Nintendo finally and inevitably announced the date in which they will be closing the eShop for good. This includes both the WiiU and 3DS eShops: March 2023.
As of late March 2023, it will no longer be possible to make Nintendo eShop purchases for the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
More info: https://t.co/uGoxCcDZ70
β Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 16, 2022
People are upset because this means people won’t be able to “officially” access the library of potentially hundreds of games which are only available through their respective eShops without having to resort to piracy. On the other hand, Nintendo is a company that runs a business, and don’t have infinite money. Sad they can’t offer a better solution, but is it really their responsibility?
I do think preservation is important, but what likely matters more to Nintendo is that they aren’t going into the red. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made, and this is one of them. And we all knew the eShop wasn’t going to be around forever.
Regardless of where you stand on this issue, currently the only way you can officially purchase and play digital versions of the following Metroid games are through the eShops. Get ’em before they’re gone; you have barely more than a year left.
- Metroid Prime Trilogy – WiiU eShop
- Metroid Other M – WiiU eShop
- Metroid Prime Hunters – WiiU eShop
- Metroid – Wii U / 3DS eShop
- Metroid II: Return of Samus – 3DS eShop
- Super Metroid – Wii U / 3DS eShop (“NEW” 3DS models only)
- Metroid Fusion – WiiU eShop
- Metroid Zero Mission – WiiU eShop
- Metroid Prime Federation Force – 3DS eShop
- Metroid Samus Returns – 3DS eShop
Metroid and Super Metroid are also currently available as titles through Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.
Lastly, I’ll say you’re free to disagree with me, no one has to agree all the time. I just don’t think this is as bad as everyone’s making it out to be.
