Life results announced for eShop 3DS and Wii U

It’s been almost 12 years since the Nintendo eShop was launched on the Nintendo 3DS, and 10 years on the Wii U.

Unfortunately, service on both platforms will soon be discontinued. From late March 2023, you will not be able to make new purchases or download freeware, but you can re-download the content you already have… for a limited time.

Note that the Nintendo Switch operating system is not affected: Today’s announcement is about Nintendo 3DS and Wii U consoles!

Here is the Nintendo eShop shutdown schedule for these two sites:

• From May 23, 2022, credit cards will no longer be used to add funds to accounts in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U or Nintendo 3DS family systems.
• From August 29, 2022, the Nintendo eShop card will no longer be used to add funds to Nintendo eShop accounts on the Wii U or Nintendo 3DS family systems. However, download codes can be retrieved by the end of March 2023.
• As of March 2023, none of the following can be done:
  Purchase content
  On the Nintendo 3DS, software such as StreetPass Mii Plaza, Theme Shop, Nintendo Badge Arcade and Pokémon Bank include paid content, games and passes.
  This includes software passes such as the Wii Sports Club on the Wii U.
  Download demos
  Download free software
  Recover the download code

When the Nintendo eShop shuts down on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, be sure to link your ID to your Nintendo account if you still have money in your Nintendo Network ID wallet. This will allow you to put your stock together and use it to buy a Nintendo Switch. Additionally, the Nintendo eShop prepaid cards bearing the Nintendo 3DS / Wii U branding can still be used to add funds to the Nintendo Switch, even after the Nintendo eShop is discontinued on these sites.

Here are the features that will not stop at the end of March 2023:

• All the Nintendo EShop features in the Nintendo Switch
• Re-downloads content you already have (games, DLC, etc.)
• Download software / firmware updates
• Play online on Nintendo 3DS or Wii U
• Download a small selection of new Nintendo 3DS themes

Unfortunately, Nintendo has made it clear that users can only re-download content they own “for the foreseeable future”, which may at some point in the future make it impossible to do so. In other words: do not wait to download what you want (again)!

To avoid being too sad, Nintendo has launched a 3DS and Wii U souvenir website Here)

About the fire symbol rules

Shutting down the Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo 3DS will affect the fire icon rules. More precisely, players can no longer buy DLC for a game that includes additional maps and story lines (success, birthright, expressions). This is especially important for players who have a digital version of the game, as this interruption may end up in an incomplete version of the game and they may not be able to progress beyond Chapter 6! To prevent this, players should do the following before closing the Nintendo eShop:

• Proceed to Chapter 6
• Select “Branch of Rule” from the Start menu.
• Choose the storyline you like and download it for free.
• If you want to enjoy other story lines, you must purchase them by the end of March (this also applies to players who have purchased a physical copy of the game).

This particular problem is due to the fact that in the digital version of Fire Emblem Fights, all story paths are considered DLC (players can choose one for free). In fact, only one version of the game is available in the digital version (two against the retail version: patent and win). Nintendo wanted to ensure that Nintendo could only download content that they could access (so save space on their SD card), but this solution would inevitably cause problems when the Nintendo eShop was removed (inevitably!).