Video: Everything To Do Before The 3DS And Wii U eShops Shut Down

Not sure if it’s in the video, but:

Download Pokémon Bank and Poke Transporter, if you haven’t done this at least once in the past. Without them, you will not be able to transport Gen I-VII Pokémon into Pokémon HOME. And the service will be free and remain up for the foreseeable future, so there’s no point in not downloading it. Don’t forget!

Updates for a game you don’t own or not going to purchase? That isnt just prepared, that’s straight up locked and loaded

I have downloaded the updates for 3DS games that have updates so I get covered for 3DS games I haven't get yet in physical.

Install CFW and wait 3 days?

@Shepdawg1 don't you need to pay for it to get Pokemon Transfer? That's the service that moves Pokemon from the DS games, correct?

@ElRoberico If you’ve never used it before, you get a free trial and can download it then.

Edit: NOPE! I was wrong. Bank is free to download, but you need to pay the $5 pass fee to be able to download Transporter.

@Shepdawg1 so then all I'd need to do is pay for Pokemon Home in the future after linking the accounts?

I have pretty much gotten all the dlc I wanted for the games I know I would regret if I didn't buy during the year. I didn't want to did it with how slow it is purchasing things on the device.

@ElRoberico Correct

I have no memory space left!! 😱

The Nintendo Life eShop codes, if I buy them, I get the code immediately?

@MetalMario Pretty much, yeh! Might take a minute or two, but it's pretty instant.

It's been an honor going on this journey. I'd say make sure to check for DLC and updates at this point.

@ElRoberico @Shepdawg1 Not quite. I did this last week.

Bank is free to download, but to get Transfer you do need to a) have received the Pokédex in one of the Gen VI games (takes less than 10 mins in X), and b) have paid for at least 1 year’s subscription to Bank. Only then can you link your Gen VI game to Bank and access the Transfer download link.

Unless I did something wrong.

@sikthvash Cool, thanks for the quick reply.

FYI - Even after March 27, 2023, and for the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and enjoy online play on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
In summary, get the games and DLC you want before the cut-off, but don't worry about updating all of your games, especially if you haven't bought your physical game you've been longing for yet (I'm looking at you Yokai Watch 3)

It's been a ride. But I'm good, there's nothing I need to do with either system. Wii U is in the closet in a box and 3DS is in a barely playable state with unresponsive buttons and dead battery. It's in a drawer somewhere idk

(Search for $23,000 under couch cushions)

Time to make sure you have a big enough micro SD card before the weekend. If not, then purchase games on the website. Otherwise the 3DS won’t let you buy if there’s no space to install.

Luma3ds is your friend 😎

or hack your 3DS and install hshop. It is basically everything on the eshop available to download and it will never go offline.

Im good.

I turned my 3DS on for the first time in years and couldn’t imagine playing anything on that tiny, crappy screen again.

It was my favorite system in its time, but that time has passed.

RIP.

I dont wanna pay more on something I know is going away. If nintendo doesnt care, why should I? Plus who knows how long my 3ds has as a hardware and if it dies, can I even transfer anything to a new one?
Im not a fan of emulating games, but since this service is now literally expired I feel like it can be justified. Excluding developers, it doesnt sit well with me giving support to someone whos not willing to support back. If there was a guaranteed way of closing the eshop and being able to redownload the software you bought at the same time for all eternity, I would be more than willing on buying some more stuff. I have no idea how this works but is it really that costly to maintain some server or whataver with redownloadable software? I was shocked how low of a number the total 3ds library is in gigabytes from the Completionists video, so is it really a money problem or does it concern the expiry of some kind of developer licenses?

Could you write down everything in an article please, as I can't watch this presenter.

@gaga64 Oh dang, you’re right. I just tested with a spare system and a brand new NNID. You do have to purchase a pass. That’s so weird. I remember there being a free 30-Day trial with every new download, but it seems that was just a limited time thing. So yeah, I guess there’s no (legitimate) way to get Poke Transporter without paying the $5. Then again, $5 is a low asking price for the ability to transport Pokémon, in my opinion. And who knows? Maybe you’ll still be able to download Poke Transporter once the eShop is closed if you haven’t downloaded it before? Guess we’ll just have to see.

And if not: grabs eyepatch the seven seas await!

@ElRoberico I was wrong. Bank is free to download, but you do need to pay the $5 fee to be able to download Poke Transporter. My bad.

I love the 3DS, and expect to play it for many years to come.

@Deviant-Dork I prefer Zion over Alex and the new Swedish guy over Zion.

I'm closing in on my final purchases. In the last couple of days I've DLd mario party 2, and DQ VII. Might get a phoenix wright game but im not sure where to start. Duck hunt sounds like last minute buy too.

@OhianGamer “the new Swedish guy”

Cries in Danish and Spanish

@Maxz I knew it was European...

"If they don't want our money, they ain't getting it"
If only they allowed to region-transfer NNID...

Install a custom firmware and you're set.

@rushiosan does that have to be done before eshop closure?

@heathenmagic Some methods used to require a purchase of certain games, but I don't think that's a concern anymore.

Everything to do before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close:
remember you don't play them all that much and move on.

@Justaguest If you create a Nintendo account, you can set that up on your Switch, Wii U and 3DS, that way, all your purchase information will be tied to that in the cloud.

Also, as for why they're doing this, this is Nintendo we're talking here. They are similar to Disney in that they want to create artificial scarcity in order to create demand for older products later down the road, which ultimately results in more money for the company. Look at the Virtual Console, when the 3DS and Wii U eShops cease buying practices, that will effectively be gone, leaving new consumers with only subscription services to play older games if they don't have them already.

Nintendo doesn't care about preservation. They have made that very clear through their actions for a very long time. Sony even arguably cares about it indirectly since they reversed their decision to shut down their older platform stores to some extent after fan outcry. Meanwhile, Nintendo didn't budge.

@rushiosan thanks for that, hopefully will mod my spare 3DS by the weekend.

@Trikeboy Are the custom themes sold at the eShop available in the hStore?

@Kilroy Thank you, I forgot its interconnected.
I understand what you mean, by closing it they renew their business on newer platforms. At the same time, it makes sense for them to keep it open to lower piracy and reduce physical media production costs since there would be more people willing to buy games digital knowing their games will be there "forever", but thats more of my wishful thinking than anything. Its just sad that being a long time fan amounts to nothing.. literally. One day, we will lose everything and nintendo will keep making us rebuy the old stuff again and again. Its like they forget who made them successful - people who are denied access to something thats rightfully theirs. Its not right.

@Justaguest I wouldn't say rightfully theirs if it's on a new platform. You're buying the license to play on that particular platform, not the right to play forever on every version that's ever made.

And after March, you can still download anything that you bought, just can't buy anything new at that point.

@Kilroy Yes, I meant for that particular platform. Anyway, thank you for your input. I keep forgetting this is the reality we live in. Ill try and focus more on buying box versions from now on. Although, this annoying trend seems to extend to physicals as well. Almost every game requires download now. Its almost as if they want to leave you with broken product once the support ends to make you rebuy it on the next platform, but I am probably overthinking it.

@Justaguest No, I think you're absolutely right. Physical is good for three things anymore; loaning, displaying and collecting (potentially for high resale). The preservation aspect is hard to nail down unless you get an indie game with a limited release, which usually has everything on the cart/disc already. That's why it's important to realize that emulation is not just for pirates.

@Kilroy
Sony does seem to be coming around again somewhat recently with their choice to bring psone and psp games with their PS+ service though fortunately iirc you can also buy them.

its not quite at the glory days of the psp/ps3/vita psone classics line but hopefully things continue to improve.

this is just a guess since im no expert in this but i wonder if the reason why sony and Microsoft still have their older stores open is because they are a lot more interconnected and the services were more "future-proof", since looking back at the wii shop channel there was no account system at all, with things like games and funds being tied to the console itself and when the 3ds and wiiu initially launched they were in the same situation before they added an account system down the line.

Gated dlc sucks.

@John_Deacon I'm facing a somewhat similar issue. The country was available buuuuut eshop has been disabled for it for over a year now. Thus two options: creating a new account and repurchasing everything and more or donning a tricorne. The one I took is kinda obvious, but it still feels wrong.

@TheComputerist yes, there are themes on hshop