As PlayStation and Xbox battle for console supremacy by acquiring as many studios as they possibly can, Nintendo is arguably outperforming both by just doing its own thing. The Switch recently surpassed 103 million consoles sold, making it the most successful home system in Nintendo history. In fact, so many people have a Switch at this point that Nintendo has decided to end support for its older consoles.
More specifically the 3DS and the Wii U. Nintendo released details this week revealing support for both of the consoles' eShops will gradually be removed over the course of the next 13 months. “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,” the lengthy statement from Nintendo reads.
The information regarding the older consoles' eShops is lengthy for a reason. It isn't simply a case of shutting them down next year and that's it forever. The process will actually begin in May of this year. From May 23, 2022, you will no longer be able to add funds to your 3DS and Wii U eShop accounts using a credit card. The next significant date after that will be August 29, 2022, at which point you will no longer be able to add funds using Nintendo eShop cards.
From the end of August until late March 2023, the only way to buy games will be by redeeming eShop codes. However, even after that, the storefronts will still be accessible, you just won't be able to buy games from them. Games and DLC you've bought in the past will still be able to be downloaded, and games with online play will still be supported.
Nintendo closes by revealing you will be able to access a Memories page for the Wii U and 3DS. A website showing you some relevant and hopefully interesting statistics from your time with the consoles. A time that doesn't necessarily have to come to an end, of course, but it's worth checking out where it has been so far. The site will likely be similar to the end-of-year stats collated for PS4, PS5, and Switch users.