It's the end of an era, as both the Nintendo Wii U and 3DS will be moving on to that great end-of-life cloud in the sky. Nintendo has put out a warning that they'll be winding down support both the eShop on both platforms. Starting May 23 of this year, credit cards will no longer be able to be used to add funds to the 3DS or Wii U eShop, with support for physical eShop cards going away on August 29th. Digital download codes will still work and will be redeemable until the final plug is pulled in March 2023.

As of late March 2023, it will no longer be possible to make purchases in Nintendo eShop for the Wii U system and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. It will also no longer be possible to download free content, including game demos. Furthermore, as this date draws closer, related services will cease to function:

• As of May 23, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a credit card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
• As of August 29, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a Nintendo eShop Card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. However, it will still be possible to redeem download codes until late March 2023.

Users who link their Nintendo Network ID wallet (used with Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems) with their Nintendo Account wallet (used with the Nintendo Switch family of systems) can use the shared balance to purchase content on any of these systems until late March 2023. After that, the balance can only be used to purchase content for the Nintendo Switch family of systems.

In an FAQ released alongside the announcement, Nintendo clarified that this will not affect online play, and users will still be able to redownload games they have previously purchased.

If someone visits Nintendo eShop and wants to download something on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family systems after late March 2023, what will they able to do?

• On both platforms, users will still be able to:
  • Redownload content they own.
  • Download existing software updates.
• On both platforms, users will not be able to:
  • Purchase any content:
    • On Nintendo 3DS, this includes paid content, plays and passes in software such as StreetPass Mii Plaza, Theme Shop, Nintendo Badge Arcade and Pokémon Bank.
    • On Wii U, this includes passes in software such as Wii Sports Club.
  • Download demos.
  • Download free-to-start software.
  • Redeem a download code.
  • Add funds to their Nintendo eShop balance.
• On Nintendo 3DS family systems, users will still be able to:
  • Download a small number of free themes from Theme Shop.

Nintendo released the 3DS in March 2011, with multiple revisions to the handheld released throughout its lifetime. The Wii U came out in November 2012, and had a short life, being officially discontinued after the launch of the more successful Switch in 2017. The Virtual Console service was well known on either system, where classic games were sold individually, ranging from decades of Nintendo history. Nintendo chose to mention that they currently have no plans to continue the Virtual Console line, and will be focusing support on the Nintendo Switch Online classic library.

Source

 

[gamesquest1]

Aw man that especially has to sting when you know there was a chance to recover it.

well I doubt I would've deleted it, might be on my old laptop or something, but yeah I would still expect someone to dump it again at some point as it was a free download if it hasn't already

I just would've stuck it in a folder somewhere probably, but after the original owner uploaded it I figured "oh well thats preserved now" so it wouldn't really occur to me to keep it somewhere I would remember

 

[Something whatever]

Dude....dead move

 

[Satellizer]

Soo, whats the best way to update and hack my 3ds? its still on firmware 4.5 :/

 

[Stealphie]

meanwhile mic and sony FULLY support BC. here's lookin at U nintenDOH

Sony tried shutting down the Vita, PSP and PS3 stores not even a year ago, they DID shut down the PSP store, and they removed the ability to buy PS3/PSVita/PSP games from their website, and when someone found a workaround, they patched that too.

 

[jesterscourt]

Soo, whats the best way to update and hack my 3ds? its still on firmware 4.5 :/

Follow the guide. Read it carefully, but it will walk you through it, step by step.
Don't bother with Youtube tutorials, they are often out of date, or missing a critical step.

 

[Ajlr]

Mixed about this.

 

[Tsukiru]

well I doubt I would've deleted it, might be on my old laptop or something, but yeah I would still expect someone to dump it again at some point as it was a free download if it hasn't already

I just would've stuck it in a folder somewhere probably, but after the original owner uploaded it I figured "oh well thats preserved now" so it wouldn't really occur to me to keep it somewhere I would remember

Well the matter of finding it would still be a hassle imo

 

[Alexander1970]

Maybe already known ?

As part of this, Pokémon Bank for the 3DS will be free after this date,but must be downloaded beforehand (preferably now). It is not yet known when this service will be discontinued.

 

[Jayro]

good thing piracy enables preservation!

Yes, but doesn't this also mean the Wii U Helper Installer will stop working as well? Or will it be updated to pull the game files from another source?

 

[MadMakuFuuma]

every single Ps1 and Gamecube disk is working fine

in your collection, or in general? because i know a bunch of people who got their discs messed up, and some of them treats their games like babies, so... overtime, discs deteriorate, and that is a fact.

ps: not debating if digital is better than physical copies, only appointing facts. any form of "preservation" have their own flaws.

 

[DudderButter]

Alongside the original Wii and DS, I grew up with these two consoles. I accumulated over 1000 hours on the Wii U alone (you can thank Minecraft for that) and at least over 600 on my 3DS's. If counting the seperate accounts I had on both.

We all knew this was going to happen at some point. But it's so difficult to register now because it's actually happening. My biggest concern now is where I'm going to get games after NUSspli and USB Helper shut down with the servers. HShop might too if Nintendo even cares. Maybe Vimm's Lair will update in the future with some titles? But I doubt it, these games are still fairly new. I hate going on sketchy sites and using torrents-I never feel secure using them. Guess I'll just have to download what I want now or never.

I hope more people get into the Wii U homebrew scene. With the release of Tiramisu this year, I think that hyped a lot of people up for new content in the community. Maybe we'll finally get vWii Wii U gamepad support for Nintendont! Maybe we'll finally be able to emulate amiibos! Who knows?

It's the end of an era and a start of a new one!

 

[sley]

Soo, whats the best way to update and hack my 3ds? its still on firmware 4.5 :/

https://3ds.hacks.guide/

but fw 4.5? damn maybe keep it.

 

[SaberLilly]

I'm more concerned that Pokemon Bank is getting cut as well, or is there a workaround to get those mons onto newer games?

 

[Kopimist]

Alongside the original Wii and DS, I grew up with these two consoles. I accumulated over 1000 hours on the Wii U alone (you can thank Minecraft for that) and at least over 600 on my 3DS's. If counting the seperate accounts I had on both.

We all knew this was going to happen at some point. But it's so difficult to register now because it's actually happening. My biggest concern now is where I'm going to get games after NUSspli and USB Helper shut down with the servers. HShop, as well. Maybe Vimm's Lair will update in the future with some titles? But I doubt it, these games are still fairly new. I hate going on sketchy sites and using torrents-I never feel secure using them. Guess I'll just have to download what I want now or never.

I hope more people get into the Wii U homebrew scene. With the release of Tiramisu this year, I think that hyped a lot of people up for new content in the community. Maybe we'll finally get vWii Wii U gamepad support for Nintendont! Maybe we'll finally be able to emulate amiibos! Who knows?

It's the end of an era and a start of a new one!

WiiU gamepad support for Nintendont is already a thing using a modded forwarder. I have this set up on my console. The only downfall is net access doesn't work with this version so you have to manually update Nintendont whenever a new version comes out. https://github.com/Special-Niewbie/Nintendont-CrisMMMod/releases

 

[Xalusc]

For now. I'm not making up the fact all media discs deteriorate over time, within our lifetimes really. Look it up if you doubt. (Also, while your personal collection may all still work fine without issue, I wouldn't be surprised at all to hear that some PS1 games in people's collections are starting to be problematic or not read at all.)

Like it or not, this is true.
Infamously, western Saturn games are known to be more prone to this kind of issue nowadays.

Oh I did not hear about this, when did Tiramisu release? Im curious

https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-tiramisu-environment-free-cbhc.605381/
Jan 1st this year, apparently

Will Hshop (3DS) and NUSspli (Wii U) be affected by eshop closure, please no ? If so, what are the alternative solutions to download games then ? I've heard about torrents, but I'm not sure.

HShop: no, it's safe.
NUSspli: yes, it will stop working. Or at least it will if they shut down NUS along with the eShop.

 

[DudderButter]

WiiU gamepad support for Nintendont is already a thing using a modded forwarder. I have this set up on my console. The only downfall is net access doesn't work with this version so you have to manually update Nintendont whenever a new version comes out. https://github.com/Special-Niewbie/Nintendont-CrisMMMod/releases

"The vWii for Wii U Nintendont Channel , cannot be used with the Wii U [game]PAD as controller, because it's a fully forwarder from Wii U Menu to vWii Nintendont app."

This is the issue I was referring to in my post. I'd like to be able to keep my Wii/GC games on a hard drive just for the vWii while having a separate drive for Wii U games. I'd like to be able to use the gamepad on the vWii essentially, which is probably impossible, but I can wish. I'll keep this mod in mind, though.

 

[nemwolf]

Like it or not, this is true.
Infamously, western Saturn games are known to be more prone to this kind of issue nowadays.


https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-tiramisu-environment-free-cbhc.605381/
Jan 1st this year, apparently

HShop: no, it's safe.
NUSspli: yes, it will stop working. Or at least it will if they shut down NUS along with the eShop.

makes sense

 

[MaxiBash]

god they better do a sale now that they're on a shop system where it's easily doable

 

[Kopimist]

"The vWii for Wii U Nintendont Channel , cannot be used with the Wii U [game]PAD as controller, because it's a fully forwarder from Wii U Menu to vWii Nintendont app."

This is the issue I was referring to in my post. I'd like to be able to keep my Wii/GC games on a hard drive just for the vWii while having a separate drive for Wii U games. I'd like to be able to use the gamepad on the vWii essentially, which is probably impossible, but I can wish. I'll keep this mod in mind, though.

You misunderstand. There's two different versions there. One is for WiiU mode which supports the gamepad (WiiVC forwarder channel) and one strictly for vWii mode that doesn't support the gamepad but has net access. Afaik your vWii hdd should work just fine for storing GameCube Isis as long as it's in FAT32 format and not the obsolete WBFS format.

Also I've attached a photo of me playing a GameCube game on the gamepad:

 

[K3Nv2]

Hackers are very important for moments like this. Back up and Preservation of these games.

The fact hackers made it so easy to install cfw these days is a blessing in situations like these. All the more reason why digital preservatives are so important.