The Wii U and 3DS eShops Are Being Shut Down

[@thebaconator1883]

I remember when the Metroid games on VC got bought a lot after Dread’s announcement. That alone still shows the worth of the eshop especially with the current retro game catalog on switch

[@adamdenardis5438]

That's still the only way to play them on more recent hardware. Now you gotta get a gba for them or play them in an emulator like VBA.

[@bordu9011]

@@adamdenardis5438 Are there any more emulators for GBA? The closest thing I have is a proxy.

[@HoodieGemron]

@@bordu9011 mGBA is really good from my experience.

[@bordu9011]

@@HoodieGemron Thanks for the recommendation

[@SleepyFawn]

I think what it is, is perhaps they have an illogical perspective of how it works. Like, they seem to think that if you buy old Metroid games, you won't need the new one, so they lose money, when in fact, most people buying that stuff are hyped for a new release and just catching up on the series.

[@ninjafurret2280]

Nintendo: “Waaaah, people keep pirating our games!” Also Nintendo: *Adamantly refuses to give people a long-term way to buy their games at a decent price*

[@supergoron1]

If they don't want me to pirate Paper Mario TTYD then they better provide a way for me to legally and affordably play it, otherwise they can piss off.

[@Maverynthia]

Buy games and to allow access to the games that people have legally purchased.

[@alexanderdahms4001]

Nintendo agin:*shutdhow e-shop so yuo cant pirate games*

[@maplemiles3381]

@@supergoron1 that game sold poorly

[@supergoron1]

@@maplemiles3381 Your mom sold poorly

[@awesomeocelot7475]

The 3DS was literally discontinued only a little over a year ago. It’s way too soon to shut down it’s eshop if ever. It’s literally what kept Nintendo afloat during the early and mid 2010s after the Wii U flopped

[@lilyyoung1002]

I agree

[@M64bros]

Truthful facts right there! Nowadays people barely Play on the 3DS or the Wii U and I'm sure almost everyone has got their hands on the Nintendo switch. Regardless I am going to miss that era but it's important for us to move on.

[@Alorso_]

I can understand shutting down the WiiU with how poor it sold, but the 3DS? That's a 75 million seller, should've given it 2-3 more years at least, Nintendo pulling a Nintendo like usual

[@legoboy7107]

Not to mention, just a couple years ago Nintendo said they would continue to support the 3DS through 2019 and beyond. It's only been a couple years since then. That just feels way too soon.

[@spencergallucci5309]

Yeah but the Switch is a HUGE success and it itself is reaching its shelf life by hardware standards. Despite a consoles success in the past companies move on, it is just how it goes

[@useraccount333]

"We know Nintendo. We know that Nintendo does not care." I used to be irritated, even angered, by being called a "Nintendrone". But these past few years I've accepted that they have a point.

[@Hauntaku]

I'm a Nintendo fangirl but I've been buying mostly indie games on their consoles because I have been annoyed with their first-party AA stuff.

[@kiwiseatpumpkinpie1709]

@@Hauntaku does buying indie games still support them though?

[@NatetheNintendofan]

Piracy the best

[@Felixman128]

Omg I've never related to a statement so much

[@spiderfrider64]

I'm a big fan of Nintendo and their but the Switch... It was having a handful of screw ups and it still looks a little bit like crap

[@Artista_Frustrado]

the fact that Nintendo is so obsesive with controlling how fans consume their products yet don't bother to keep their end of the bargain is depressing, & they know we will buy back the cost

[@maplemiles3381]

People will say their done with Nintendo but still keep playing them

[@Artista_Frustrado]

@@maplemiles3381 that's why i never said that, I just say Is morally ok to pirate everything their output as soon the new console comes out, as they deemed it Value-less

[@spudsT]

And apologists can’t even make the Disney vault argument anymore. Disney+ has been around too long for that!

[@donkeykongisbetterthanmari7495]

just start a riot

[@maplemiles3381]

@@Artista_Frustrado its morally incorrect to pirate Nintendo games for a matter of fact ut feels better to buy itbthen to steal it

[@Frog_Puppet]

I can understand the wii U store being closed, but the 3DS hasn't been out of production for very long that's nuts

[@CommodoreFan64]

For real, as the NEW 2DS XL(7/28/17) is not even as old as the Switch(3/3/17), and I bought myself a 2DS XL for my birthday(7/4/81) in 2017 as an upgrade to my black/red 2DS, and I still pick up my 2DS XL, and play it to this day, even though I also have a Switch Lite I got in March 2020. It's just such a dang fun system with features we still don't see on the Switch like system themes, and some games originally released for it like Hawaii Shakedown, and 80's Overdrive just play better on it than the Switch(yes I have the games for both my 2DS XL, and Switch Lite).

[@MaxiemumKarnage]

@@CommodoreFan64 I was gonna point out how the 2DSXL is newer than the Switch too, lol. Such an odd decision to shutdown the eShop so soon.

[@leeartlee915]

Yeah, and wasn’t Nintendo saying not too long ago that the Switch and 3DS were supposed to live in harmony? Why are their fates tied together?

[@GameAW1]

The Wii U and 3DS use the exact same eShop server, so you quite literally can't close one but not the other. Its either they both shut down or neither one does.

[@leeartlee915]

@@GameAW1 Ahhh, that totally makes sense. Not sure why I didn’t get that, considering how they look identical. Still is kinda messed up to abandon close to 80 million 3DS owners after only discontinuing the platform 3 years ago.

[@Telomerase9]

The problem isn't really that these shops are shutting down. They were obviously going to be gone eventually. The problem is that Nintendo doesn't have anything like this on Switch.

[@kyotheman69]

nintendo really needs to make their own game pass like microsoft, only way to reserve older titles

[@АлександрТерехов-ж3й]

@@kyotheman69 Sony needs it too

[@westberrygaming9741]

@@АлександрТерехов-ж3й apparently Sony are in the process of making that exact thing

[@TriforceWisdom64]

For real. The Switch not only has 0 backwards compatibility, but also no way to reacquire any of that content even though plenty of people would be willing to burn money rebuying the same games. Nope, just NSO and its limitations.

[@carsonklein4707]

@@kyotheman69 I think eventually, if Xbox continues to succeed with game pass, Nintendo will begin to see the promise of the game pass model and will expand NSO to include more of their games, both new and old. At least, I really hope they decide to do that, because we all know Nintendo almost never does what the rest of the game industry is doing, for better and for worse.

[@MyGoodFriendJon]

It's especially frustrating that Nintendo wants us to stay perpetually on their subscription plans, but they don't want to stay "subscribed" to maintaining the servers for their legacy marketplaces.

[@RacingSnails64]

Yep. Really insulting.

[@leeartlee915]

What’s REALLY messed up is this is all planned. If Nintendo could have had a subscription service from the start, they would have. They never wanted us to own these games. There is evidence of Nintendo actually wishing their old software wasn’t out there to be resold to gamers.

[@azurekite3870]

@@leeartlee915 yea,it's so damn stupid and emulation is keeping the games alive and forgotten like i emulate some gba games and good ds games that i loved playing now on my android phone and psp games too

[@leeartlee915]

@@azurekite3870 I jumped into emulation and optical replacement drives during the pandemic when used game prices went crazy. Before that I had only ever messed with emulation when I got my first PC back in 1999. But yeah, now that I have gone down that road, I’m actually much happier. My 3DS, for example, has ever Gameboy, GBA, DS, and SNES game ever released. In addition, it has all the best 3ds releases, including digital only titles (e.g. Pushmo). More recently, I’ve started putting PS1 games on there. In short, my own 3DS has enough games on it’s SD card that I could only have that one handheld and could have enough content to keep me busy for the next 10-20 years, no exaggeration. Then I have a Wii U with every Gamecube, Wii, and Wii U game on it. This isn’t to say I don’t buy stuff when I can but when it cost over $100 to play Game and Wario, I’m not gonna buy that from some reseller out of Ohio. And I’m hesitant to buy it from the E shop when they are planning to do exactly this: kill the store. If my Wii U were to die tomorrow, I could get every game on my back up before the end the day. In a year, I’d be screwed with the E shop being killed. The way I see it, I’ve literally given these companies thousands and thousands of dollars. I’ve probably given Nintendo more money than any other company in the world. So if I wanna go and play Pikmin on the Wii U, I don’t lose any sleep playing a ISO. Having said that, if Nintendo created a evergreen e shop like Steam, I’d gladly buy the games from them. But they don’t so I can’t.

[@belnonaodh1520]

@@leeartlee915 Could you give me a link, or shout-out for some websites? Like, I'm interested, but I'm really wary of the malware you can get from downloading emulators.

[@corphish129]

As a developer, one thing to note is that as these shop apps age, they still need security updates as well as any updates necessary for shifting transaction handling regulations across any countries they are still selling in. Over time, the maintenance costs of an old app like this can actually increase rather than decrease as the technologies they are built on become more outdated and the developers familiar with the apps move on to other things. Of course, if Nintendo Switch has an actual virtual console, this wouldn't suck nearly so much.

[@ghostpile8883]

Genuinely think that's their biggest **optics** mistake here. (Obviously I think their bigger mistake lies in zero effort to make their legacy titles consistently available at all lol) When the other eShops closed down, the eShops of the next generation consoles were pretty well stocked with not only a pretty decent offering of newer titles and toys, but at least the *beginnings* of a promising virtual console or legacy collection. The Switch storefront is...I'm sorry, just not that. It actually might just be the worst storefront Nintendo's ever offered in terms of UI and Charm, and the filtering is so, so much worse. Genuine gems buried under mounds of shovelware and mobile app store rejects. Not to mention how weirdly clunky and laggy it can be at seemingly random times. The other times the blow was significantly cushioned, and them not doing so this time was definitely a hit on the optics of the situation for sure.

[@ghostpile8883]

As an afterthought, I don't mean to insinuate the *New* offerings on the Switch aren't enough! The library is pretty diverse! But in terms of legacy content and the other areas I mentioned where the store is lacking, it's a poor substitute.

[@gogglebrains]

This reasoning may provide some justification for disabling new purchases via the eShop apps themselves, but doesn't explain disabling new purchases via the Nintendo Store (on their website that is). There is no legitimate reason for pulling these games from sale altogether. It's just part of Nitnendo's "Disney Vault" style long-term market strategy, and that's really all there is to it.

[@rictendones]

I literally had the same exact thought last night. Their gimmicks each console generation are refreshing at first, But in longevity it just hurts preservation at this point

[@tristanneal9552]

I can confirm that that question about the obligation to preserve games was real. I happened to be on the internet when the announcement was first made and went to their page and I read it for myself. I remember, because I remember thinking "wow I can't believe the interviewer asked that and I also can't believe Nintendo allowed that to be published"

[@CarlMakesVideos]

Not even an interviewer, it was their own Q and A on their own site, with questions they came up with.

[@ZappBranniglenn]

Not sure where the "if this is real" crack is coming from. Does Arlo think the Wayback Machine just...lies occasionally?

[@jarm3752]

@@ZappBranniglenn No

[@fuyuseetaa]

@@ZappBranniglenn This is my first time seeing that screenshot and I was initially skeptical because of how unusually aware and "in your face" it was by Nintendo standards. "Don't you think you should preserve these games?" "No. We have plenty of legacy content on our Amazing Paid Service(TM)." Parody screenshots come up all the time so it's reasonable to be skeptical if you didn't know it came directly from the Wayback Machine.

[@ZappBranniglenn]

@@fuyuseetaa Sure if it was just a screenshot. But that part of the video was using the Wayback Machine itself. I know that Arlo doesn't edit most of his videos, but surely his editor could have chimed in with "yeah it's real. Here's a link so you can see", and then he adjusts the video script accordingly. Or the editor adds onscreen text saying it's real, here's the proof right here.

[@Nickk7878-v8t]

This is honestly really depressing news for me personally because I love the Wii U and 3DS! I mean, it’s not unexpected, but still sad. Even though they weren’t as successful as the Switch, they had many great games and this is just one of the final nails in their coffins. It’s also fairly frustrating. Throughout the Switch’s life, they’ve been re-releasing games for 3 fold the prices on Wii U like Skyward Sword, Pikmin 3, Mario 3D World, and Donkey Kong County for instance and now Nintendo is trying to force people to buy the more expensive version on Switch, which isn’t worth also sacrificing dozens of classic legacy titles! Speaking of which, the virtual console is pretty much officially dead now and I’m like 99% sure it’s because Nintendo wants people to use their inferior rental online system. It’s sad when people praise Nintendo for adding Majora’s Mask and EarthBound to their service, while it was on the Wii U about half a dozen years ago, while removing the ability to buy them. Sorry for the rant, this is just a terrible move on Nintendo’s part and I really just don’t like seeing it.

[@Nickk7878-v8t]

Xenoblade is another game that increased in price 3-fold. That also came to mind.

[@АлександрТерехов-ж3й]

but at least Xenoblade 1 was a remaster on a new engine and new content, unlike other ports with Wii U

[@Nickk7878-v8t]

@@АлександрТерехов-ж3й Fair Point.

[@ddm7833]

Never apologize when you are right.

[@professorhaystacks6606]

Was Earthbound Beginnings ever on anything other than Wii U? I played it long ago when there was no legal release, and then they do one that I can't get, and it bugged me.

[@ITNODove]

Something worth remembering is that the 3DS is one of the easiest consoles around to get homebrew running on. Every 3DS game worth playing, whether physical or eshop exclusive, is available online if you know where to look. 😉

[@PlumEXE]

i’ve got a cfw 3ds is wii u hard to do!

[@ITNODove]

@@PlumEXE As far as I'm aware its a fairly simple process for the Wii U but I haven't done it before myself.

[@BingBong67489]

Yeah I think this is finally what's gonna get me into sailing the high seas. Up until now I've been happy to just buy digital games ftom Nintendo now and then as I had some spare cash, but I'm not gonna suddenly make a mad dash to buy every single game I might ever have any interest in some day.

[@RacingSnails64]

Unfortunately true. Wish Nintendo wasn't so ass-backwards when it came to their amazing retro games. Just put them up for sale and people will buy them!! The pirating problem is theirs to fix!! Artificial scarcity is such bullshit. Does it even get them more money than if everything were always up for purchase?? I feel like that would get them more money overall and consistently.

[@minespatch]

Picked up a used copy a year after I got a $5 copy of Yokai Watch at 5 and below store.

[@murdokdracul]

Arlo's just a couple steps away from donning the eyepatch and sailing the high seas and I am here for it

[@julianx2rl]

*A R G H ! ! !*

[@KeyBladeMaster-Dan]

@@julianx2rl YO-HO ALL TOGETHER HOIST THE COLOURS HIIIIIIGH!!!!

[@Quadraginta1337]

🏴‍☠️

[@DanielT42]

18:11 I don’t think I have ever resonated more with something you’ve said. Nintendo just _does not care_ what customers say or think in situations like this. No wonder people aren’t reacting more strongly here.

[@leon4000]

And people got so used to it, it's like the norm. Because they want Nintendo to change, but the company as a whole doesn't want to change much. And all people can do is raise their voices in hopes that someone in Nintendo will listen enough to try something different than how the company usually does things.

[@XperimentorEES]

This just reminds me of the fact that physical copies of books & games & movies are still the best option, because digital ones can legally be denied from their audience via these loopholes of it being provided by a service.

[@charlestrudel8308]

well, at least, redownload is not shutdown, and any store can stop selling a product for licensing reasons. (or in this case, security reason on old architecture.)

[@leeartlee915]

Actually, digital is still better. It last forever, can’t degrade, and can be moved around from system to system…. just not digital content from these guys (if you get my drift). Many of my SNES games don’t work anymore. I never treated them bad and have been the sole owner all my life. Physical media does not last forever, contrary to popular belief.

[@realthemariogamer]

@@leeartlee915 Another advantage with having physical games is that you save space on your system. Even though digital is more convenient.

[@leeartlee915]

@@realthemariogamer Well that’s not entirely true. For the Switch, yeah, having physical games is pretty much better all around. But for the Gamecube, for example, I have a GC Loader in one of mine and it has every game ever released in NA. It plays exactly like it would if the disc was in there with one difference: game load faster. As time has gone on, I’ve just moved away from physical collecting more and more. I still do buy physical games just nothing like I use to.

[@realthemariogamer]

@@leeartlee915 fair enough, that's a good point.

[@UseTheBoost3D]

it reeeeeally needs to be mentioned in all the discussions involving this: you only have until MAY 2022 to add funds to the wallet via credit card, and AUGUST 2022 to redeem eShop cards. so really, if you don't have funds in your eShop wallets by this time, the March 2023 closure won't matter, you'll have already missed it. everyone make sure you note this!! EDIT!: others have pointed out that as long as your accounts are linked, you can add funds to your eShop wallet via Switch and use them on Wii U and 3DS until March 2023, so thats good... seems like Nintendo just doesn't want to be in charge of maintaining actual transactions directly through the old eShops

[@OriginalGameteer]

It's until May? Thank the stars, part of me was worried I wouldn't be able to start buying stuff in March when I get to the consoles again until after I wouldn't be able to use my credit

[@tulip811]

Thank you

[@klg9549]

This is even more brutal when you add the fact that for SOME REASON, UK Nintendo made it so that you can no longer add eshop funds via credit/debit card two years ago. You have to go and buy those eshop cards. Augh. EDIT: Thankfully if you link your switch eshop account to your 3DS one, you can add funds to your switch account and it'll cross over to your 3DS one too. Thank goodness.

[@wghtmf]

@@klg9549 You don't have to buy eShop cards, you can still buy things via Nintendo's website, or add funds on your Switch and use them on 3DS or Wii U.

[@Hauntaku]

You can merge your funds by connecting your NNID to your Nintendo account.

[@BugsyFoga]

Sometimes i just wonder if Nintendo even like their customers when pulling moves like this and thinking people won’t be seriously upset about it.

[@FireCrewGAMING]

They used too, then the newblood came in and it became very much more corporate

[@EthanMastercrafter]

They know damn well how much these games mean to us and know we won't retaliatate cause we'll just keep buying. They literally have an iron grip on us

[@JordiumZ]

@@EthanMastercrafter when was the last time you guys downloaded a 3ds game?

[@EthanMastercrafter]

@@JordiumZ oh this doesn't apply to me. Ive never used the eshop on 3ds/Wii U. This is more or less for the people who do use it and won't have an "official" way of playing these games again

[@Hauntaku]

@@JordiumZ Baka

[@Rhinneh]

Nintendo used to feel like a reliable company. These days they come across as very customer-unfriendly and I don’t regard them highly as I once did. This whole ordeal not only turns me off of buying digital games, it makes me wonder what the future holds for physical games, which almost all comes with a day one patch these days…

[@Deadsea_1993]

This is Nintendo without Iwata and Reggae. They were the ones holding the Lions at bay. The bad people that only cared about money are now in charge and at the gate.

[@leon4000]

Some games are fortunate to not need a patch. And some of them are the good ones just as much as the already famous.

[@tmcttf8087]

@@Deadsea_1993 And what do you think of Doug Bowser?

[@chrismdb5686]

@@Deadsea_1993 Nintendo did this with both of those people at the helm, in fact they've been doing shitty anti-consumer things since they started with the NES. They've never changed and they'll never have to because people keep lapping it up.

[@maplemiles3381]

They are still a reliable company

[@Internatube]

"Nintendo's gimmicky peripherals are hurting the longevity of it's games" That was the most on-point criticism I've heard towards Nintendo's isolationist business model. Well said, Cookie Monster.

[@WayOutGaming]

Perhaps the gimmickyness is their way of doing DRM? Gimmicks can be hard to emulate (no impossible mind you, but still).

[@perrydimes6915]

he's not a cookie monster. he's arlo

[@jongameaddict]

He looks more like Grover tbh

[@kysonjack3158]

@@jongameaddict A noseless Grover

[@ZappBranniglenn]

I'm critical of a lot of things Nintendo, but I think this is one area they've improved upon with the Switch. Absolutely nothing about the Switch will make it difficult to port its games to a later system. No gameplay gimmicks that you couldn't replicate without some antiquated peripheral. That said, it will only make it more ludicrous when Switch games fail to arrive on Nintendo systems ten years from now.

[@anoriginalusername1088]

My issue with them getting rid of the 3DS eShop is that, there is a lot of games on it that just cannot be ported to the Switch. Anything that utilized the two screens or camera would be impossible. Anything that uses a touch screen, wouldn't be nearly as intuitive as on the 3DS. And what I'm fearing is that since the Switch has sort of filled the niche of "Nintendo's New Handheld" this console generation (for better or for worse) we won't be getting a system that these could be ported to for a while.

[@msu7777]

Two screens is possible -> its just cut one screan to two side by side. But with camera its imposible without additional hardware

[@anoriginalusername1088]

@@msu7777 I see what your getting at but we both know that it will just look weird if they emulate a 3DS game like that.

[@ClownLordi]

@@msu7777 I mean some games lose stuff in translation. like the phantom hourglass map puzzle where you have to close your DS to copy a location from another map to yours

[@Alaneeeeee]

I could see another DS in the distant future. Imagine if they used those wacky foldable screens. That would be one screen only, but you could fold it and use it as two lol

[@Bane_Amesta]

@@Alaneeeeee the emulators on the Samsung fold already makes it look like a DS lol, but knowing Nintendo they will make it in like 50 years more, when those foldable screens will be outdated (?)

[@theotherjared9824]

There are some exclusive titles that have never and likely will never be re-released by virtue of being made for those systems. Nintendo outright saying they have no plans of preserving them incentivizes emulation and piracy for future generations to play them, which nintendo also cracks down on with no official alternative. Nintendo sometimes does everything in their power to not make money and the old guard in Japan need to step down before any of this can change.

[@Savariable]

Like the pokemon dream radar. I mainly care about the available pokemon and stuff from it, that HAVE THEIR HIDDEN ABILITIES too. I did have it before my previous 3ds broke

[@oofcos4669]

Kid Icarus is a game that is just not the same with emulation. Games like Mario 3d land will still be playable. But others will be lost with time with no way to truly experience them without spending hundreds.

[@lalehiandeity1649]

It costs money to maintain those services. And Nintendo is giving us plenty of advanced warning, so no complaints. Also, those systems are dead. Edit: Arlo’s argument that the systems aren’t dead holds little water. They aren’t selling anymore. Edit 2: I thought the bit about Nintendo saying they wouldn’t preserve their games was fake news.

[@TheDeathmail]

@@lalehiandeity1649 The problem is that they don't allow piracy for the stuff that they'd no longer sell.....

[@TheDeathmail]

@@Savariable Well, getting hidden abilities isn't that hard anymore after Sword and Shield...

[@hyperon_ion9423]

The _ONLY_ argument Nintendo actually has, is that they don’t want to spend the money to keep the servers for old consoles running. And I don’t think it’s that expensive for them to keep them running, especially if they’re still getting business.

[@davyf33]

Servers are quite pricey. No clue how much revenue they are making but maybe they want less costs. There still a large company so it’s confusing. Maybe wait till 2025 or something.

[@pcnazillpg5065]

But the servers for verification and such will need to stay online as long as you can re-download games

[@corjonbett]

@@pcnazillpg5065 Once the store closes, no more redownloading either. Simple

[@pcnazillpg5065]

@@corjonbett the wii store is closed, yet they can still re-download games just fine

[@CarloNassar]

That's why I want to know if Nintendo is larger or smaller than Sony if you combine all parts/divisions for both companies. Even Sony took down the PSP stores.

[@Duskets]

Nintendo is basically forcing consumer’s hands when it comes to emulating older titles.

[@DANCERcow]

Buy a GameCube they are like $75 on ebay

[@zestyvoyage2188]

@@DANCERcow that is still very expensive for gamea that are nearly twenty years old

[@DANCERcow]

@@zestyvoyage2188 $75 is expensive for a 20 year old console? That is cheap as hell for an old console! You must be dirt poor

[@kyotra]

@@DANCERcow No need to be a condescending jerk to people, bub.

[@lethauntic]

$75 ain't bad for however many great games are on the GC. If anyone is ok with softmodding (which isn't hard to do), then a Wii or even better a WiiU would be a great choice since it can play so many consoles worth of games. Though I know that they aren't as cheap. You can emulate, and that's always nice, but having the console itself does feel good too even if they can be hard to get many times.

[@Domenic1407]

That’s pretty much why and how Nintendo indirectly encourages piracy, console modding and emulation.

[@syedamirazhar7942]

and this is really shitty, they could ve doing it to drive demand for their membership + expansion pack and it could well end up blowing up in their faces.

[@LilfoxTheHybridHylian5967]

Yeah lol. I modded mine loong time ago..the 3ds. Thats what people are saying tbh, you mod your 3ds to survive this crap...which is true

[@kameoosama]

There are basically 2 futures for retrogaming as games with digital storefronts become "retro". One is a future where platform holders keep the libraries alive through backwards compatibility. The other is one where they don't, and enthusiasts and consumers have to rely even harder on piracy and emulation and softmodding consoles and flashcarts and such to keep these old games alive.

[@domphilbrick]

Exactly. Nintendo always complains about piracy, yet they’re removing the only legal way of acquiring games from the virtual console library.

[@luizurtiga]

We are already in the second future, a small amount of games gets re-released, but the majority only survive through the secondary market, being something simple like selling cartridges or complex like companies that sell replacement/update parts for arcade machines, consoles or pre ms-dos pcs

[@lordoftheabyss44]

It seems to be more an issue for just Nintendo. You can't play every game but Microsoft added a good amount of 360 and Xbox original games to the Xbox one and series x/s. The new Xbox still uses the same store front as the Xbox one. PS5 uses the PS4 storefront and you can play most PS4 games. PS Now allows you to play certain PS3 games and they added some PS2 games to the PS4 as well. Playstation is also supposedly doing a new service with PS1 through ps5 games. Yes it will only be certain games but it's better than nothing or whatever Nintendo does.

[@zacharybecker8228]

@@lordoftheabyss44 and the 360 store is still up I believe not 100% sure tho

[@domphilbrick]

@@zacharybecker8228 Yeah, the 360 store and Xbox live on the 360 are both still fully supported. I looked it up to see if Microsoft ever mentioned ending support for them in the future, but nope. Their willingness to continue supporting old hardware and services is impressive.

[@WilsTube]

Take notes, modding community! We need to preserve these WiiU & 3DS Digital games as much as we can, like with the original Wii!

[@greenstarlover1]

But where can we acess them?

[@Deadsea_1993]

That has already been done quite awhile ago though. My 2DS has been maxed out for awhile. My Wii is maxed out with GameCube and Wii games. I had a Wii U and sold it cause Switch basically got almost all of the good games and the Switch is what Wii U should have been anyway.

[@differentlyabledmuslimjewi4475]

done and dusted already. Also nintendo has all their own games for sure. Its not really at issue here.

[@gaminglakitu]

You honestly do bring up the great point of the gimmicks hurting the long-gevity of their games for the future, and it's sad because Nintendo's success in the current age came from gimmicks. And the part about them wanting you to remember the games but not to play them is kinda true. They honestly probably see this as just clean-up for the virtual console so that people just get NSO but completely forgot about the digital only games that are gonna be gone forever. It's sad, I want to make my voice heard, but I can't and Nintendo is so stubborn that they probably wouldn't listen anyways

[@fishingmule3266]

The thing is, Xbox is having all this success with gamepass while still offering all of the games for purchase whether or not you’re subscribed. The way to sell people on it isn’t to give them no other option. The way to sell them is to give them both options and make the subscription seem like better value. I don’t know why Nintendo doesn’t get this.

[@gaminglakitu]

@@fishingmule3266 Exactly. Xbox is still doing great especially with their backwards compatibility. It definitely shows that they care more about their legacy for the public than anyone else. Nintendo may care a lot about keeping their IP's sacred, but they definitely don't care about it for everyone

[@dbass9544]

My guess has always been that Nintendo realized that their biggest competition was not Sony or Microsoft, but themselves. They probably think that giving access to old games cannibalizes potential sales of their expensive new games.

[@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho]

Nintendo: “The discontinuation of the Wii U and 3DS eShops are inevitable.” Arlo: “Oh, yeah? Well, guess what else is inevitable? My sponsorship with Raycon earbuds!”

[@PinkBunnyCorporation]

This is exactly why i bought every good ds and 3ds game when they were cheap. I got mocked on forums for being so aggressive in my collecting. My number of digital games is tiny. 3ds games will never be ported in a way that preserves the 3d and touch screen and double screens. Amazing 3ds games will be hard to port. So I am glad that I have a solid collection without breaking the bank. 3ds rocks and always will. Get a 3ds now and homebrew it so that you can have any game you want. You are not going to regret it. So many great games and the homebrew scene was so solid back in the day that it is very well documented.

[@HybrydaArt]

every game that I deem worthy I get physical copy for switch (my first Nintendo console) bc a. sd cards cost money too, b. I can always play the game again in the future and don't worry that I didn't have it stored on console and the shop is down :///

[@qactustick]

This is a good point you bring up. A lot of critics try to pull the 'preservation' card when something like this happens to justify having these games available to download off the internet, but I don't think playing something like a Wii U or 3DS game on your PC with an emulator is really 'preserving' it for the reasons you outlined. People might call them gimmicks, but they're still part of the original experience, right?

[@Hauntaku]

Yeah, The Denpa Men 3 is one of those AR games that could be ported onto phones but it'll never be 3D and it'll lack the charm of the 3DS.

[@ReineDeLaSeine14]

Unfortunately my budget didn’t allow me to do it…the good sales would come along and I just didn’t have the money.

[@supernerdcal122]

One of the most interesting side consequeneces of this decision is the eventual split of Pokemon game connectivity. For moving generation 5 games into 6, and from 6 and 7 into current gen, the 3DS eshop exclusive software Pokemon Bank is REQUIRED. The Pokemon Company International have made Bank free and are supporting the servers still for an indeterminate amount of time, but it's only a matter of time before getting access to that necessary software is impossible under legitimate means. Implying TPCI doesn't come up with a hardware solution to allow generations 5-7 to interact with the switch and Pokemon Home, this will forever close a door on the interconnectivity of Pokemon games. All generations prior to the Switch will be locked off. A pretty insane situation given that the Pokemon IP is worth so much, and transfering between games has been a core game design value since its conception. I do suspect that there will be a solution provided at some point within the year, but it'd be a very interesting situation if they ignored it. Precisely because of the 2 screen nature of DS games, you can't simply port generations 4 - 7 (half the game library), even if they wanted to. Preservation of game media is important and it's very sad that this decision has been made.

[@zandosdwarf-king]

what really is important in pokemon connectivity? Having specific mons you had on 3ds or having mons of those species? They can make all mons avaible in any future game, to make old 3ds games no longer needed to get them all.

[@arcryves2630]

@@zandosdwarf-king old shinies? Event legendaries and mythicals they have yet to release again or have released very few and far between? 🤔 just some examples Thankfully it will be free to use bank and transfer but you have to have it downloaded first before shut down

[@calebmon]

I have my original starter pokemon from pokemon Diamond version, it is currently in pokebank. I haven't transferred it to home becauase pokemon home is expensive, they are literally holding our pokemon from childhood hostage, I know it's just data but, the pokemon represents more than just data to me. It's kind of cruel that they are doing this.

[@mds_main]

This problem was created by the Pokemon Company. There was no need for Bank to exist, between gen 4 and 5 they used the dowload play feature to transfer pokemons over, well the 3DS has that feature too so they should have continued to use that. Also, for the people saying thay Bank will become free after the eshop closure, you literally cannot dowload the Transporter (which is the app to transfer pokemon from gen 5 to gen 6) unless you already have a subscription plan up and running on Bank, meaning that if you wait for Bank to go free you won't be able to dowload the Transporter anymore.

[@zandosdwarf-king]

@@mds_main IDK, you needed 2 consoles to send mons from 4th to 5th and 5th to 6th AFAIK, so I guess app is more convenient. It didn't needed to be paid app, I suppose.

[@Kayclau]

We actually have a reason to be very upset. It happened back when the e-shop was first announced. I distinctly remember that they admitted that having to run multiple online stores was gonna become too much of a hassle if every console had its own. That's when we knew that the Wii and DSi's stores were gonna inevitablely close one day. So, the Nintendo e-shop was the solution to that. One store for all consoles from now on. How were we supposed to ever be prepared for this when it was sold as literally the opposite to it?

[@Hauntaku]

That and the fact that Nintendo made demos have a limited amount of plays.

[@leon4000]

Plus the fact that they keep moving forward to successors and have no plans to retain all their games that they've released, whether it's their own games or other developers that work with them to get them released to their consoles.

[@twincherries6698]

Exactly, the whole idea was to prevent this exact situation yet here nintendo goes again, shooting themselves in the foot

[@sackfu7952]

My theory: Nintendo heard people talking shit about switch online expansion in comparison to how much better the Wii U console tended to be, and Nintendo was like "but you're not supposed to enjoy it like that anymore, you should be enjoying it THIS way"

[@michaelbecket4901]

Thats EXACTLY what i thought!!!!!!

[@admiralAlfonso9001]

My theory is that they hate people buying their games, and it makes them seethe with rage and they have a maximum security prison for people who buy games for anything but switch, and they have an entire floor dedicated to people who bought metroid fusion on virtual console.

[@AdventureHusky]

God, hearing this is like the hearing the end of an era for me personally because the DS family was a big part of my childhood. I still have some 3DS games I'm looking forward t buy too and now I feel like I gotta get them all now or it'll be too late. The best we can really hope for right now is they get ported to Switch (Hopefully not via paid membership) or there are good emulators.

[@Yaneoss]

If you are willing to use emulators then I recommend cfw on your 3ds, best of both worlds, Save data backup to pc and tons of other QoL features

[@PasscodeAdvance]

Same

[@sparkypack]

Kylo: You are still holding on! LET GO! You have no place in this story, you come from nothing. You're nothing. But not the me.

[@CrimsonNick171]

It's like Toys R Us. We don't pay much attention when it was around. But when word gets out that it's going away, we don't stop talking about it and wish it doesn't go away.

[@dedede_02]

God I wish I could emulate Toys R Us

[@Droogie128]

It's alive and well... In Canada.

[@Cheatscape]

The fact that the entire 3DS and WiiU library can easily be hosted online by hobbyists proves that this is not an inevitability. If nobodies on the internet can keep them stored on a server, so can Nintendo. And they still run their own online shop, so there’s nothing stopping them from continuing to host a way to purchase them. They have the means and the infrastructure. The only issue is licensing. But they can at least keep their own games available.

[@leeartlee915]

Good for us, bad for Nintendo’s bottom line. Hell, you can download 3DS games via QR codes. A QR code… that’s the lowest barrier to downloading I’ve ever seen. Heck, I just scanned a code for the Original Resident Evil the other day for my 3ds. It’s baller.

[@fluffynator6222]

I doubt those servers can handle global levels of accesses.

[@leeartlee915]

@@fluffynator6222 I don’t get what you mean. The servers I was referencing with PSX games?

[@fluffynator6222]

@@leeartlee915 Uh-huh?

[@leeartlee915]

@@fluffynator6222 I mean, yeah, that aren’t intended to be used on mass market scale. But for the common man, you’ll be just fine.

[@wintersong2266]

They really should do one Eshop that would transfer over all future gaming system and never close down. Think how much content the next console would have if all the games on the Switch Eshop was right there from the start.

[@edwardmclean5373]

And even if they can't maintain functionality of some games on future console platforms (motion, touch, dual screens, etc), as long as the original hardware is still alive out there and can connect to the internet - the shops should still be maintained to sell to new customers who purchase the used systems, or to returning customers who still own the game on their existing account. By not maintaining these services, they literally deprive themselves of new sales of past games while simultaneously inconveniencing their most loyal customers.

[@1roxyfan491]

That's a long time from now, I wouldn't worry about it until then.

[@wintersong2266]

@@1roxyfan491 Not really if they still follow the regular pattern the Switch should be replaced in about a year or two. Probably two with how successful the console is.

[@1roxyfan491]

@@wintersong2266 Yes really, I'd give it another 5 to 6 years. We really shouldn't worry until then.

[@BrendanJSmith]

According to rumors, that might be what they're actually planning.

[@captain3186]

I remember years ago Gabe Newell saying that Piracy was almost always a Service problem not so much price. I mean, I do think he's right but I think Price is also a factor as well. Certainly though, Service or lack there of will be the main driving force here. Nintendo needs to get the Service right and they just don't seem to have any interest in doing so. Such a frustrating company.

[@splatastic5792]

The DS family was my entire childhood up until my late teens, reading the news I looked back at the games on my 3ds and almost cried. I feel so old now but that little present wrapping was such a good feeling, and Rip Eshop music.

[@Cptn.Viridian]

With the 3DS having only being discontinued a year ago, this reeeealy doesn't make sense to me. I would highly doubt there is a lack of 3ds shop profits to support that e-shop, especially with the actually existing retro libraries. I could see the Wii-U maybe falling behind the cost of maintaining the infrastructure. Even if it is too expensive to have these shops running during the switch era, why not just run them at half steam, metaphorically. Even Sony managed to turn around from trying to shut down the PS3 and PSVita stores, and while not all features are preserved, most are available and functional. The only thing I could think of is that Nintendo is slipping into greedy corporation territory and either cutting this out early, or artificially trying to boon Nintendo Online subscriptions and Nintendo Switch sales. Surely no body would buy a used 3DS or Wii-U when you are limited to physical games Nintendo is thinking. Whatever the reason is, as a loyal, paying customer since the wii-era, I am absorbed by the increasingly anti-consumer practices of Nintendo. During the pandemic's downturn of new game releases, I found myself returning to not only the Wii-U and 3DS library and backlog, but further beyond through the virtual consoles. I personally think that the 3DS is the definitive way to play NES and SNES games.

[@realthemariogamer]

ikr. The reason why people didn't mind the dsi and wii shop closing is cause most of the games from those shops were already available on the 3ds and wii u eshop. You can play wii games on your wii u, you can download dsi ware games on your 3ds. but closing the 3ds and wii u eshop means all of the digital-only games from the dsi shop, wii, wii u and 3ds shop will just erase from existence pretty much.

[@fluffynator6222]

Yeah, they show their greed by giving up an opportunity for profit...

[@sirenstrike4163]

As a Fire Emblem fan, let me point out another problem. People are talking about how Revelations will become impossible to play, as it is a DLC-only route unless you managed to get your hands on the Special Edition. But another thing is - cheaper access to the other game. IS made the baffling decision to split the games up like Pokemon instead of having both options from the get go. You buy Conquest, but then you go through the first six chapters and decide, "I want to play Birthright!" But you can't out of the box because you already got Conquest. That's another problem that was solved with Three Houses, but you did have the option of buying the other route as "DLC" for $20. Without the eShop, playing at least both Birthright and Conquest will get expensive, as you'll need to hunt down two physical copies! Which surely those copies will soar in price from their retail $40 tag, so instead of paying 80 for all three routes, you'll probably need to spend double that just for TWO routes! At this point, just download the ROM for the special edition which has all three versions on the cartridge - aka what should have been in all cartridges from the start.

[@danieldavis2055]

I know it's sacrilege, I guess, but I'll be honest- the one console company that seems to be doing things *right*, or at least the most consumer friendly way, happens to be the one coming in third in terms of sales. That's Microsoft. The XBox store is quite honestly an amazing thing. Entire multiple generations of digital games from the original XBox onward are all there, and your digital purchase is linked to YOU, not the console, so that copy of Lost Odyssey you bought can follow you from the 360 to the X1 to the Series X without any issues. The library just keeps getting bigger as the years go by instead of games being lost into the ether, because the classics you bought are right there for you on your new system. I really wish other console companies would be like that.

[@fluffynator6222]

Doesn't sound that great tbh.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

It seems to be the one company that is behind makes the best decision... only when the table flip do they become the monster we all fear.

[@LucidTUN3S]

@@Buglin_Burger7878 Can we ever like... just give credit where credit is due without some backhanded comment? It's so annoying always seeing someone being so paranoid over "what could happen" over past decisions from completely different people within an industry. Clearly the new head, Phil Spencer, turned things around and always gives off this "I'm really looking out for you gamers" sort of presence, and it shows with his actions... So WHY are you still worried after everything that has been done so far? Get over it. It makes no sense to be acting the way you are when people within a company are on the come up and are actually trying. When crap starts to hit the fan, THEN start your "doom and gloom" concern trolling, not NOW... Yall be the same people crying about ""Change" this, "listen to us" that". And then on the off chance, someone new actually DOES make a change for the better... now all of a sudden it's "Oh well I've seen this before, they could easily mess up again just like before."... Like, what do you want? Do you want to stay miserable? Why are you staying around then?

[@Sitheral]

Probably that's why they do things right - because they actually need to get customers on their side. I'm not sure they would be so good at the top.

[@ghostpile8883]

The replies to this comment are delusional. LucidTUN3S had it right. Just give credit where credit is due. I *love* Nintendo. Have since I was like, 3. It's okay to love Nintendo and still turn off the blinders every once in a while. Microsoft's approach isn't perfect. It has it's issues and there are still some concerns, for sure. But the approach is a step in the right direction compared to Nintendo's blatantly anti-consumer approach. It's okay to admit that! It's okay to admit that Nintendo is having an Anti-Consumer stint! It's fine! It doesn't mean you have to like them less! It doesn't mean you have to stop buying there stuff! It's just having a healthy understanding of goings on. Nobody's telling you to boycott, or to start hating Nintendo. I doubt people who sub to Arlo especially want that! Just turn off the blinders and look at things objectively for a minute. Damn.

[@marcellofunhouse1234]

Around 450 digital-only Wii U games - Around 600 digital-only 3DS games - Around 100 Wii U games that are also available physically - Around 300 3DS games that are also available physically - Nearly 530 Virtual Console games, around 350 of which are not currently available on Nintendo Switch Online

[@swimmyswim417]

Easily one of the worst moves Nintendo could’ve made. I get that it takes money and time to keep up the eShop. But it’s way too soon, and I’m not just saying that out of the sake of nostalgia. They’re throwing away a decade of digital games… for what? How does this eventually benefit us as consumers.

[@technik6744]

I’ve had many memories scrolling through these shops, finding games for a couple dollars that I would play for hours. I’ll be sad to see them shut down.

[@hoodrat1632]

I hope the switch can rival it someday. This is the only reason I keep my wii u around. It has everything that I care about available

[@forTehMemes]

The fact Nintendo has still yet to bother with re releasing old games is ridiculous. They're sitting on free money yet they don't care enough to. I remeber when Sony tired shutting down the PS3 / Vita shops and they bent the knee to fans being pissed. I get the Wii Shop being shut down but the Wii U / 3DS shops? People are buying those systems second hand now and are still buying games on them. Absoutly ridiculous

[@dustinbriggs1991]

It's a good thing Sony did listen to their fans. But Nintendo... I hope they listen to their fans. I'm still trying to get the games on 3DS. Even my 3DS to get fixed. Haven't play it for years as looking for someone to fix my 3DS.

[@godminnette2]

FYI, while Sony didn't formally shut down the shops, they have still need rapidly making titles not available for purchase. It's just dying a slower death.

[@wolfdragox5563]

It’s not enough money for them to care, Nintendo only cares about the big fishes, not small (yet insanely easy) fishes

[@TheLegoMaster261]

On the bright side, at least this will prove to people that Nintendo isn't greedy. Because they're sitting on free money.

[@charlestrudel8308]

remember that sony was about to close its store 6 months later while game were coming out 5 months later... there were also backlash from the devs. (not sure if thats the real reason it wasnt close. we are talking about july and august 2021 by the way here.)

[@ItsKagiVids]

In my opinion Nintendo basically just gave the greenlight to pirate 3DS, and Wii U games. If there not going to give us any legal and preferably affordable means of playing there old game's even when they have a service that could do so then I say pirating them is okay to do as no one is getting hurt by losing sales.

[@Matanumi]

NSO apparently along with 60-80 dollar ports lolol

[@thetruestar6348]

Yeah I’m straight up just pirating Nintendo games exclusively now they don’t so I don’t care.

[@awildmoose6541]

Here come the "you are stealing😭😭😭" comments.....

[@octobot5216]

Fr it’s not even a criminal offense

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

Already practised on an old model and need to buy a microsd card adapter so I can Mod my current one

[@thephantompsychic]

The WiiU is almost worth it for backwards compatibility alone. I read somewhere (not sure if it's true) that the WiiU can also play GameCube games with its disc reader but it's disabled by default by ONE variable. It's also got backwards compatibility back to NES days. If this is true, it means that the wiiU is the most backwards compatible hardware Nintendo has ever put out. I love my WiiU because if there's ever an old game I want to play that isn't GCN, I just need to have 10$ and I can all of a sudden play it with save states. The fact that Nintendo is turning off the servers for WiiU and 3ds without having a clear and set plan for retro games is unacceptable to me. Edit: also please add GCN support. Those games are so expensive and GameCubes are notorious for the laser getting scratched and broken. They are playable on the wii which is fine but it feels like GCN is forgotten

[@ohmagod]

You don’t even need to mod the disc drive. Just mod the Wii U and the vWii and you can run Nintendont

[@edfreak9001]

"The hardware gimmicks make it harder to pass these games on and enjoy them in future generations" I'm not convinced that isn't purely a positive in Ninty's eyes, makes it harder to emulate/pirate (a bogeyman they've been obsessed with since at least the GAMECUBE era) and keeps all eyes on whatever Nintendo is currently willing to put forward the most (in theory their most polished products that they can make the most bank off of, instead of old retro games that they very begrudgingly sell for under 60 dollars, you know they'd still be selling you 60 dollar NES games if they could justify it) You said it in the video presumably partially as a joke but Nintendo really does act like that dog that wants to play fetch without handing you the ball. "Remember our old games???" "NO PLAY" "ONLY REMEMBER" Also I mean this in the nicest way possible and will not explain further but I appreciate the character arc Arlo is undertaking. How you interpret that is up to you.

[@Trenos301]

YEEARGH

[@CoralCopperHead]

The Gamecube era? They made the FDS with proprietary MO disks to avoid piracy, they've been doing it since day one.

[@MisterDOFTW]

Arlo- I’m sorry, I feel your pain. In a way it seems like a marketing ploy. The sad part is, it’s kind of working. All the big Nintendo channels are covering top games to buy before the eShops close

[@ohwell8601]

It’s a bummer and I wish they would rerelease their legacy content more often but at least they have a heads up instead of waiting like a day before the servers shutdown.

[@awildmoose6541]

Literally every company would always have a heads up like this, you cant give them points for the bare minimum while they blatantly just take something from consumers to make more money..

[@ohwell8601]

@@awildmoose6541 I’m not giving them points? I’m just saying I’m glad they gave a heads up because it’s totally a Nintendo thing to just leave us in the dark right before they shut the Eshops for good. I’m being glad for me and the future with my consoles not for Nintendo’s identity with video game preservation lol

[@TheLucasdms]

I hope going forward they focus on a single eShop that can carries forward your online collection between consoles. Nowadays it's the most sensible thing to do.

[@ThereMayBeLions]

I feel like, if a company gives up on a Digital Storefront - that it should go into a Public Domain that can be accessed with either a one time charge, or a subscription service. They could make money off of these games, and these games could be accessible to the games consoles and players that are still out there.

[@gogglebrains]

There’s no legitimate reason to take down these old storefronts. Times and technology have changed. Modern virtualized server architectures lend themselves to flexibility, scalability, and interoperability; meanwhile, the cost to store and maintain the actual data only gets cheaper with each passing year. Preserving access to the full Wii U and 3DS libraries indefinitely is an increasingly negligible drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of Nintendo’s server expenses. (This is doubly true when you consider that the actual download servers are staying up for the foreseeable future anyways (for redownloading purchased games and updates).) But this decision isn't about pinching pennies anyways. Most likely, it’s about long-term psychological manipulation of the market: scare lots of people into buying these games now, then put all these titles “in the vault" for 5, 10, 15 years. Finally bring them back out one by one at an exaggerated price or for a limited time (or as “value added” to a barely-functional online service) and act like you’re doing everyone a huge favor. This type of gross FOMO bullcrap is one of the central pillars of Nintendo’s business strategy in the Switch era, because they’ve shifted from viewing their core customer base as people, to something more akin to livestock.

[@BananaReidy]

Sickening isnt it.

[@АлександрТерехов-ж3й]

but unfortunately that doesn't stop Sony and Nintendo from doing things like that

[@DeepfriedBeans4492]

I hate how a company that makes so many great games is so fucking greedy and terrible

[@kameoosama]

If there *is* a technical reason it's probably something dumb like "we have to push out a firmware update to do x on the eshop's built-in browser" where x is something like add support for TLS ciphers that won't flag them on PCI audits.

[@Alorso_]

This sounds like the Disney Fault tactic, create artifical demand, take it away, release it 10 years later, and it works every single time

[@midnatheblackrobe]

While it might be an inevitable part of the process, it shouldn't be. At least not exactly. My opinion is that any and all of a company's first party games should be available somewhere digitally on one system or another.

[@awildmoose6541]

Its not "inevitable" its just greedy and anti-consumer

[@totallyadude4032]

@@awildmoose6541 uhhhh I think that’s what they meant

[@Blazio]

They need to make a cohesive, one single Nintendo store, where you buy something and it carries over across generations, like how Microsoft does it

[@awildmoose6541]

@@Blazio okay but taking cues from microsoft is a sureway of killing your consoles and franchises... Having one store is good but stop after that, microsoft is.... Bad...

[@derekw8039]

Virtual Console used to mean that those old games were available somewhere. NSO doesn't feel like they're available, it feels like you can rent but never own them.

[@infernaltim]

Xbox has spoiled me as well and shown me what kind of value they can give with Game Pass. Nintendo's practices the past few years have really soured me on the company. Not only are they perfectly fine with taking away access to older legacy titles and not giving you an official option to play giant chunks of software, they're charging full price for 10 year old Wii ports with some controller updates. Things like that wore very thin on me and I have a really hard time even wanting to play my Switch at all.

[@MaxiemumKarnage]

I'm glad I stuck it out with Xbox even after they bungled the Xbone announcement. I have my entire library of Xbox 360 games (and even some OGXbox games like Psychonauts) available to play on it and can even still buy 360 games off their storefront. I wish Nintendo would even just try to do this, but they've always really enjoyed doing the stupidest possible thing: E-Reader, WiiU, online service, etc. Meme company.

[@infernaltim]

@@MaxiemumKarnage Zero disagreement. Look I love Nintendo, but I'm starting to realize it's more of a nostalgia thing than anything. Every time I turn around they're doing some weird money grab that makes zero sense and I'm just about done with it. I say that but also admit the second they announce a successor to the Switch with hopefully some decent horsepower, I'm in day 1. Lol

[@voidsabre_]

Not only full price, they're selling 10 year old games for MORE than they originally cost!

[@premiumvoy]

Same for me. I haven’t touched mine in over a year now. I’ll be buying botw 2 and that’s it, and even then I’m ashamed to admit I will be giving them money one last time. They’ve made quite a few games I wanted to buy and play over the course of the switch’s lifetime especially recently but I just don’t have it in me to fund these assholes anymore

[@zzskyninjazz1821]

@@premiumvoy don’t worry fan I got you. I’ll buy them for you.

[@Toxin__0]

Remeber everyone, putting emulators on your 3DS is just about the easiest thing you can do. There are plenty of detailed instructions online and you can just download literally any game you want.

[@premiumvoy]

Nintendo isn’t concerned with preserving the incredibly huge library of even just their own games that are stuck on those shops because they want to either make you wait forever for them while you pay $50 a year in the hopes they’ll drop from the insulting drip feed eventually, in the case of virtual console, or they want to rerelease these games with little to no changes at full price in the case of the Wii U and Wii games. I won’t even try to bring up something like just having one generalized shop for both systems that could have been used for the switch as well because I know this scarcity works in their favor and that’s why we will never get something like that from them. They were too stupid to do something like that then and they sure as hell won’t do it now. Just play up their scarcity and make bank on the ones that were successful enough to deserve being played, as they just recently did with earthbound (a f*cking snes game)

[@ExaltedUriel]

The funny and sad thing is, if Virtual Console was on the Switch this wouldn't be as big of an issue. Yeah losing the DSiWare and 3DS Downloadable library would still sting, but it wouldn't be as devastating. But no, Nintendo wants to drip-feed you retro games via their online subscription service, and you own none of that. When THAT shuts down you won't even have the games downloaded to keep, they will be GONE. Sickening. Emulate your games and homebrew your 3DSes/Wii U's, folks.

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

Hell yeah. Gotta buy a microsd adapter for my new one

[@jakeoliver9167]

Perhaps this is because of a virtual console announcement coming within a year

[@MaxiemumKarnage]

Pirating games is your moral duty.

[@charlestrudel8308]

@@jakeoliver9167 nah, it will take more time than that, unless a surprise happen.

[@ucros1912]

You are literally the one I've seen mention DSiWare those mean a lot to me since I had a DSi back in the day, I know they are pretty basic but I love them for that I have a lot in my 3DS

[@Str8upWizardCJ]

I work in quality, honestly from a Corporate perspective it really comes down to money, Lean and cutting down on system maintenance and monitoring. I would be surprised if they weren't paying people to do periodic review of the systems for security purposes and given that as time passes there becomes a larger and larger data integrity risk especially considering that they have customer purchase information. Ultimately sales didn't probably outweigh the risk at a certain point. people seem to not like this with the games an I "get" that consumers take issue with digital copies stopping sale, but as far as corporate is concerned as they've been reaping those popular games over for the last 5 years, they'll probably move what few people "miss" back after dropping the old servers. Hands down some guy in the back is saying something like "this OS we use for this server is getting old, it's a security risk, we don't even make money, lets get rid of it," to a person who would be more than willing to say "that sounds great and what people want we can resell at full price."

[@charlestrudel8308]

i dont understand how people never mention this. Its even more the case with wii u and 3ds since its a power pc architecture... some old IBM tech... IBM also has closed another big software from them, Lotus Notes.

[@masonallgood9642]

That’s one of the thoughts I had with this news. If maintenance costs exceed revenue from these storefronts, it makes sense to plan their closure.

[@johnmickey5017]

There is also legal compliance, licensing and royalties costs, taxes, and monitoring their revenue sharing and the licenses and agreements with the publishers. This is a big reason they can keep redownloads but not new sales. I 100% think it’s too soon to close the 3ds shop, but it’s very obvious that most people have no idea what maintaining a legitimate business entails. “Hobbyists host rom servers so Nintendo can keep the shop open” is really off the mark.

[@charlestrudel8308]

@@johnmickey5017 these rom servers indeed have no security, no licensing fees, no tax.... all of this is expensive when you use an old tech like power pc... indeed, nobody talks about that.

[@Hauntaku]

@Str8 I know an indie studio that has kept their MMO running for more than 10 years. Even their first game is still up and it's also over 10 years. BOTH of those games still get updates. Nintendo is making excuses. The indie studio I know has almost been hit by serious hurricanes and there was a DDOS situation at one point. However, the devs are still maintaining their old games. These games were made in Flash! How can Nintendo not do the same thing?

[@pwojo9776]

This whole Nintendo shutting-down the Wii-U and 3DS e-shops while refusing to port games to Switch while also repeatedly telling people to stop pirating their games can be summed-up with that Spongebob bit with Man-Ray and Patrick and the wallet. People want to play their games, people would literally pay actual money for it, Nintendo doesn't want to give people a way to buy them and play them on the Switch while also making it so they can't be bought or played on previous generations of systems, also Nintendo doesn't want people to pirate these games, buying games used or second-hand is stupidly expensive and has zero impact on Nintendo's profits (that's not even taking into account on whether or not you have the system you need to play it on, which if you don't that just drives the price up even more, which is still money that Nintendo doesn't get), and Nintendo currently has no plans to port games from the Wii-U and 3DS e-shops to the Switch e-shop. There's no winning, so pirate games that don't have any easy method to play them.

[@EtanMarlin]

honestly I disagree with the Patrick thing, cuz Nintendo is giving people time right now to buy those games, and to say that they are willing customers, would mean that they are willing to buy it right now, but a lot of people don't actually care about buying those old games, because most of the games that people want to play, have been ported to switch, even EarthBound. honestly I think if anybody wants to buy the games, they should do that now, but otherwise if you keep waiting, then obviously you guys didn't want the games that bad

[@DigitalGamerPixel]

My personal view is there's no moral obligation on my part to not pirate a Nintendo game for a system they've given up support for. You're not stealing from them pirating Pokemon Blue when its not available for purchase anywhere. Maybe the online seller that has it up for $200 might not sell it at its inflated price, but the official company that created the game doesn't lose a penny from piracy when they've abandoned it, and if they've killed a system to where you can't purchase anything from a shop or even buy the system, there's no moral reason to not jailbreak it. Why care about the warranty anymore when the company clearly doesn't?

[@shadowpixie01]

@@EtanMarlin Or maybe people aren't in the position to get all the games they want right now. I could tell you right now, reasonably, that I will not be able to play all the games that I want to try on my 3DS by the time the eShop closes for two simple reasons: I have a job and I don't get paid enough. And even if I did, the DLC I want to get at some point is likely going to be unplayable after a certain point if Nintendo *really* botches this. There's also the folks who are parents, may not have the money for a 3DS or WiiU right now (let alone a Switch) but want to play their games, people who hit a financial problem and are no longer able to afford games right now but might be able to later, and lastly, just simply people who get the consoles later because they're too young and/or not interested in getting them right now. It's not that we don't *want* to, it's that we *can't* right now and we *definitely* won't be able to later thanks to Nintendo.

[@EtanMarlin]

@@shadowpixie01 not trying to be rude, im genuinely curious, were you ever planning on buying a wii u and all those games at any point? and what games were you wanting to get?

[@shadowpixie01]

@@EtanMarlin Don't own a Wii U; I've got a 3DS. Was hoping to get the DLC for Fire Emblem Fates, some of the legacy Pokemon games on there that I'd seen on there previously (not sure if it still is but I certainly hope so), and a few others that I can't think of right now (I've got them on my wishlist, but it's late where I am so I'm not really up to go looking through it at the moment). Was also thinking of getting the 3DS Sonic games, but given what I've heard, I'm not keen on wasting my money on something I won't like. I still have plans to do so, of course, but since I'm paying bills and insurance, it makes it hard knowing I'm on a time crunch with little alternatives at the moment. Apologies if I came off as defensive, of course. I work at a local video game shop, and I always see folks, especially those who are buying for their kids, hoping to get a game or two only to grimace at the resale price. It's usually cheaper on the eShop (if we have it at all).

[@lognacho]

This is honestly such a complicated topic, and one that can be approached by so many perspectives… From Nintendo’s perspective it makes sense to close the eshop, after all it’s not like it perpetually runs on itself. Infrastructure, software, security, repairs, maintenance… It may still pull money NOW, but for how long? Is it enough money to consider ir profitable? We unfortunately don’t have the numbers, so there’s no way to know. They also probably don’t want for a customer to buy a game once and done, when they can surely sell the same game ported to a new console and profit again. Is ir anti-consumer? Hell yeah, but we have to face that corporations are not moral beings, nor do they have any obligation to be. Voting with our wallets is sadly the only option we have, and we all realize that there’s no goddamn way to effectively get everyone on the same side. From the player’s perspective it sucks because availability is thrown out the window. A huge number of these games will now skyrocket in price and we have to face the awful dilemma that is “do I pay outlandish amounts of money to play this game, or do I not play a game that I really want?”… we all know of course there is a third option, but when we look at the legitimacy of this method, the same question arises: corporations are not moral beings, but should we be? I’m not going to answer it, you decide for yourselves, but I believe it should be examined in a case to case scenario. One thing that I believe gets into murky territory is preservation. I think we all agree that video game preservation is important. This is beyond a fad now, video games are a representation of our culture now the same way that paintings and theater have been for centuries. But if we treat it like that, then until what point should the connections to art go? I’ve seen the argument around that because this game will not be around to buy anymore, that emulation is the de facto solution for them to be preserved, or else a part of video game history will banish. Is it really? I may not ever play Bug Fables, for example. I may never buy it even if I know it would one day be removed from every digital storefront and would never have the chance to obtain it. Is Bug Fables gone? Surely there would be someone other than me that would preserve it, caring for it so it would not disappear. To relate to more traditional forms of art: Picasso’s Gernica should be preserved for all eternity. But do I have to be the one caring for the painting at my home? I think preservation is the domain of specialists, video game preservation as well. If this games are not going to banish, then I as a single person I do not feel comfortable bringing it up as a legitimate argument. Also, as a side note, we have to consider the cultural value of this games. We should not pretend that Rock Simulator holds the same importance as say, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. One is going to be probably preserved until the end of time, the other will probably exist until the developer and fanatics stop caring for it, and that’s okay. The clay figure I did as a child, putting all my soul and effort on it, does not hold the same importance as Michelangelo’s David, we all agree on that. This is probably the most complicated topic of all this debacle, and I do not feel I have that much experience to argue on this matter further. I honestly encourage every one of you to think long and hard about this topic. It is extremely interesting, but it also says something about the way we will look at art in the future, and the way we will treat digital products moving forward.

[@ghostpile8883]

I have a criticism over part of this incredibly well-written opinion - kudos, by the way -you compare video games to art, and posit the question of wondering if emulation or actually being able to play and experience the game for oneself at home is important for preservation, and make what, I apologize, can only be described as a false equivalency to something like, say, Picasso's Guernica. Debate on comparing classical art to gaming aside (I'm sure someone wants to), this is a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes games have artistic merit. You're correct in that it's unnecessary to own and tend to Guernica in your own home to be able to appreciate it as art and experience the feelings it's meant to evoke, because, well...again, and I apologize for this sounding a little blunt, but it's quite obviously a piece you're merely meant to observe. Not interact with. I'm not sure it's incredibly difficult to see how a large part of the debated artistic merit of gaming comes from gaming's ability to elicit emotion from players because of their direct hand in *playing* and *experiencing* the games. Bioshock (a long touted favorite of people who believe part of the art of games is in the experience.) would NOT be the same experience watching a Let's Play, or through demo footage, as it is actually playing it for yourself, and experiencing the decisive moment near the end for yourself. The same can be said for many, many games, and removing that player agency from the idea that games are art is irresponsible at best. Saying "Ah, well, someone out there has preserved it I'm sure, does it really matter if I experience it?" is an...interesting statement in regards to art preservation, because it's the equivalent of being content to just know the Mona Lisa exists in a locked vault somewhere and is being tended to, and not caring if the people who want to actually experience and observe it in the Louvre are able to. What's the point of preserving Art if no one can experience it, ever? It may as well be gone. Art without an observer is just a clever arrangement of materials without meaning. The observer is a PART of the artistic experience. You then go on to compare a "Rock Simulator" to Zelda OoT, in what seems like a...seemingly unrelated tangent, if I can be honest, but I'll address it. If the implication is that some games are just less culturally important than others...yes? Fair enough, I suppose. But this is also true of other artistic mediums. I'm unsure how this does anything for your argument against emulation though. In the same way that you likely wouldn't care if I copied your childhood clay sculpture to put on my desk, if a game "isn't culturally important enough" so to speak, why does it matter if a hobbyist or cult fan emulates it when they know a company WON'T do anything to preserve it? And if, like you suggest, Zelda OoT is one of those important pieces that will be preserved for a long, long time - and I agree it should be - then why *isn't* it being? The NSO version is marred with graphical errors and inconsistencies. To continue the Guernica analogy, should the public just be okay with shoddy preservation efforts that end up altering the integrity of the work, no matter how minor? Or if it can be done better, why shouldn't it be? Because a museum who says they're the only ones entitled to preserve something, despite the poor job they're doing, says so? Like you said, this is an important issue, and people do need to think on it more. And like I said at the beginning of this, your opinion was well articulated and it absolutely got me thinking more on the subject - I just am not sure I can agree with your positions outright. Regardless, thank you for making me think this morning. :)

[@vrismylife7501]

@@ghostpile8883 more smart then i will be lmao but yeah both of the comments were fun to read

[@lognacho]

Yep! Like, I can agree on mostly everything you say, and it got my gears turning again! I suppose I should have made the connection of video games as an art you *experience* rather than observe, and it is obvious now that you point it out. As I said, I’m not perfectly satisfied debating this topic because I believe I know just enough to know how little I really know. To the comparison between any shovelware title and full on genre defining experiences, I don’t really think it devalues my argument; because a large number of arguments I’ve seen center around the idea that most if not all eshop games hold cultural value, while I simply don’t feel that’s the case. This is probably my most subjective point, but I don’t really think it devalues my argument as much as it opens discussion for a different perspective. In general I feel that the word “preservation” has been thrown around a lot these days to justify piracy and emulation. First thing out of the way, I’m not really against emulation, but it should always be examined when it starts to be taken far enough. I believe this is one of those cases, and that’s why I say it should be examined in a case to case basis. Preservation and right to emulate are not exactly the same thing to me, but again, that’s highly subjective, as I don’t think my arguments really hold much value when taking objectively. To put it simply, I don’t really have an objective solution! Nor do I think I’ll ever have one. As to saying that I do not care if for example the Mona Lisa is locked away in a vault hidden from the world, that’s not entirely correct. My main argument for preservation is that it is not really well suited to low end user such as myself. It requires infrastructure and knowledge that is not readily accesible to everyone, so I think my point circles back up again to the same debate about how moral is to emulate in the sake of preservation. Regardless of how it is done, I will always think that art preservation and restoration is an important endeavor and should be handled correctly. Your point about how the NSO port for Zelda OoT is a vastly inferior experience and the “superior” way to play it is through emulation is completely correct. Again, this needs to be examined case to case, and I cannot argue against Zelda Oot emulation in good faith, so I won’t. To end this, I’ll go back again to that Mona Lisa comparison. It is important for the painting to be available to the public, and while it is, it is also taken care by experts in their respective crafts. I can just hope that we will get to that point in the future with videogames, but it is still to early for me to know. And also thanks for sharing your opinion! You definitely got me thinking about this topic again and I need to chew it over again to come to a fuller conclusion! But that’s the way it goes with this stuff, is too much complex for me, and changing my opinions that are proven wrong is a better way to evolve than staying wrong. I’ll just think about it when my head is clear, because now is really late where I live. Hope my half dozed of ramble wasn’t too incoherent. You have a great day mate!

[@lognacho]

Uh, also also. When I refer to other arguments about this topic, I should clarify that they are mainly, if not all of the top of my head, from Twitter. 280 characters will always be for me a perfect post length to misinterpret arguments and oversimplify topics, so take mostly everything with a grain of salt please! Just wanted to clarify that.

[@benjaminchi1989]

What hurts the most for me is all the DS and 3DS games I or anyone else won't be able to experience on the portable console. The World End with You and Zero Escape 999 just aren't the same if they're not on the DS.

[@jakebuscema5657]

I remember when I used to stay up late while my parents were sleeping and when I got bored of playing games, I watched the Nintendo Minute videos on the eshop... it's hard to just let go of it.

[@ymellow.]

IKR and Nintendo Minute is gone too :(

[@TheGuyWhoIsSitting]

I've seen plenty of backlash myself, and I think it's ridiculous they're shutting it down already. Barely even got 10 years out of the shop on the 3DS because I am pretty sure it wasn't available at launch. I was a sucker who bought the damn thing at launch. Glad to know I'm being rewarded for my loyalty.

[@DeviousPie2]

Arlo: "Digital does what physical... can't." What he meant to say was "Digital does what physicadon't." ... Sounded better in my head.

[@Flamestar320]

How about "physi-can't"?

[@vonkattenburg4187]

@@Flamestar320 Nice one :)

[@echobear1585]

Digi-does what physi-cant

[@Flamestar320]

@@echobear1585 There you go!

[@Hauntaku]

Physical is forever! Though, some games only have digital copies which is super annoying.

[@1wigbert]

19:37 I love that Arlo run-cycle; pre green-screened.

[@travistorline812]

Really interesting perspective about how Nintendo’s innovations (motion controls, dual screens, etc) end up shortening the lifespan of their games. I guess we’ll just have to see if Nintendo decides to stick with Switch-like hardware for a while or if they bring us something entirely brand new, thus coni timing the cycle.

[@Yipper64]

12:36 this is why preservation is important though! Its not too hard to hack a 3DS and you can get the full library that way! I understand that not every little kid can but I think if someone in the distant future is serious about 3DS, they'd figure it out.

[@totallyadude4032]

Most of the money to sustain the shops is in the card processing, honestly they could have just made it so that you had to put funds through the switch and saved on the costs. This is just Nintendo not caring, which sucks as a fan.

[@leeartlee915]

Nintendo makes me feel like I’m in a relationship with someone with borderline personality disorder. When they are giving me positive attention, I feel like the most important person in the world. But when they do dismissive actions, it makes me feel like crap.

[@Saben.C-Spoon]

Isnt it crazy to think that games that have become ultra-hard to obtain after their release like Earthbound or lost to time like that Castlevania GB Remake on Wii are now going to be joined by 3DS and Wii U games that will soon be unobtainable? Games from recent years? Games like Dillion's Rolling Western, Rusty's Real Deal Baseball, or Dr. Luigi are soon going to be lost to time...that's such a weird thought.

[@awildmoose6541]

Just emulate the games

[@youraveragepasser-by7367]

@@awildmoose6541 he meant legally

[@dragoon1090]

@@awildmoose6541 that's soon to be the only way.

[@awildmoose6541]

@@youraveragepasser-by7367 its legal though???

[@iatethelastnuttybuddy7573]

I got my 3ds and WiiU last year. I wasn’t really playing games other than the Sims 3 when those systems were fresh on the market and since I got my switch and kept up with gaming news I realized that there was so many cool games I missed out on. The first Zelda game I ever played was Oracle of Seasons on the 3DS virtual console and I loved it. It makes me sad that people won’t be able to have easy access to some of these classic games anymore. If the eshop wasn’t there I would’ve had to pay $50+ for a GBC cartridge to play that game and no one is going to pay that much to discover a game/franchise. I haven’t purchased anything on the WiiU eshop since the storage on my WiiU is non-existent but I’m hoping to pick up some games before it shuts down. Sad times.

[@thebatpig8424]

Raycon, I beg you, sponsor a movie, directed by Arlo, exploring the Arloverse

[@Emo_walter]

the 2ds was really my introduction to gaming. so many good memories with the ds. gonna miss it so much.

[@Matanumi]

What's there to miss? Go back and play those games and realize they have more heart then anything coming out today (that's easy to get into anyway)

[@zillauniverse7208]

Same with the 3ds

[@awildmoose6541]

@@Matanumi a lot of new games are master pieces, his point was that you literally cant go back if you dont already own them. Emulation, babyy!

[@swoodmaster0242]

Imagine being introduced to the Metroid Prime games through Prime 4 and just not being able to check out the old games without breaking the bank or resorting to piracy

[@chrisorsumthin1446]

Nintendo dislikes emulation, but really doesn’t give anyone a choice. Genuinely don’t understand how human beings run that company

[@Hakuto_Byakushi]

bunch of big suits who have no damn clue how gaming works.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Capcom is putting their stuff in collections. Konami too. Square kind of did with the Mana series. Sega obviously does it for the Genesis... But not Nintendo. They're greedy. 😂

[@adamdenardis5438]

Freaking Kingdom Hearts is all in one collection now up until 3.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Rareware has their hits in a collection on XBOX ONE, Disney has the Capcom Disney collection...

[@Saben.C-Spoon]

They're like the Disney of video games. They want to keep stuff locked in their vault and starve people of them so they can pull stuff like 3D All Stars, their numerous Wii U ports,, or charging full price for a SNES rom on a disc (OG All Stars release on Wii) and get away with it. Unfortunately they don't realize that not everybody is willing to wait 20 years for them to re-release things

[@hterramae]

Even to this day, I've been working on completing my Wii U and 3DS collections (I'm a student, so I don't get to spend on this too often, really). The news of the eShops shutting down has had me this couple days really working on finishing whatever's left as soon as possible, especially if I find out a game has DLC. It's nice I'll still be able to download updates even after March 2023 (it gives me breathing room for games I want physically, but sill...), but I'm still rushing right now

[@OpenOceanOnly]

I have a feeling the 3DS will be my favorite system of all time. Handheld gaming is so much fun and the touchscreen set-up was very good. If Nintendo decides to revive the DS format, I'll be super happy.

[@Louie_Log]

I hate this issue. Its great to see someone actually cares about Nintendo in 2022, but then again Arlo has been with Nintendo for a long time. At least I don't have to talk to people that don't like Nintendo about this, as this satisfies my "Nintennerd" soul.

[@AgentR2]

I was originally thinking like everyone else: this was inevitable, there’s nothing we can do about it, better get the games while we still can. But after hearing what you have to say, I completely agree. Nintendo shouldn’t discontinue these games that are so important to so many fans for all the reasons you stated and more. I really hope someone at Nintendo sees this to make a change, and that the company will listen to their fans just this one time.

[@leeartlee915]

The backlash that has been going on online has been big… it’ll be interesting if it impacts their decision at all.

[@CarloNassar]

@@leeartlee915 Yeah, but how big is it really? Are we talking MrBeast numbers?

[@leeartlee915]

@@CarloNassar lol, not even close. But I’d say it’s about as big as when Sony made their “we will be closing the stores” announcements.

[@CarloNassar]

@@leeartlee915 That's the problem. You *say *that it's big, but there needs to be real evidence.

[@leeartlee915]

@@CarloNassar I mean how do I quantify something like that. You basically have to use anecdotal evidence. I guess you could do some kind of internet search of every time the term “nintendo e shop closing” and see how many hits you get… but I a) don’t know how to do that and b) wouldn’t even if I did.

[@lizard.y]

This means there won't be a way to purchase a Mario & Luigi game. Rest in peace Alphadream and hopefully Nintendo can get another dev for M&L.

[@Wienerdog5]

I just thought about that and that is a scary thought. At least I have dream team and inside story

[@bagelgod946]

Dang your right. GBA Superstar saga and Partners in time we’re on the wii u and And almost the whole series had a 3ds version. There won’t be any easy way to buy them now.

[@Wienerdog5]

@@bagelgod946 they actually screwed themselves over with paper jam and there may never be another mario and luigi game by them again.

[@bagelgod946]

@@Wienerdog5 I mean there won’t be another Mario and Luigi by alpha dream because they went bankrupt.

[@Wienerdog5]

@@bagelgod946 yeah and that's depressing. The paper jam and bowsers inside story remake was a fatal combo

[@Churrolova]

* *Picture of Arlo and some Raycons* *: Name a more iconic duo... I'll wait.

[@tylersatov]

Dear Arlo I rarely go on youtube and your content - just your personality is what keeps me coming back. Keep doing you dude

[@samuel-wankenobi]

Nintendo doesn’t want piracy but then they do this

[@Matanumi]

out of touch. Fuck em. Get what you can get

[@XxjeffersonDkidxX]

Meanwhile in the xbox 360 Microsoft store where you STILL can buy games just like in 2004,with no signs of shut down. It may seems like it's inevitable but it is just because Nintendo chooses to do so,never forget that folks.

[@JumpNShootSH]

Yeah we all kind of knew Nintendo would do this considering when the Wii Shop closed, but JESUS CHRIST the least they could do is in its last year make all digital purchases discounted or some sort of sale other than Nintendo Selects. And being part of the normal online store cycle is a little mot point considering the PS3 store is still up

[@charlestrudel8308]

Maybe sony managed better its security on the ps3. I dont know, but that may be it.

[@theotherjared9824]

This reminds me of a big debacle that happened at while ago in the anime community. Fans that live in what can be considered second and third world countries asked how they can support the industry and the answer every time by several voice actors and executives, particularly in the english dubbing departnent, was to stop pirating and buy the official release. The fans replied that there was no official release in their country and piracy is the only way to watch what they like. The dubbers were dumbfounded and the best response anyone had was "Then I guess it's not for you then." They straight up said that certain people are not allowed to show support and are not welcome simply because of where they were born.

[@smirglepapier531]

It's not even a second/third world problem. A lot of things aren't released in Germany, I oftentimes have to wait pretty long for something if it is available at all.

[@The_Starkindler]

Okay, but the way you sounded slightly unhinged in the raycon ad is sending me omggg

[@WyattWentWacko]

I never realize the Virtual console existed, till I heard people talk about it, and by then I thought it was down. It wasn’t. I didn’t know that till your video on playing previous Metroid games. I then went to my Wii U to buy fusion. Ended up buying fusion, zero mission, pikmin 1 and 2, Metroid prime trilogy, paper Mario, other m, wind Waker, ocarina of time, and probably more I forgot about. So if they had taken it down, when the switch came out, I wouldn’t be able to play them. I didn’t have all those years the play them, became I didn’t realize I could. Imagine someone like that. They’re the ones we need to keep this open for

[@MaxiemumKarnage]

At this point, emulating is basically your moral duty if Nintendo refuses to stop this really bad practice. Preservation of games is important.

[@TheJebusCheese]

Isn't the largest fee for the digital storefronts the merchant fees? Like the charges for whenever someone uses their Visa card, Mastercard or whichever card that Nintendo has to pay a credit card company as a merchant?

[@Boganossi]

My real concern is the longevity of Switch software, with how many games require updates for the physical copies to access all the games content we will lose a lot of games when Nintendo eventually stops supporting update servers

[@1roxyfan491]

"If"

[@charlestrudel8308]

At least for that, Furukawa want backward compatibility with the first switch, its also easier to do since they are no longer on power pc, now, if the next switch is not backward, i expect nintendo to go bankrupt or something.

[@MaxiemumKarnage]

Me when I decide to finally play Brilliant Diamond 10 years from now and realise I can't install the day one patch and am stuck with MIDI music and no post-game.

[@junaglacierz1929]

This makes me so sad to see the 3DS and WiiU shop shut down. I’m gonna have to renown load older games and invest in ones I’ve never played so I can keep the joy of these systems alive. Such a fun era of gaming and it’s so sad to see it final showing it’s end time.

[@Mutt_Buncher4]

A Screen attachment for the switch that plugs in the usb c port will totally work to emulate ds games in handheld mode

[@Crit_Nerd]

What would be nice is if your 3DS/Wii U library could be playable on Switch, but there are many reasons why that would never happen. If anything, this just makes emulation more appealing, especially whenever systems and game carts start to fail. If Nintendo won't provide the option to purchase them, then people will find other means to play the games.

[@sorenadams377]

Dang it no more scrolling through the Wii U Eshop for hours on end without actually purchasing anything

[@cgromo]

While I agree that it's sad and there's probably business (greed) reasons behind it as well, keeping up a digital storefront isn't totally free - beyond the smaller costs of storage and bandwidth, you need developers to keep up with any new regulations and to fix bugs that could be exploited and cause damage to their infrastructure and leak user data. These are not small risks, especially when the alternative is to reduce the potential attack surface to literally nothing by taking the system offline. I still hate it as a digital archivist, but others have archived everything, so the games will be preserved whether Nintendo does it or not.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

Steam and fan hosting sites would like to introduce themselves to you. These have all proved the costs are manageable and the risks are as well.

[@cgromo]

Steam is a single platform that continually gets updated. Since the Switch eShop is staying up, that tells me they did not share the same platform as the 3DS and Wii U ones and thus any fixes in one would have to be ported to the others. And maybe Nintendo would rather not risk a Sony style beach. And yeah, they could pay to keep it running and patch it, but those resources (talking people, the hosting costs are probably tiny in comparison) could be used on their big money makers. I hope that this unified platform they've told investors about means that they'll take a Steam-like approach and have a unified store for all systems going forward, where the incentives align and make them want to keep everything online in perpetuity. But that's yet to be seen. I'm not saying I like it, nor am I trying to make excuses for them. I'm trying to throw some additional info out there as someone that's worked in software (but not games) for a decade since Arlo didn't say much about this side of it.

[@gogglebrains]

​@@cgromo Nintendo does have a unified digital sales platform that continually gets updated: the Nintendo Store on their website. I'm not a cybersecurity expert, but it seems to me that the most sensitive financial transaction processes on that storefront will be the same regardless of which platform you're buying for, and will always be highly prioritized for security and maintenance. Meanwhile, the 3DS/WiiU will still allow us to download/update games we already own for the foreseeable future (as they darn well should, if not indefinitely). So even if the 3DS/WiiU eShop apps are too old and insecure to handle new transactions, there's already a more secure pipeline that they could shift to. That said I think you're too quick to assume that Nintendo has a legitimate technical reason for doing this, rather than trying to use an (already iffy and probably outmoded) industry precedent as an excuse to Disney-vault two entire consoles' worth of games and drive some mad FOMO sales.... which as of late is completely and utterly in Nintendo's wheelhouse.

[@cgromo]

@@gogglebrains That is a storefront, yes, but that doesn't mean that all their storefronts are unified. That it doesn't list Wii U but does list 3DS and Switch hints it's not unified. Porting the other stores to make them unified would cost developer time. Unifying separate software systems is usually not easy. I agree that they could leave the downloads up separately. I would really like them to. That - without the payment processing - is straightforward to secure and run indefinitely. And I'm not assuming they have a legitimate reason. I'm adding more information to the discussion. There are probably other, more prominent factors to them doing this. I'm not saying they couldn't keep it running forever. I'm saying that this is probably a contributing factor. To be clear, I disagree with how Nintendo has handled this. It shows disrespect to their customers' time and money, and it sucks to lose games - especially when they're effectively stolen from you.

[@gogglebrains]

​@@cgromo "That it doesn't list Wii U but does list 3DS and Switch hints it's not unified." This is what I'm sayin about assumptions -- I really don't agree that it hints that. Wii U games disappearing from the Nintendo Store is a relatively recent development; just a couple years ago, you could shop 3DS, Wii U, or Switch digital games from this one storefront, all using the same payment processor. Personally I think it's a lot more likely that they hid the entire Wii U category because so much of it "competes" directly with Switch or NSO rereleases. "without the payment processing - is straightforward to secure and run indefinitely." -- Exactly, so go ahead and get rid of the payment processing on the 3DS/WiiU themselves (as Nintendo's currently planning). No need to develop/port a replacement shopping app for those systems, either. Just leave the games up for sale on the web-based Nintendo Store, as 3DS games currently are (and as WiiU games were just a few years ago). It would be a bit less convenient, of course; we'd have to hit up the Nintendo Store on our phone or PC to actually buy digital titles on these legacy consoles, then boot up said console's eShop just to download our purchased games. However, it'd accomplish the same goal from Nintendo's perspective, reducing the worst of the ongoing 3DS/WiiU-related overhead (to more or less the same extent as their current plan), while still preserving access to these libraries. Win-win, and it's right there on the table if Nintendo wanted it. Unfortunately....

[@looopaa9783]

i never used the 3ds online store, but it does make the ds feel so much more like a relic… makes you feel older i’ll need to go get all the games i can while it’s still open, although now it’ll probably create more of a market for remakes/remasters of ds games on the switch

[@Wondul]

I've gotta say I love your raycon ads, It lead me to getting some with your link to try them out and I love them. Since then I got one for my fiance and then her little sister after that. Have a good day love the content!

[@mangos212]

Just as a reminder many games are on major sales from 3rd party’s, Steamworld dig is $2