Nintendo has confirmed the global closure date of the 3DS and Wii U eShops. In mid-February 2022, the company announced that it would close the legacy platform eShops in late March 2023. A new update to the announcement page reveals that the stores will close in the West on March 27, 2023, and in Japan on March 28, 2023.
In the West, Nintendo will no longer let users add funds after August 29, 2022, and purchase anything after March 27, 2023. Nintendo’s Japanese website provided a more exact time for the shop closures in the country. Adding funds will no longer be possible in Japan on August 30, 2022, at 1:30 PM JST. The 3DS and Wii U eShops will close in Japan on March 28, 2023, at 9 AM JST, which would be equal to midnight in UTC.
The Japanese and UK websites also have a special mention for Fire Emblem Fates, the 3DS game where players can purchase additional routes via DLC. Players of the game can download the story routes until the eShop closure date in the respective regions. However, Nintendo UK will cease selling the main digital copy of Fire Emblem Fates one month earlier on February 28, 2023.
After the 3DS and Wii U eShop closures, users will still be able to download digital content that they have purchased previously for the foreseeable future. The Japanese page added that Nintendo will eventually cease the download services as well.
The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops are available until March 27, 2023, in the West and March 28, 2023, in Japan.
