Nintendo's eShop closures are putting generations of games out of reach

The Nintendo eShop for the Wii U and 3DS game consoles officially closed for business on March 27th, 2023, permanently disabling all new purchases on the platforms. We knew this was coming. Nintendo quietly announced the eShop's closure over a year ago, asserting that it was the "natural life cycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." That's true. It's even a reasonable business justification. That doesn't make it any less of a loss for Nintendo fans, because legally playing some of these console’s best games is now not only harder, but in some cases, nearly impossible.The time to argue that Nintendo should keep this aging digital storefront open has long since passed (though yes, they should have). The eShop is closed, but it's worth reflecting on what consumers are losing with it: one of the last affordable, convenient and legal options for buying a vast library of games. And not just Nintendo's retro library of "Virtual Console" titles from its classic era, either. Between the 3DS and Wii U eShop's closure, consumers have lost easy access to modern and classic games from a dozen platforms — from more recent systems like the Wii U and 3DS, to the original Wii, the DS and DSi, three flavors of Game Boy handhelds (Advance, Color and original), the Sega Game Gear, the TurboGraphix-16, as well as the Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo and original Nintendo Entertainment System. Losing these libraries now is especially painful, as it's becoming... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-03-27 14:00:52 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Nintendo's eShop closures are putting generations of games out of reach"


Spotlight Falls on Subscription Services

Oyster, the ebook subscription service with nearly half a million titles, launched in 2013. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Heads up, bookworms! Oyster is Netflix for books

The all-you-can-eat Netflix model of media consumption is now available for ebooks.Oyster, a year-old Flatiron-district startup with $3 million in backing, launched its iPhone e-reading application and subscription service on Thursday. For now, the service is only available by invitation (users... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this