Rumour: Nintendo To End Submissions For New Wii U And 3DS eShop Games

End of an era. Its only a matter of time before the eShops go down too.

I guess that means no new Virtual Console titles, huh?

I was really hoping to see some more Nintendo DS VC games that still can't feasibly work on Switch.

I want to play games such as:
Golden Sun Dark Dawn
Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
Super Princess Peach
Rhythm Paradise

on Wii U VC. But they never came out. And never will.

What a waste of a platform.

Kinda strange if you ask me considering the Wii got games until fairly recently didn't it? Even if it was just Just Dance.

@EarthboundBenjy It's like Nintendo is telling you to emulate, almost. Because they're hardly providing an alternative.

@EarthboundBenjy not a chance that Nintendo themselves would still be supporting Virtual Console on Wii U at this stage, they haven’t done anything for years now.
Most of those games can be picked up rather cheap anyway.

They had their time, pretty much everyone has moved on so this is to be expected. The real question is how long their eshops will remain active, because Wii U is about the only place you can get a good selection of classic games via the virtual console.

@Yosher hardly saying emulate though are they?
And why do you think they’re obliged to provide an alternative place for old DS games? Your options are:
1. Buy original games for original hardware
2. Don’t buy the original games and play something else instead.

Here that Indie developers? It's now or never, get your stuff on there ASAP.

3DS has only received 7 new eShop games in 2021 (most of which are from a single company).

Wii U only got a single new eShop game in 2021.

Makes sense why Nintendo is winding down support for new game releases.

@Yosher The sooner Nintendo no longer support 3DS and Wii U. The sooner modders and hackers are gonna have a field day with both device.

Buy up any games you want for the Wii U and 3DS NOW before it's too late.

@PessitheMystic Nintendo may not be obliged to re-release old software, but at the same time, should not hold fault for anyone wanting to emulate their older titles, especially ones that they have no interest in releasing to the public, and provide no legal way of doing so, like say, move the entire VC from Wii U over to the Switch

And fyi, emulation is NOT illegal

@PessitheMystic has got to be more options than that surely, as software is a valuable commodity. I don't ascribe to emulation personally (yet) but it would be shameful and short-sighted to burn their ties to those products like a digital graveyard.

@westman98 Actually the Wii U got 2 but yeah.

I just purchased about 50 Wii U Virtual console games this past week. There are a few more I’m looking at, but it is clear the Wii U shop is living on borrowed time. I can’t emphasize enough with the skyrocketing price of retro games if you are in a position to take advantage of cheap, legal, retro games please take the necessary steps. I truly think most companies will not offer retro games for sale at an affordable price in the future, as they will sell them as a service. While the monthly/yearly cost will be relatively low the end result is the companies will make more money and it will cost you more to gain access to this content (why else would companies move in this direction?).

Comments fearing a shutdown announcement in 3, 2, 1...

I have downloaded All the updates of Pokemon and Yokai Watch 3DS games on version i can play, just in case before eshop get shutted down. I will check on Japanese eshop to see if there are some updates for certain Japanese 3DS games from my list that require an update to play.
Probably i have to spend more time with 3DS Badge arcade to get some free chances so i can pick some free badges for my 3DS. The end of 3DS era is very near.

Yeah it's only a matter of time before the shops close too

The 3DS at that point will be a bit over 11 years old and the Wii U will be 10 years old by then, and I don't expect Nintendo to have the generosity Sony did regarding leaving their PS3/Vita stores up for longer than they were supposed to be

And then on that day Nintendo will say...APRIL FOOLS!!

End of an era, can't ever avoid this fate (unless you get physical copies which is a much better investment for your money)

As long as the shops stay open with the games they already have for a long long time... To me this just means "ok you can stop sending us your shovelware".

(like seriously, have you seen the 3DS shop nowadays?)

@EarthboundBenjy I wouldn’t call it a waste. There’s a ton of stuff one there between the 7 platforms

I seriously hope this doesn't mean the eShop is going to close down or that Nintendo Network is being terminated, for any of the consoles. It's still too early, dammit!

Mostly only junk is being added at this point anyway, so this is a good thing IMO.

I am a bit disappointed in Nintendo regarding the 3DS. So, they make the “New 3DS” with promises of games only supported by the New 3DS. So they made 1 or 2 games. I forgot if MajorasMask was for new, but XC was the only title I knew for the New 3DS.
Then we have the Switch which was great but it is not a perfect handheld. Most the bigger games cannot be plaid handheld (good luck finding small items in Skyrim for quest progression for instance), or SkywardSword, I mean, many eye straining experiences there. Games were made to be plaid on a TV but some games like Animal Crossing, Links Awakening were perfectly made for handheld but they are not the majority (I am talking about big titles).
It seems the 3DS is now on its final stretch towards the end. What a shame. It is a perfect handheld (except putting powercord jack on lower side of device so loading cable sticks in your tummy when you play in bed). I just downloaded Oracle of Seasons and Ages yesterday, a game not ideal for a Switch but perfect on the 3DS.
The sec the Switch was out the 3DS got basically nearly ignored, not good, the Switch should not have meant to be replacing the 3DS….
So many Virtual Console games out there, no wonder like this Nintendo will lose the battle for Retro Gaming which is extremely popular and becoming more popular each day, but yeah, let’s quit now.
Way to go Nintendo….

Game developers going to compete to be the very last game on 3ds and Wii U

well, yeah. That's how it works. Years from now the same will happen to the switch, then whatever comes after the switch, then whatever comes after that.

@Varathius I'll agree with you that the Switch isn't the ideal handheld, but it's not fair to say the 3DS was ignored. Nintendo, along with a few 3rd parties, release new games for the 3DS for two years after the Switch launch. I wish it had gone even longer, but to be fair, two years isn't bad. I do remember a lot of YouTubers pitching a fit, mad a Nintendo for not immediately killing the 3DS after the Switch's launch. But those people are idiots.

April 1

Think

@TheFox i was more referring to the New3DS. It had 1-2 games specifically for it.

So, Hex Heroes now has a deadline?

@Varathius It's not entirely Nintendo's fault.

@Varathius OK. I was really disappointed with how little was done with that. I've got one but I never ended up buying any of the handful of games made for it. But at least Monster Hunter 4 and Generations are much easier to play with the right stick. And FE: Shadow of Valentia, while it didn't require the New 3DS, it did use the Amiibo reader and had probably the best Amiibo functionality of any 3DS game.

its not like game developers are standing in line for Wii U

@PessitheMystic Awfully generous to label "LOL don't play it" as an "option", so basically your only choice if you want to legally play the game is to pay an exorbitant price for an original copy of a 10+ year old game. That's not really accessible, hence most people will turn to emulation if Nintendo does not provide an easy way to legally play their back catalogue.

The window to submit physical games for the Wii U was some time in 2020. As such the last releases were Finding Teddy 2, Shut’em up collection and I think Hotline Miami (which wasn’t released physically in Europe . The Wii shop lasted 12 years (2006-2018) so I’d hope Wii U/3DS would get a similar length but that would only be 2023 for 3DS (2011-2023) and 2024 for Wii U.

@PessitheMystic For one, a lot of games can be pretty damn expensive right now, so getting there games for the original hardware might just not be an option for a lot of people. And two, you can always decide not to be in the mood to play something, but what if you want to play that one game that you can't get for the original hardware because it's just either too expensive, or just outright no longer available, and Nintendo refuses to offer an alternative? That's right, you turn to emulation.

I'm a guy who vastly prefers playing games on Nintendo hardware officially because I like supporting them and playing on official hardware just feels best, but then it's also Nintendo's job to just make these games actually available for consumers to pick up and play one way or another. If they don't, then I'd say emulating is entirely fair game.

Man they can keep producing for the 3DS, maybe some smaller tier games or remakes of older 2D titles. I just got my New 3DS in 2017 so it feels like I threw my money at a loser system even though it had a ton of great games on it. Here's hoping those games transfer to their new handheld

@SeantheDon29 Emulation is indeed not illegal if you own the rights to use the games. Downloading games from unofficial / illegal sources is, however, illegal.

Systems like the NES / SNES Classic consoles, the Mario / Zelda Game & Watch and the NES / SNES apps on the Switch all use emulation. All of those are legal because Nintendo owns the copyright to them / has a license to distribute them.

Did not think people were still making games for it, as some Have already stated it's the end of an era, but the console has had an impressive run.

Yep. Its done. No more addings lad

@Kilamanjaro it’s not a loser system; I nearly always late adopt systems (or at least a good few years into the life of it) as the price of games drops massively.

Nothing lasts for ever and after all the Wii u and 3ds are all but secondhand market products with second hand games. I don't see Nintendo's profit margin being that much for these products.

@Gamecuber I said "feels like". I have some great games: Samus Returns, Metroid, Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask, 5 OG Zelda games, Pokemon Moon, Pokemon Red, Devilish Brain Training & Monster Hunter Ultimate. I really wanted to get a bunch of physical titles but I think Nintendo did a poor job communicating during their investor meetings always saying "we will support the 3DS for the foreseeable future as an entry point for younger gamers blah blah". If I knew tzey would stop producing titles like DK Country 3D or Star Fox 3D, I would've been more hesitant getting the system. In this case regarding cheaper prices for an older consoles games, getting 3DS games physically is either the same price or more expensive, digital sales are pretty good though. I hope they lift the region lock (probably not) on the systems as I'd love to pick up some extra titles in Europe & Japan. It's a great system and I just wish Nintendo gave it more support instead of leaving it on life support

@Kilamanjaro my bad, I didn’t read your comment thoroughly enough 😁. Yeah, 3DS prices are nuts at the moment (I watched the NintendoLife video last night). In the UK Argos is selling off a few titles cheap right now (Pokemon sun and moon, Layton’s mysteries, Animal Crossing happy home designer and develish brain training are all under £12). I made sure I took advantage of their selling off of old 3DS games in that last few years and as a result still have about 5 sealed games that I got all for under £10 (only sealed as I haven’t got around to playing them yet).

I do wonder if 3DS will end up like GameCube with very few games available in the future (unlike GameCube there isn’t a next gen system like the Wii to play 3DS games on). Plus the actual 3D is not likely to be repeated so it will become quite a niche system I think in the future.

They already killed the Wii U for me in 2017, when Miiverse was discontinued alongside with other core features.

Just another reminder to hurry up and purchase the stuff you want from the 3DS and Wii U eShops before they shut down...and potentially force you to illegally acquire those games.

@westman98 you answered my question that was not addressed in the article. I actually have picked up my 3ds a few times in the past couple months. Out of curiosity I checked the eshop to see nothing new. So, this article is interesting, but in a way irrelevant with no new games on the system.

(effective from 1st April 2022)

@Varathius this is a non-issue.

Inevitable at some point I suppose. Nintendo can’t support the older consoles forever. At least in the 3DS we have a still viable and very useable handheld with a ton of stellar and unique titles in its back catalogue.

If this is true, this means I at least have some time yet to pick up the last few digital stragglers for my 3DS and Wii U libraries. I'm hoping to grab Drill Dozer pretty soon.

Are Wii U eshop games not tied to the console? That's the issue I have...
For example if your Wii U dies on you don't you lose anything digital you have purchased?
I am aware you can transfer your account over to another Wii U but what if the Wii U stopped working suddenly before this was possible?? Would you not lose all purchases..

@PessitheMystic Or emulated

@PessitheMystic option 3- hack your 3Ds or Wii U
option 4- Emulation.

@SwankyKong64 - beat me to it.

@arenred Thanks for the information...
Hmm I suppose that's something. Only issue with redownloading purchases is once the eshop closes this unfortunately becomes non viable...
The transfer tool is useful, just have to use it while the original console is still operational as you say.

@Stubborn_Monkey It sounds like the shop part might (eventually) be closed, but games will continue being supported patches/etc otherwise.

In a way, they could "afford" to shut down the Wiishop of the original Wii in no small parts because online patches weren't really a thing yet with the Wii, but they definitely became one with the 3DS and WiiU.

And while the amount of WiiU out could be seen as negligible for this kind of decisions, the amount of 3DS out there very much isn't negligible even if they aren't as actively "used" by their owners(in general. I know there's still people frequently using theirs but let's admit it... they're likely not the majority, especially with the Switch close to 85 million consoles now and still selling).

At the time steam Deck comes out, i will play them again with emulators. 🤣
I was never supportive of emulation. But nintendos behaviour made me wanting it more and more.
I still play this handheld 3DS and i would stil buy new games if they where good.
But as of now im gonna sell it asap while people still buy the 3DS for a good price.

@arenred Thanks for the clarification. Basically if your Wii U dies after the e-shop closes then that's it... Everything lost 😔
Calling Nintendo at that point is of no use...
It's what puts me off downloading more on the Wii U (and 3DS)...
Best to play what you download alot and to get the games when on a steep sale if possible to ensure you get value for money I guess..
At least if/when the system dies you have had plenty of gameplay out of the digital games then.

@arenred i am the law!

I guess I had better hurry up and finish my games that I have planned and dreamed about for the 3ds and WiiU.

It's unfortunate Nintendo doesn't keep at least the 3DS active, I'm not interested in buying a Switch, all my modern games are on 3DS.

There are still too many games I haven't played yet, but the battery is showing signs of dying and the button stickers are all torn up, it's a bad situation.

I love having a perfect copy of Minish Cap next to A Link Between Worlds, can't have that on Switch.

@EarthboundBenjy You got EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings. What a waste.

Rumour and 1st April?, ok.........
Seriously, better, it is internet, no my business...

No point in supporting dead consoles

That hasn’t happened yet? Well cool that they sorta got support for a full decade at least.

I'm a big Wii U fan, but this only makes sense. New submissions have been a trickle for a few years now.

@Yosher I recent played both Dracula X Chronicles and Adventure Rebirth through emulation and they're great. I have no idea why companies and Nintendo or Konami are so finicky when it comes to rereleasing legacy content.

Best be buying w/e virtual console games you need before the end of next year, I guess. It's not like we have a choice. Nintendo are either incapable or unwilling to meet the demand for retro right now.

The real discussion here is why does Nintendo's eshop always start from scratch. I assume when Switch's successor is released their will be a new eshop. If they would future proof their eshop they would not have to slowly trickle out games or do ports.

I am surprised it has taken them that long to stop supporting the 3DS and Wii U. If I was running company strategy, I would have stopped the support in 2019, the 2nd year the Switch was around. Encourage the devs to make games for the Switch and also, you don't have to have the Nintendo team that manages these contracts worry about old consoles. *Disclaimer: I do own both systems and have enjoyed them immensely!

@smolsauce Your guess is as good as mine on this matter, but I have a feeling that part of it is just thinking of various ways to keep selling these games to us for high prices, or at least as high as they think we're willing to pay.

I just bought Dementium Remastered on the 3DS eShop this past week. I have a few digital only titles I want to make sure I buy before they close the eShop. Code of Princess is another, although I’ll try and get a US Physical copy if I can first.

Hopefully we still have a few years left in these eShops.

Is it some fiscal thing what leads Sony (repeatedly…) and Nintendo to shut things down on April 1st of all dates?

@TheFrenchiestFry I, though, would be surprised if Nintendo didn’t pay notice to the blowback against Sony’s closures announcement, and they have completely brought down any means to purchase those games outside the PS3 and Vita/PSTV themselves, whereas 3DS and Wii U content can still be purchased through the Nintendo website.

Please don't end so soon online services in Nintendo 3DS/2DS!
A lot of people still play on DS and there are many cool games to play like Pokémon X/Y, OR/AS, Ultra Sun Moon!