Nintendo has announced the final day by which Wii U and 3DS balances have to be spent
You have until March to buy everything you want to from the retiring eShops
Nintendo has announced the date on which Wii U and 3DS eShop games will no longer be available to buy with an existing balance.
The company already removed the ability to buy eShop games with a credit card in May, meaning users now need to separately purchase and redeem physical Nintendo eShop cards in order to buy games and DLC.
It also previously warned that from August 29, it will no longer be possible to use a prepaid eShop card to add funds to a Wii U or 3DS balance.
Now it has stated that March 27, 2023 will be the last day any existing balance can be used to buy Wii U or 3DS games.
Although players will no longer be able to directly add funds using eShop cards from August 29, they will still be able to link their Nintendo Network ID wallet (used with the Wii U and 3DS) with their Nintendo Account wallet (used with the Switch) to create a shared balance.
As such, players who do this will still be able to top up their balance on the Switch then use that shared balance to buy Wii U and 3DS games until March 27 next year.
After that date, however, the remaining balance can only be used on the Switch eShop.
Further reading
Wii U and 3DS owners might not be able to redownload their games ‘within a few years’, a source claims
Nintendo assures that even though no more transactions (including the downloading of free demos and content) will be possible after March 27, the online service won’t shut down completely.
“Even after March 27, 2023, and for the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and enjoy online play on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems,” it says.
