The Nintendo DSi Shop Shuts Down Next Year

So many clocks.....

In all honesty, I forgot this was a thing.

Kinda surprised it's taken so long, and that games still get released for it occasionally. No tears from me, never liked it anyway.

Is there any way Nintendo could deal off to a third party company to run the servers? I know someone tried to do that with the original xbox live.

The beauty of digital only games: collecting has a time limit. Time to buy a bunch of points and try to fill out the catalog...

@WireWare Your avatar is almost cuter than mine!

It was still going? I assumed it was closed then they stopped online multiplayer for most DS games.

Man I feel a little sad, DSiWare was what separated it from the DS family. It'll just be a regular DS when they shut it down.

if dsiware purchases award my nintendo points, i'm raiding it. any word on what happens with unused dsiware/wiiware points?

Oh, I never bought a DSi, but, some games of DSiware I wanted to play them...; yes, "almost" all are for 3DS, but some not, and just, one game I no longer able to get it... oh well...

Eshops shutting down is another disadvantage of the digital
I am voting for physical!

@SakuraHaruka Ha, I didn't know that! What games didn't make it to the 3DS shop?

Tis a shame, I remember getting a bunch of DSi ware games, liked the store theme as swell, as long as you can still buy DSi ware games on the eshop it should be fine.

Really dunno what my top 3 DSi ware games are, there was the 4 swords, Dracula's undead awakening, undead storm, birds and beans, Kung Fu Dragon, Cave story, AiRace, Anonymous Notes, the list goes on!, shame that there was a handful of games that didn't make it to the 3DS, so they are exclusive to the DSi.

Respect to Nintendo for keeping it running 5 years after the launch of its successor (6 by the time it closes). I skipped the ds as the games didn't grab me like the 3ds did so don't know what the online titles were like. Agree with the comments above though, physical is the way to go if you want your games to last, or any other media for that matter.

There are some actually good games on DSiWare: Paper Plane, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Plants vs. Zombies and Metal Torrent to name some of them.

That said, eShop is so much better than DSiWare, so I'm not sad or disappointed by the closure of DSiWare.

The points were as rare to find in shops as finding a shiny 6 IV Ditto in the tall grass. Whenever you found the card, hiden behind some obscure PSP games, you grabbed it immediately, regardless how much it costed. Not sure if I have few spare points on my DSi but I had some RPGs in mind to purchase. But as long as they are on 3DS's eshop I'm all fine.
The downside of having DSiWare on 3DS eshop only is that, that not all of the apps are there and some cannot be re-downloaded, if I decide to remove them from the system. The limited memory room on 3DS for DSiware is sometimes painful but thankfuly we can store the games on SD cards.

That would mean Flipnote Studio can't be downloaded anyMOAR........

^He knows the FEELS MAN! : P

Also, the DSi shop was one of the first online service where I downloaded games, sometimes I didn't buy any games, I just listened to that SWELL shop music, and browse through the games while on my (now deceased) trampoline. I remember at one point, wanting to rev up games for the DSi shop, did that ever happen? LOL, NOPE! But with the 3DS eshop, that took over and YEEah. It's understandable and somehow a miracle that the service lasted until dooms day. DSi shop, you have a special place in my heart, on the day U rest for good, is a day this kangaroo becomes taller in life, it just happens maaaaan, but we all must move on.

.......With that being said, download games that're DSi shop only before it's t0o0o0o0o0o late......if U want, IDK =w=

So... what? No more GG Series?

The day the wii shop channel shuts down i die

They better rerelease the ace attorney games on wii u vc from wii ds or both then /:

This is why I don't buy digital download games. Eventually, once a system is a couple generations old and the company running the system's servers is no longer making a profit off it, the servers will shut down and your ability to reacquire the games you bought should something bad happen to your system or it's SD card disappears. Of course, this is the perspective of a retro game collector who likes playing 20+ year old games and I'm sure there's a lot of people who simply wouldn't care that they might not be able to play the games they downloaded today in 20 years time. For me though it's physical media or nothing.

It really brought us some great games.
My 3 favorite would be Reflect Missile (Brilliant!), Dark Void Zero and AlphaBounce.

I wonder if the DSi library will be part of the 2000+ games that will be in the new store later today?

Does anyone have a shortlist of the games we'll be losing forever when it's gone?

They're not getting rid of the DSi section on the eShop, right?

@Moon A list of games that's only on DSi and can't be played on a 3DS:

Asphalt IV
Flipnote Studio
Let's Golf
Nintendo DSi Browser
Oregon Trail
Real Soccer 2009
Real Soccer 2010
SUDOKU MASTER
SUDOKU SENSEI
Sudoku Student

So these are pretty much the goners if DSi ware games are still on the eshop.

@Undead_terror Hmm the Oregon Trail...

Might be interested in that one.

Has any statement given why they can´t run on the 3DS?

I've never had a DSi, so as long as the games are still available on 3DS eShop (there are some I'd still like to play) then I'm not too bothered about this.

@Braok Knowing Capcom, they won't pass up an opportunity to make more sales on older games if it means they can wait a little longer to make something new. Not that I mind of course; I'm still waiting for a 3DS port of Mega Man 9 and 10.

There were some great games on the DSi shop.

The best of the best:
Trajectile - This game is amazing. Must have. Iirc it's called reflect shot in EU.
Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Awesome Metroidvania
Dark Void Zero - A really great NES throwback title.
G.G. Series: Ninja Karakuri Den: It's simple but awesome.

Really good:
Spotto! - Simple but i really enjoyed it.
Bird & Beans - Simple arcade style score chaser. Very fun.
Army Defender - It's simple but really fun. Not as g
Go! Go! Kokopolo - Very fast paced. Iirc no longer available.
Starship Defense - A fun tower defense game, gets hard to ace.
Mighty Flip Champs - Haven't got that far into it but it's a neat concept and the Mighty series has been good to me.
Zelda:4 Swords - Nothing special as a single player game but it's still Zelda.
Abyss - Simple game i got for cheap on the Wii U. It's pretty fun.

Some i've got and really need to play since they seem to be quite promising:

Zenonia - Zelda clone that seems to be well done.
Snapdots - Looks like fun puzzle game, one day i'll pick it up.
Maestro! Green Grove - Looks like a really good rhythm game.

@Undead_terror

Do you or anyone else know if any of them are good?

@Gridatttack The camera functionality is my guess for at least The Oregon Trail. Maybe for some of the other games as well.

@Kevlar44 Trajectile was named Reflect Missile in Europe. And I agree, it's such a great little game! Highly recommended.

Good night, sweet DSi Shop prince. I had some great memories with ye! Including that one Castlevania clone that was a surprising quick fix. And I'll always cherish Brian Blessed as the voice of Zeus in that one pinball game.

Some people apparently didn't understand that the games are still all available through the 3DS eShop...

ctrl+f no Aura Aura Climber

Ya'll need better taste. Pretty much the only good thing on the shop other than the WayForward games, only for 2 bucks too.

@Simbabbad : There are some games that are only available in the DSi Shop.

There aren't too many of them, but one that does spring to mind is a gem titled Date or Ditch.

I've only ever heard people call the DSi Shop a huge, flaming pile of garbage. I wish they wouldn't say that all the time.

This is bad. If the Wii Shop Channel gets similarly affected, then A LOT of titles will be lost.

Really sad, this is the issue with having games digital only, what happens to the history of these games? How can they be archived and played in the future? Pretty scary and sad. I really hope that the 3DS eShop's DSi Ware shop isn't also closing down.

DSi-shop is also home of a great Rayman Port it works fine on the 3DS an is a great bright action platformer with awesome music.
For those who haven't played the 1st Rayman or want it in their pockets, check it out.

If this means that, without Nintendo Points or whatever faff, we can see price adjustments and/or sales down the line, count my breath baited. Shantae: RR FOR $13 USD when I picked it up on mobile for a pittance (or free) is a shame. Part of why I've yet to nab the only DSiWare-exclusive Mighty game, Milky Way.

I could never beat the DSi version of Rayman because of its zoom-in. I have to admit I bought lots of crappy DSi games because they were highly recommended here in Nintendo Life reviews.

One year notification is welcomed. From what I can gather this uses the same server as the Wii Shop Channel so a bit baffled as to why the plug is being pulled now when it should be pulled when you're pulling the plug on that too.

While its capacity and usage is minimal these days I'm not too happy to see it go, especially as there are a few titles that are only found there. It serves as a reminder that archival will continue to fall to unauthorised and unofficial sources.

@BaffleBlend Since the Wii Shop channel and has not been absorbed intro the eShop like it has mostly happened to the DSi Shop it is safe for the Wii U life at least but I do question the long term.

@OorWullie Well...yes, as nearly all of the DSi Shops content is on the 3DS eShop already and there was a reasonable period of times when Mario vs. DK march on the minis was in the top 20 all time best sellers.

Will NL be doing list of amazing top 10 undiscovered gems for the DSi anytime soon?

I'm sure there has to be a lot of them.

I still regret never being able to get Looksley's Lineup, the first "3D" game on a Nintendo handheld when it didn't even have a 3D screen yet.

It made clever use of the camera and seemed like a fun puzzler, but I never found it in the European shop.

Here's a clip:

I prefer playing DSi games on a DSi because it makes use of the entire screen. So I'm a little sad that I'll only be able to download them on my 3DS in the future.

Well better re-download Shantae: Risky's Revenge again before it disappear for good but seriously, instead of them shutting it down why not just merge it with the 3DS eShop.

https://youtu.be/pLnPTkBqiFY?t=16s

...seriously, I expected something of this calibre to happen to (regular) Flipnote Studio, but THE WHOLE SHOP???
...I would better buy all the DSi games I want to buy really soon.

Meh, most of the DSiWare games were junk, anyway. Still, it's always a tad sentimental to see an era end. There were some gems in there, though. Dark Void Zero was one of those gems. I remember there was an iOS port of it (it's been removed from the App Store for a while now, if I remember correctly). But I always wondered how anyone could possibly play that game on a touchscreen and why the devs even tried in the first place... That game requires the precision type of gameplay where you place Mario's pinky toe half a pixel over the chasm to get enough of a running start to clear a huge gap. And you're supposed to do that on a touchscreen?? Lol!

Well, the DS may have sold so many units in its lifetime, but only a small percentage of that was DSi models, combined with kids or those not aware you can download games on it, the quality of titles on the service, the very slow loading store, points costing more to buy (£7 on Wii, £9 on DSi for 1000 points) as well as having to buy them in batches of 1000, and the fact you get a much better experience buying the games off of the 3DS eShop, I don't think Nintendo has much reason keeping it open if sales are not paying the server costs.

I'm hopeful in thinking the Wii Shop will stick around as that also sold hundreds of millions of consoles but the difference being the Shop has been there since day one and given how cheap you can pick up a Wii these days, there's still a userbase out there still buying VC and Wiiware titles out there (Bar the small Wii Mini crowd). I guess its a matter of how long the Shop will still make money as well as how long all those 3rd party deals/rights/licenses have till they expire or the companies want their games off the service for whatever reason. And not forgetting of course you can access the Wii Shop on Wii U too.

A shame to see it go but it never lived up to its bigger Wii Shop brother and was more the stepping stone to what the 3DS eShop could be but much better. If anything, I think Nintendo should price cut as many if not all of the games on the service to something like 100 points to create a mad buying rush for those interested before the shop is gone as a closing down sale. I believe the PSP Store in Japan did something as crazy before it shut down for good so earning a quick few thousand bucks can't hurt Nintendo.

This really saddens me seeing the DSi Shop shutting down. A lot of good memories with it, getting all kinds of games.

@Gridatttack Dunno, but a few of those games are from Gameloft so maybe they had a reason

@Kevlar44 I'd say that Asphalt, Oregon trail, flipnote would be the best of the bunch.

Following the PSP PSN Store access closure huh? Though at least with the PSP you can buy games from your PC, mobile device, Vita, or PS3 and then download to your PSP via the Download List.
Anyone who still has a DSi for whatever reason (such as collecting, like me) is 100% screwed.

@TheRealThanos Looksley's Line Up is it was renamed Tales in a Box: Hidden shapes in perspective! in Europe. Hope that helps.

FML

I own 2 NDSi. (ones an XL!)

I better make sure they got nomore DSi pts on them

The vast majority of DSiWare titles are already available on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS, but I think some people are gonna miss those very few apps that didn't make it yet. Additionally, the people who still use the Nintendo DSi (XL) console and haven't upgraded yet to the next generation for some reason are gonna lose out by then. I knew a few of those people!

Losing the original Nintendo DSi Shop means losing out on the very few apps that featured fun stuff even the Nintendo 3DS family actually lacks!

I doubt Nintendo may plan to close the Wii Shop Channel anytime soon, as it is still functional on Wii U consoles, and WiiWare games are still stuck to it for the time being. Not to mention the much bigger library of older Wii Virtual Console titles is also tied to the Wii Shop Channel.

@Starwolf_UK Thanks! I'll look into that right away.

Noooooo! So many games I never collected!

I know this is piracy talk in a way, but I feel it needs to be asked with the possibility of these games going away: can DSi shop games be played with a flashcart, or in some other non-legitimate way on the original hardware?

@LemonSlice Probably. You would have to find some online and place them on your SD card, since that is where the eShop puts them as well, but I have no idea if and how that works. I have seen some downloads offered in the past, though but I never tried them.

@LemonSlice No, DSi Ware games are currently not able to be emulated or ran via Flash Cart on a DSi. You can get a Flash Cart that plays 3DS eshop games, but i`m not sure if that includes DSi Ware and i know it doesn`t include GBA VC.

@TheRealThanos @Kevlar44 Thanks for that information.

That's sad, I loved DSiWare. It was the reason I joined this site, actually.

Oh well, at least it's only the DSi shop, I guess. I'll still be able to play the games themselves.

@Meowpheel Same, I remember looking into the Clay fighter that was suppose to come to DSi ware, found this site!

For those looking for some good dsi ware games I would recommend Photo Dojo and Aura aura climber, they are both really good fun!

@Undead_terror oh I remember that. I wonder what happened to it.

@Meowpheel Interplay went bankrupt.

@Undead_terror oh

@Undead_terror Interplay gave the rights to Gameloft and Gameloft just kinda forgot about it. I'm just glad that they remake Earthworm Jim before they completely end support for all of Interplay's IP.

There are some DSi games that I would like to buy and play. For example Wayforward's couple of Mighty series games. Also Dark Void Zero was one interesting.

I haven't bought those since DSi is so restricted that the games are hardware locked to one console and can't even be transferred apparently to another console if I would want to. Also there are no discounts in the DSi shop and the games are a bit over priced. I hope for a 3DS re-release version for better integration.

Flipnote ;-;

Some fun titles I picked up from the service but I won't miss it too much.

I'm a bit late to the party, but I feel that I should comment. Say what you will about the DSi and the DSi Shop, but I doubt I'd be the Nintendo fan (or HandheldGuru) that am today, with out that little handheld. I remember seeing it announced back in October or so of 2008, and I was hooked. My DS Lite...was...well, pretty abused by my younger self. Gameboy Advance SP, the DS Lite was not!
I set aside money from my birthday and Christmas. The DSi became the first video game console I bought with my own money, and you never forget the first handheld you buy with your own money. Hell...we had to drive all over town to find one (this was about a week after the launch in April 2009)
Now, lets bring it back to the DSiShop, I quickly feel in love with the elevator music and weekly updates. I was missing something though and that was a place to find out about DSiWare games that were coming out in the near future! That led me...to this very site. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2009/04/asphalt_4_elite_racing_gets_esrb_rated
Yup Asphalt 4: Elite Racing, was what led me to Nintendo Life, some 8 years ago...jesus...has it been that long??? Well, no matter...it is hard not to get a twinge of nostalgia, from those days. To the DSiShop, thanks for the memories, you may not have been perfect, but the memories made...made it all sweeter.

@MitchVogel So, can we redownload our already owned titles after the shop is shut down..??
Just in case we have to reset the console or any problem occurs.

I'm guessing the Wii shop is still up because it's still used when the Wii U is in Wii mode. The DSi shop is only used on older hardware

Will the DSIware games stay on the eshop?

I wonder what's gonna happen to Flipnote Studio. Will there be DSiWare on NX? That would be interesting.

again. closing it down too early, just like they did with wii and Ds wifi

Well it's a shame but at least several titles will still be available in eShop ... for now. by the way my game is bookstore dream.

There are some great games for the platform that I am still going to pick up but Nintendo really limited themselves with the memory. If they had a memory solution like on the Wii where you could play games from the SD card I know they would have sold more games. Having to transfer games from the SD card to the internal memory got old quick. Anyone know how much longer they will keep the Wii VC and WiiWare going? I know I am still buying games for both platforms.

@MetaSmasher Now now don't be too selfish.

@Jin15 You could argue the same thing for physical copies, you know.

Let's be honest we will mourn the loss of that amazing music more than anything...
The shop had did have plenty of great games such as

Zelda four swords

Shantae risky's revenge

Dr. Mario express

Bomberman blitz

Mario vs dk minis March again

And I guess warioware snapped was pretty cool

You will be missed dsi shop..

by the few people that bought a dsi and actually used you.

This is my list of downloaded DSiWare games, kept on my beautiful yellow Nintendo DSi XL...

3D Space Tank
Dark Void Zero
Aura-Aura Climber
Mighty Flip Champs!
Mighty Milky Way
Shantae: Risky's Revenge
Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon
Pop Island
Pop Island: Paperfield
Earthworm Jim

I missed out on the 'Four Swords' and some NA exclusives that I really wanted, unfortunately.

@CSX6602 Do you still have an extra Flipnote code? I've missed the opportunity to download it when I took a break from playing 3DS games. Also, if you have a Miitomo app, I would like to add you as a friend. If you would like to add me as a friend I put up the link on Miitomo Friend Exchange thread.