Wii U eShop - Timeline
Wednesday26th Oct 2022
News Nintendo's 3DS & Wii U Image Share Services Have Now Ended
"Thank you for using our service"
Last month, Nintendo revealed it would be discontinuing two more 3DS and Wii U features on 25th October 2022. It's now officially past this point in certain locations around the world, and this means the Image Share feature is no longer available on both of these devices. To remind everyone, Nintendo's Japanese...
Monday29th Aug 2022
Reminder Today Is Your Last Chance To Redeem eShop Cards On Wii U And 3DS
Funds can still be added via linked Nintendo Accounts, though
Nintendo is ending 3DS and Wii U eShop functionality with prepaid cards today, 29th August. After today, you won't be able to redeem the card directly on either the 3DS or Wii U consoles. Maintenance is scheduled for 30th August 4:30am UTC, and if we had to guess, that's when the...
Tuesday23rd Aug 2022
News Nintendo Prepares For 3DS & Wii U eShop Closure With Scheduled Maintenance
We're in the endgame now
This week is pretty significant in the world of Nintendo - with the Japanese company previously announcing it would "no longer be possible to use a Nintendo eShop Card to add funds to an account on Nintendo eShop for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS". This will take effect "as of" 29th August 2022, and it seems Nintendo has now taken...
Thursday18th Aug 2022
Guide Best 3DS And Wii U DLC You Should Get Before The eShops Close Forever
Paid and free DLC to download ASAP
So. The 3DS and Wii U eShops are closing. You probably got that from the title. The full closure will be on the 27th March, 2023, with some games becoming unavailable even before that. We've got the full rundown on the closure here: When Does The 3DS And Wii U eShop Close? Nintendo eShop Closure Guide Of course,...
Saturday13th Aug 2022
Random Masahiro Sakurai Reminds Nintendo Fans About 3DS & Wii U eShop Closure Dates
"It's my last chance"
As you probably know by now, Nintendo is discontinuing the 3DS and Wii U eShop as of 28th March 2023. And later this month on 29th August, you'll no longer be able to add eShop card funds (aka points) to accounts. This is happening worldwide, and as a result - Nintendo fans around the globe are grabbing certain digital titles...
Tuesday2nd Aug 2022
News YouTube And Crunchyroll On Wii U Won't Be Available For Much Longer
Support will end later this year
It's another nail in the coffin for the Wii U. Nintendo Everything reports that two video apps for the console — YouTube and Crunchyroll — will be ending support later this year. Anime subscription platform Crunchyroll will be discontinued on the Wii U from 29th August — with emails being sent out about the...
Tuesday19th Jul 2022
News 3DS And Wii U eShops Approach Endgame As Nintendo Provides Closure Date
Still plenty of time to get things in order
It's been known for several months now that the Wii U and 3DS eShops will be closing for good in March 2023. This means, of course, that you won't be able to purchase new digital games or DLC from either store, causing significant backlash from the gaming community. Nintendo has
Saturday2nd Jul 2022
News Ubisoft Closing Online Services For Three Wii U Titles This September
To focus resources on "newer" and "more popular titles"
The Wii U generation saw Nintendo embrace online gaming more than the previous generations, and naturally, third-party developers at the time took advantage of this new focus. Unfortunately, these kinds of services have to eventually wind down, and Ubisoft has decided September 1st is the time...
Tuesday21st Jun 2022
News Developer Says Nintendo Turned Down Upcoming Wii U Horror Game For Being "Too Scary"
Losing balance
The Silver Falls series is incredibly unique among new releases nowadays. Australian developer Jerrel Dulay of Sungrand Studios wants to release his games on the 3DS and Wii U eShops, even though both storefronts are closing this year. Unfortunately, Dulay has hit an issue with one of his Wii U-bound games — Silver Falls - White...
Friday20th May 2022
PSA It's The Final Countdown For 3DS And Wii U eShop Credit Card Payments (North America)
But don't panic...
In late March 2023 we'll wave a tearful goodbye to the Wii U and 3DS eShop, stores with some wonderful exclusives and excellent ports. It's certainly disappointing that they're closing, and we'll all need to get our downloads and purchases in order before they're gone forever. Though we have 10 months before the stores close...
Friday15th Apr 2022
News The Wii U Gets More Love As 'Reversi 32' Releases Later This April
Wii love to see it. U love to see it
Okay, we'll stop speculating when the last Wii U game will hit us. Every time we bring it up, another one sneaks in. We love seeing this underappreciated console get some love, so we're going to shout about any new games we spot on the horizon. April 2022 is becoming the official Wii U revival month, as...
Friday25th Mar 2022
News eShop Closure Be Damned, This Dev Is Bringing Seven New Games To 3DS And Wii U
Now that's dedication
Australian indie developer Jerrel Dulay has announced that he's bringing seven new titles to the Wii U and 3DS eShops this year – despite the fact that Nintendo is closing the digital storefronts for the two systems. In a press release, Dulay states that the move was in response to the news of the closure, and "significant...
Tuesday1st Mar 2022
"I guess architecture and cave paintings win this race"
While many of us treasure the broad range of games that modern gaming brings us through download stores, we're regularly reminded that these platforms — and the creations they host — are finite. That came into focus recently when Nintendo announced the timeline for closing both the Wii U...
Friday25th Feb 2022
Review The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Magnificent, Unique, And Worth Revisiting
Okay, campers, rise and shine
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the release of Majora's Mask on Switch, available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack N64 library. The Zelda games have a lot of fans and there's also been plenty of opportunities over the years to revisit...
Friday18th Feb 2022
PSA Get All The Harvest Moon Games Before The 3DS And Wii U eShops Close
They've bought the farm
If you're embedded within the farming game community, you'll know all about the Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons schism, in which (Western localisation team and publisher) Natsume and (developer) Marvelous went their separate ways. Natsume kept the Harvest Moon name in the West, and cranked out a bunch of wildly disappointing...
News Video Game History Foundation Calls Out Nintendo's "Destructive" 3DS & Wii U eShop Closure
Asks Nintendo to "rethink" things when it comes to preservation
Nintendo this week announced the closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShop, and well...it's caused quite an uproar online. So, what now that roughly 2,000 games will no longer be purchasable on the 3DS and Wii U digital storefronts? There's seemingly not much that can be done from
Thursday17th Feb 2022
News 1,000 "Digital-Only" Titles Estimated To Disappear When Nintendo Closes 3DS & Wii U eShop
It's like Nintendo's version of the Blip, but worse
Nintendo yesterday announced the beginnings of a phased shutdown for the 3DS and Wii U eShop stores. It's set to wipe out a huge amount of digital content on these systems, but just how many games can we expect to disappear? While we already know Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation and its D
Wednesday16th Feb 2022
Soapbox A Week After Jailing One Pirate, Nintendo Just Made Piracy A Reality For Countless Fans
The timing is impeccable, even by Nintendo's standards
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Damien discusses the less-than-ideal timing of Nintendo's announcement regarding its 3DS and Wii U eShops... Nintendo has just announced that...
"Nintendo is unhinged"
The day we all feared has finally come – Nintendo has confirmed that in 2023, it will be closing the Wii U and 3DS eShops in order to focus entirely on its Switch platform. It's the natural course of things – especially in the digital age, where we don't "own" anything – but there's still a feeling of bitterness about...
Poll The End Is Coming, But How Much Will You Miss The Wii U And 3DS eShop?
Be honest...
Recently we've had news that isn't necessarily surprising, but has undoubtedly ruffled feathers and caused some upset among Nintendo fans: Nintendo is beginning a phased shutdown of the Wii U and 3DS eShop stores. This means that there's now limited time to purchase download-only games and content on both platforms. You will be able to...
"it will no longer be possible to make purchases"
Nintendo has announced the discontinuation of the 3DS eShop and the Wii U eShop as of "late March" 2023. While you'll still be able to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and play online beyond this date, the ability to purchase games will "no longer be possible" and new content will...
Sunday13th Feb 2022
Review EarthBound Beginnings - A Charming Curio That Mother Fans Will Cherish
Everybody's gotta start somewhere
This review originally went live in 2015, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of EarthBound Beginnings in the Nintendo Switch Online NES library. If you were an early adopter of EarthBound fanaticism in the West, you likely caught wind of a previous title made for the Famicom. Translated...
Sunday6th Feb 2022
News The Wii U Is Getting A New eShop Game In 2022, Will Include Balance Board Support
Silver Falls is a horror game launching "later this year"
If you thought the Wii U was dead - think again! Although the platform has been completely abandoned in terms of first-party and major-third party support, there are indie developers out there keeping its legacy alive. Following on from the launch of the 2D platform 'Captain U' last...
Wednesday15th Dec 2021
News Nintendo Is Removing Credit Card Support From The 3DS And Wii U eShop Next Month (Japan)
A timely reminder
Nintendo's customer service Twitter account for Japan has issued a reminder that it will be ending credit card and prepaid card support for the 3DS and Wii U next month on 18th January 2022, 9 AM JST. The company previously announced these changes for 3DS and Wii U users in Europe, Australia and New Zealand back in 2019. Here's a...
Thursday18th Nov 2021
News Wii U's Getting A New Game, And This Will Probably Be The Last
Today is the console's ninth anniversary
Don't throw that Wii U away just yet, folks, because something new is headed our way very soon indeed. Ultra Dolphin Revolution, an indie developer that's been busy keeping the Wii U alive since the arrival of the Nintendo Switch, has announced that it plans to celebrate Wii U's ninth anniversary (which is...
Sunday31st Oct 2021
Review Mario Kart 64 (N64) - Frantic, Formative Four-Player Karting Chaos
Welcome to Mario Kart
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. Taking a bunch of Mario characters and having them speed around race circuits using a range of special items to rush or smash past each other is something that has worked very well since...
Saturday30th Oct 2021
Review Yoshi's Story (N64) - Pleasant, But Not A Patch On The Dinosaur's Best
A pretty but short story
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. There's a lot to love about Yoshi's Story. The presentation is gorgeous, the mechanics are solid, the music is fantastic, and seeing a bunch of Yoshis wandering about remains adorable...
Review Star Fox 64 (N64) - A Cinematic Series High Point
Do another barrel roll
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. Despite Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars in Europe) being only the second (released) game in the series, Nintendo decided it was time for a reboot and so, similarly to the SNES original, this...
Sunday25th Jul 2021
Rumour Nintendo To End Submissions For New Wii U And 3DS eShop Games
"Effective from 1st April 2022"
Nintendo could be preparing to wind down 3DS and Wii U eShop game releases, according to a new rumour. YouTube channel Impact Game Station has supposedly "received a message from someone" about Nintendo's European branch ceasing the acceptance of submissions for new eShop releases on the 3DS and Wii U by early next...
Tuesday20th Jul 2021
News Nintendo Removing Credit Card Support From 3DS And Wii U eShop In Japan
Ends January 2022
Back in 2019, Nintendo announced 3DS and Wii U users located in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand would no longer be able to top up their eShop funds with a credit card. Japan is now a part of this - with Nintendo's customer support account on social media today confirming credit cards and prepaid cards will no longer be accepted...
