Topic: Is the eShop a Game Archive?

I just bought a 3DS for the new pokemon games coming out in October, and I noticed there's an eshop. So is it an archive system like Steam, or is it a one time purchase deal?

kinda both. if you buy a game and delete it, you can redownload it for free, but only on the same system you did first, not on another 3DS (unless you do a system transfer)

So could I potentially have two 3DS's on my one account, and purchase through it, but download on a different 3DS? Like my brother has a 3DS as well, but I have the money. Could I buy a game on my account and download it to his 3DS, or do I need two accounts?

No games that you buy on the eShop are tied to the system you bought them on. You would have to buy the game on your system and your brother would have to buy the game on his system.

@brandibug1991 No, your eshop account is tied to your 3DS and your 3DS alone, whatever you buy on the eshop can not be downloaded on someone elses for free, if your brother wants the same thing, he'll have to spend his own money.

Alright thanks ^^ Answers my questions.

Commas work wonders. Without it, it reads like you are saying the opposite of what you meant. I only mention it because this isn't the first time your punctuation (or lack thereof) is confusing in a post. It could have given the guy asking for help the wrong impression.

The games themselves are saved to the SD card, so you can use that to back them up.