so before they cancel credit card payments....

@Stocksy I'm here to disagree with you on the Brexit debate - shame you had to bring up your opinions on an article about video game payment. Stay on topic.

I’m on holiday until September so this is really last minute news.

Seems like this could be a sign of the beginning of the end of the 3DS and Wii U support. I think the eShop on both consoles will still be up for a couple more years for sure, but still, start getting your downloads in now!

Annoying and stupid...my country doesn't even sell eShop cards. I've ALWAYS been paying via my debit card. I agree, it does look like the 3DS and the Wii U are being axed...

What I don't understand is, will I be able to buy games through a PC by using my card?

@CurryPowderKeg79 I don't know what Raise is but buying gift card codes off ebay sounds like one of the easiest scams there is.
For both that you don't know they didn't redeem the code first and the second...

I've seen about people who buy gift cards off untrustworthy websites. And that's a big no. How it works is that stores often give customers gift cards as payment for returns. They will write the customer's name on the card so it is only valid for that customer. But then some people sell their cards to these shady websites. Someone else buys it, website gets their money so they don't care what happens after, buy tries to redeem the card and are refused at the store because they are not the original customer the card was given to. Buyer is out the money.

Oh, Nintendo...
If this is based on new EU regulations then I'd hope it's just temporary, but doubt they'd rework stuff now when the 3DS/WiiU are old news.

If it is something like the 3DS/WiiU pay workflow fundamentally doesn't support the new regs, I wonder what'll happen if you try to use a credit/debit card to add credit to a non-EU 3DS.
(Using a UK credit card on a JP 3DS was (until now) an easy way of adding JP credit to the Switch.)

@Mach_Rider Read:

2. Visit https://ec.nintendo.com/my/balance_add, select the payment method you would like to use and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the process.
3. Once you have added funds to your NNID this way, you can use them both on the Nintendo website and directly within Nintendo eShop on your system.

On the Nintendo website you can buy games directly and add the amount required by credit card (it will remain on the website and the Switch), PayPal OR prepaid card.
On the 3DS the ability to use credit cards is will be removed because using a credit card in Europe requires additional confirmation, which the 3DS / Wii U doesn't support.

Reading is hard isn't it?.

Ugh. The 3DS is freshly retired. Well, I'd better finish getting the eshop purchases we want. Hopefully gift cards are still good?

@sanderev I don't know about you, but no, reading isn't hard for people with two Master's degrees. So you can take your sarcasm somewhere else, thank you.

The Nintendo site, unlike the eShop, doesn't take all types of debit cards. I've had a Visa Electron I've used on the eShop for years being rejected at least twice by the Nintendo website. Same thing has happened to a Mastercard as well. Out of 3 cards I've tried, only one was accepted the website system and it's not the one I prefer using for online purchases.

@arekdougy read up numbnuts someone blamed the EU further up...

But what are we going to spend our platinum points on if we can't buy games with a small discount on an old system?

@Incognito_D PayPal.

@Stocksy I did not mean to necessarily blame the EU. I said these appear to be Nintendo's reaction to new EU regulations.

Given the status of these systems, it probably did not make sense for Nintendo to upgrade the systems to accept credit cards directly and meet the new payment safeguard regulations. There are still ways to purchase games. It just the payment options are more limited.

@Incognito_D
I live in the Netherlands, and practically no one uses a creditcards here. (They force you to reserve concert tickets and during travel, but that's about it.)

As long as we get plenty of warning when the close down the 3DS and Wii U eShops I'll be fine. Still have lots of games I want to buy for virtual console.

The year of Surprise mechanics!

@Mach_Rider over here none of my debit cards seem to work with, but I don't remember any bank offering Visa Electron over here only Maestro which does not work (and I'm not the only one in my country with that issue)

@JMR_Alden oh? Over here none of the debit cards work with it. Strange...

You guys need to really watch your edit, you put the 3DS when instead you meant just Wii U. The 3DS is still flying off shelves, and has no successor, remember?

They really should add paypal payments. Not everyone has a credit card. Actually they are missing more money this way. I can't be bothered to get a gift card either anymore

Glad I have my Wii U hacked. The best retro console ever created!

@Incognito_D Did you read the title? It's for Wii U and 3DS. The Wii Shop Channel shut down a while ago. Why would point cards be a thing? They're pretty much extinct right now

@Incognito_D yes and no.

@b3611549 he didn't mean Wii points card but the Wii u eShop cards.

It seems as though the Switch Lite has strong competition. And that is the 3ds. Nintendo is in competition with its self, aiming both handhelds at the same market.

It wants punters to buy the Switch Lite over the 3ds, but it still wants 3ds sales. If those gamers that like the 3ds and don't want the Switch get the feeling that the 3ds had come to the end of the road, they will go without a new handheld.

Nintendo is chipping away the at benefits of the 3ds without saying it's given up on it.

Something I think Nintendo will come to regret. The ds is in competition with smartphones: size, portability and better games, some in 3d which smartphones could not master. The Switch Lite is to big to rival smartphones, it is in competition with its big brother.

This isn't a good sign for the future of these platforms

@Stocksy Well, the person you've mentioned is somewhat refuting that - that's the way you decided to interpret their comment. Plus you're being rude! Have a nice day!

At least kids won't be stealing their parents credit cards.

Can I just add the funds through the switch eshop with the same profile?

@BarefootBowser if people actually read past the headline, it would totally be a non-story.

@ARPK this changes nothing. you can still use your credit card on the website or buy an eshop card from any store on the planet. typing your credit card info with a 3ds stylus was incredibly awkward.

@Alucard83 ive been using paypal on the eshop for like 7 years now.

Crap. I was using my japanese 3ds to add funds to my japanese nintendo account to buy switch japanese games. Now I will have to create a japanese paypal account....

@KingMike ah, i see you've rarely shopped before.
Bestbuy has an ebay store, often 20% off in-store price. You can buy all your eshop cards there for a decent discount. I've paid full price for an eshop card maaaaybe 2% of the time

amazon currently gives you a $1 digital gift card every time you pick 5 day super save shipping. It's good on kindle books, movie rentals, and mp3 downloads.
In 2017-2018, the $1 free credits were good for eshop and psn cards as well.

I think they stopped offering the promotion when people like me ordered 400 ten-cent items, got the $1 refund, and immediately bought 8 $50 eshop cards.

Oops

All these people talking about using your online profile for purchases like it is so obvious seem to forget how that was a completely optional feature with the 3DS and Wii U.

@russellohh I thought saying not buying cards online except from reputable sites would imply when I say ebay I mean "random ebay users" as we typically think of when buying stuff on ebay.
Don't usually speak of going to ebay as going to buy from the account of a well-known retailer that has their own site.

It's way too soon to start taking down the 3DS and Wii U eshop support. The Wii eshop only just went down, like, one year ago and that was a much older system.

I hope this doesn't happen to America. I have a ton of DS games I want to buy on Wii U. I just keep putting it off.

This must mean the Switch Lite is the new 3ds. This would be a kicker If Nintendo never puts anything but NES games on the Online Service for the Switch.

@graysoncharles This seems like an obvious first step to me. Instead of just pulling the plug they will lead into it.

@russellohh Yeah, but you can just save a credit card to your eShop account so you don't have to input the info every time.

Dear 3DS,3DS XL,NEW 3DS XL,NEW 2DS XL,

I've always been in love with you (always with you)
I guess you've always known it's true (you know it's true)
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye

Say good-bye (bye bye), say good-bye

eShop virtual console stuff is all I'd want. I'm not sure if this will happen in North America but I'm guessing yes. I have all the retail games I want digitally for those platforms but I may consider going back and buying some N64 games for my Wii U. They run pretty well on that platform and it's the only way to buy those games now with the Wii shop closed. Not sure an N64 mini is coming because of the controllers.

@ARPK you can save it, but you might be low on funds, or it expired, or another card now has better rewards. deleting and adding a new card was incredibly slow

@NTELLIGENTMAN good thing you can still use credit cards on nintendo.com, bestbuy, amazon, and 200 other websites to buy eshop games

Proof again that Nintendo still fully supports 3DS.

Nintendo are probably running out of storage. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole Nintendo network was being run by an old PC.

They stopped mine three years ago after hey accidentally blocked my wiiu account and then never ever got around to fixing it.

@JayJ can you help me bro all my games on my 3ds were downloaded without a nintendo id account as like you said its optional. After 1st sep if i want games will i be forced to set up an account to purchase the games i want via eshop cards and what will happen with the downloaded ones on my memory card? Will they still be accessible?

@b3611549 yes, I did read the title - I still play my Wii U (don't have a Switch)

Meh, never really buy anything from eShop, but if I do I have a Debit card linked to my account anyways, so no problem for me.

Wait what!?!?!! No! I still planned on buying some Virtual console games and I’m away until after September starts!! What the heck Nintendo?!?!? You can’t just do this with no real warning!!

@russellohh That's been kind of a non-issue for me, so chalk it up to a difference in philosophies I guess. I think you've found an approach that saves you money and spares you tedium, and you're definitely right that none of this means the death of the 3DS eShop. My guess is that NoE balanced the cost of updating a dying system for changing times against the money flowing in from it and decided it wasn't worth the hassle. It's inconvenient for less technologically savvy folks, but Nintendo has rarely chosen convenience in the first place.

"We're still seeing strong demand for 3DS..."

I guess you can still top up your balance using credit / debit cards on the Switch and then buy stuff on the Wii U / 3DS as your account balance will be the same across the board?

Nintendo's cunning plan at play here is to coax stubborn users who won't upgrade their 3DS and Wii Us to grab a Switch so that their $0.58 of eShop credit doesn't go to waste.

This is bad especially for new buyers, credit cards are so convenient!

Everyone make sure to grab those Phoenix Wright Digital Only 3DS games now if you ever plan on playing them.

@Incognito_D you can still add money via credit card on the website, just not from 3DS and Wii U

If this was down to an EU law directive, why wouldn’t it apply to Switch?

@Tonyo Yeah this is why I was critical of everyone trying to act like this was nothing and that everyone has an online account setup, I am sure there is no shortage of people in your position. What I would recommend is getting eshop codes odd Amazon, you can just stock your consoles that way and you don't need to have an online account setup on your consoles to do that. If you really need or want to get an online account I am pretty sure you can link your console and it's purchases to an online account but I am no expert on that.

@arty77 You can download games you own on Wii.

@Dirty0814 Yeah, I know what he meant, but he said "points cards".

@Rayquaza2510 I read that in the UK Visa and one other option can be used, but all other debit cards can't. Hopefully it stays that way next month

@Cero so what is this new regulation and how will it affect people?

Add cryptocurrency support!

@Gerald
you are right, you can still pay by credit cards on nintendo switch eshop in Europe, how is it possible, if new EU "psd2" legislation was the reason to forbid CC payments on wiiu and 3DS ? Does PSD2 not apply to switch?

People are reading way too much in to this change.

First off, they aren't dropping support for the platforms.

Secondly, note that this is ONLY in Europe. This all has to do with the law passed in Europe that requires multi party validation for credit card purchases over the Internet. The Switch eshop already has this built in.

They will add credit card support back as soon as they make an update for the platforms to meet the new restrictions.

Calm down. The sky is not falling. sheesh

@Rayquaza2510 They do allow debit card (atleast in the UK). It’s how i’ve been buying both 3DS eshop games for the past 7 or so years since eshop cards are a pain in the butt to find.

@LethalX08 We never got that option sadly.

It's taken affect here just now. Although it's not much of an issue since it says "To use a credit card for payment visit: (their eshop website)" instead of the usual option. I really don't see the problem since as long as you have your phone or laptop to buy a game on their site, it really isn't an issue.

Edit: Just noticed a lot of dsiware games are unavailable through the eshop site though so you WILL need to buy a eshop voucher for that sadly.

@DannyBoi there will be stronger controls on the use of credit cards and for example banks will ask the user some more details to ensure that the card is not misused