Nintendo Currently Has "No Plans" To End Online Services For The 3DS

That's good, haven't touched mine in ages though.

"The foreseeable future" is the worst kind of PR speak. It makes it seem like it's going to continue indefinitely when they could very well end it tomorrow. Because no future is effing foreseeable.

Phew. I hope it lasts a good long time. I want to keep amassing a retro collection on there.

I must buy Pokemon X, Moon and Ultra Sun ASAP before 3DS eshop get shutted down as i need their updates for every Pokemon 3DS games. 😥
Also, i will make sure my 3DS got some nice themes.

It took around 5 years for the Wii Shop Channel to be shut down after the Wii was discontinued.

I don't think the 3DS EShop is going to be shut down anytime soon.

I hope this means Streetpass won't end either. I mean, I wouldn't really care. I haven't touched my New 3DS XL in quite some time. I almost completely forgot I had it. Even though it still has the red covering chipping away, I don't think I want to sell mine just yet

I should probably start buying games that were never released physically.

Nintendo just build the 3ds eShop into your main platform because I'm going to download some games I bought 10 years ago in 10 years. Thanks.

I'm glad to hear this, but I would have been shocked if they shut it down anytime soon. After all, the Wii e-Shop only got it's final shutdown in 2019 despite the Wii essentially being a dead console by 2013 (except for Just Dance and Skylanders). I can't remember the last time I played a 3DS game online, but I still frequently search the e-Shop and occasionally buy new games.

I am sure it'll be around a good few more years. How many years after the DS and Wii were retired did their services end? At least a couple years.

That's good to hear. I still have some money on my 3ds and I need to spend it soon lol

I am full with 316 games, apps, etc.....

I have 300 3DS, and 16 DSI.....

The Max DSI is 40, The Other 3DS being 300...

Only Updates to games, etc I still look for in the eshop....., and of course system updates.....

I need to try to buy a 3ds before its to late my galaxy won broke bad so I need to get another soon.

Of course they’re not going to shut off their source of income on tens of millions of 3DS units in the wild!

(Until people stop buying that is)

Good. I was thinking of modding mine but if the eshop will still be around for a while I'll wait. Still got a ton of games on my wishlist.

Usually,it takes years to shutdown a Nintendo online service

@Toy_Link

No, I don’t think either. If they shut down the Eshop and your 3DS will stop working, you won’t be able to download the games you once bought.

Currently. At the present time; next week is not currently, let along in three months. Regarding the 3ds etc. currently is a meaningless statement.

@Cyrax77 of course you’ll be able to play the games you’ve download... all 3DS games are playable off line. What are you talking about? You won’t be able to redownload them is what you mean

@KingBowser the great thing about StreetPass from a preservationist standpoint is that it will always be possible since it doesn't rely on online servers, downside is that very very few people carrying 3DS with them so chances of getting random StreetPass connection will be close to null.

Hope so. Still use mine and there's still a few games I want to download.

They also had no plans to end the Wii online services... until they ended them.

@beazlen1

If the Eshop will be shut down, and your 3DS won’t work anymore, 10 years from now, I assumed that you can’t download your games on a new 3DS?

It would be great if Nintendo could update the 3DS to somehow lift the game limit. I am at peak capacity and have plenty left undownloaded. I would love to toss more money at Nintendo thru my 3DS but that's just the way she goes, boys

@Cyrax77 well you can still redownload a Wii game that you previously bought to the same console and you can request a transfer to another console if that one breaks (it’s a pain but doable) but the eShop has obviously shut. We don’t know how long the redownload service will remain. Hopefully for a few decades but more likely only one decade at most. When that service disappears and if my console breaks or I get a different one I will hack as that will be the only way to redownload the games I bought and enjoy them.

My guess is the 3DS eShop will be alive for a good 5 years yet at least. There are so many 3DS and 2DS’s out there in the wild, the eShop must still be profitable and then the redownload service will remain for a while after that.

I mean it’s on Nintendo Network right? So surely it’s the same servers as like, Wii U and Switch

I lent my 3DSXL to a friend and got it back today. Glad that the eShop will stay up so that I can do things like redownloading SatPC.
240p? 3D? Virtual Console? So disorienting. But I've already dabbled in a little Samus Returns, Shantae GBC, and Shantae and the Pirate's Curse NG+, and it's been comforting.

I should ruddy well hope not.

Let's keep that free MarioKart 7 online service alive for years to come.

@Cyrax77 Everyone will be (or had been) modding their 3DS with CFW by then.

@NoTinderLife

No, not everyone. I won’t. And others I know have no idea how to mod a 3DS

I need to get a 2DS XL in 2021 so I can secure my digital library.

I still love my 3ds and 2ds, even with all the dust that covers them.

two months at most...

Was hoping it was going to be one of those £2.50 3DS games again. Oh well!

Great. At least it'll be possible (but unlikely) to find players to play Triforce Heroes for the "foreseeable future".

So, just like the Wii U. Not surprised to say the least.

Any chance you guys can notify us about sales on this device again? I still play my 3DS but there's not really anyone saying when sales happen anymore.

@JayJ That only happened because Gamespy went bankrupt.

Anyway, you're all missing a key piece of information: The 3DS/Wii U/Switch eShops are all running off the exact same servers. So if one stays up, all three will likely stay up.

It'll likely be stopped when sales completely dry up, the 3DS library is such a boon for the system. I hope it has at least another few years.

@Radbot42 https://www.nintendo.com/games/game-guide/#filter/:q=&dFR[generalFilters][0]=Deals&dFR[platform][0]=Nintendo%203DS

As someone who bought a New Nintendo 2DS XL in 2019 (and loves it!), I have a vested interest in the wonderful eShop (Virtual Console, in particular) staying open!

3DS/Wii U/Switch eShop are all running on the same server.

It's not like they can just kill it off without moving Switch's to a new structure.

@JayJ Wii online services didn't belong to Nintendo, they were outsourced.

@KingBowser "I hope this means Streetpass won't end either."

StreetPass is entirely offline, so Nintendo can't shut it down. It depends on other 3DS owners carrying their system with them everywhere they go. Unfortunately in the US, even at the height of the console's popularity, I could walk through a crowded airport and only snag two or three contacts. I doubt I have any chance of getting a single StreetPass these days.

I played Mario Kart 7 online a bunch this summer.

I recently bought Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D from Argos for a really good deal at £10.99. I'm really enjoying it! I still have my Wii copy of the original release but for the price I got the 3ds version for, it was a no brainer for this amazing game! I like the 'new mode' because this game is quite challenging.

Oh thank goodness.

Mostly because Kid Icarus Uprising still has a semi active community and I keep finding games.

@Mountain_Man I miss the Streetpass relays Nintendo used to have set up at places like Walmart, Best Buy, Gamestop, and McDonald's.
Going to anyone of those places with my 3DS used to be exciting because I knew I'd be guaranteed at least 10 Streetpass hits in one go, some from halfway around the world. It was magical.

@Mountain_Man Wow, cause in college (around 2015) I had to empty out my plaza at least 4x a day just to keep up! And this was in a small city in Canada.

Anyways, gonna try and grab a good deal on a 32gb memory card so I can start hoarding, just to get ready. Anybody know if I can back my downloaded games up to my PC?

@Divinebovine I put a 128GB card in mine.
Over 839,000 blocks of free space.
I'll NEVER run outta space..

@Divinebovine Don't know why I always seemed to have such bad luck with StreetPass. I used to travel a lot which would take me through at least two airports every trip, which I always thought would be the perfect storm for getting contacts from all over the world, but I was always disappointed. Strangely, my best luck was at the local zoo where a day's visit could get me as many as five or six.

@Mountain_Man The Zoo might have had one of Nintendo's Streetpass Relay points.
They set those things up at all kinds of other public locations besides the list I mentioned.

@Leej07 I got the silver "Year of Luigi" one, I thought that only supported up to 32?

@Mountain_Man Yeah that sounds like you should have been rolling in hits!

Thank goodness for that. I have time to save up the money to buy the three remaining Mario & Luigi games for my girlfriend - she loved the hell out of Dream Team (or Dream Team Bros., as it's called here), which I initiated her to the series with.

Well, a number of years left to access DLC and services like Pokémon Bank (Before your Gen 1-7 Pokémon are stuck there.)

I'm still stocking up on the digital only games and DLC games right now. Phoenix Wright games and oddities like Ironfall and Ice Station Z will be unplayable (legally) after it is discontinued.

@Zimon you cant when they JUST STOP production

They also said the Nintendo Switch and 3DS would coexist and that the Switch would not replace the 3DS but here we are. I give it 2 years max.

I'm still playing online on my 2ds xl and 3ds xl. So this is good news for me.

I have and still plan to do so. The 3ds, it's a great system!

Thats great to hear

This is Nintendo we're talking about, this "foreseeable future" could mean 3 years or 3 hours.

No need to. People still play online and the eShop is apart of the Wii U and Switches.

Such words, written by Nintendo, usually means: The Discontinuation of online services is already decided for the near future

Almost ten years.
I really did not expect the 3DS to live this long.
It has outlasted the original DS series by now, even if those sold double the number of systems!

There really is something to be said for the digital sales infrastructure, that Nintendo has been a bit late with building, but slowly and surely has come to rely on.

So i can still do badge collector every morning? Brilliant, I would hate to change my morning routine.

@NoTinderLife I'm very well one of those people that still play Mario Kart 7.

@Mountain_Man So could you like still walk into/drive by a Nintendo Zone location like McDonald's and still get StreetPasses? Usually now me and the fam use drive-thru nowadays cause it's faster, but would you have to be inside for it to still work, if it still does?

@Nintendook have you ever heard of "buying used"?
I know it sounds impossible but you can actually do that nowadays.

Great, 3DS online services will continue working until... March 2021.

@KingBowser I don't think Nintendo Zones exist anymore.

@Piyo Pretty much. I don't think I've seen anything last longer than a year after an announcement that "we have no plans to discontinue" it.

That's good! I just ordered a 3DS with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. So it's good I like it.

Thats great news as I still play my 3ds system more than any other system. Its my oppinion these new systems suck with just a handful of good games and way overrated indie titles. It just seems nothing is ground breaking anymore where the 3ds had totle after title of good stuff

There are no new deals for a long time in My Nintendo Rewards program (Europe). Are they going to shut it down maybe?

Literally just opened my Fates games and Ace Attorney and got the dlc. Considering what other titles to get or just wait to see if they port to the Switch eventually

well that was a total lie.