On 2/18/2022, Nintendo announced that they would be shutting down the 3DS and Wii U eShops. As an aspiring game collector (wow wonder where that came from), I would like to delve into that.

Now, what they are actually doing is removing the ability to purchase games "as of late March 2023". However, they have set specific dates for specific things being removed; namely, the ability to add funds using credit cards will go away in May 2022, and with a Nintendo eShop Card in August 2022; the ability to use download codes and purchase free software will go away in March 2023.

I have loved the 3DS and Wii U since launch, and have dwelved several hundred (heck, maybe even thousand) hours into both systems. There are still several digital games which I intend to buy for them.

But what I want to go into is the apparent piracy issue. With the ability to add funds going away in just six months, people will start pirating games because of low stock. Piracy will increase rapidly among these systems.

I see this issue going in one of two ways. 1): Nintendo bans the Nintendo Network ID of pirates as they have been doing for the past decade. 2): Nintendo gives up and focuses on Switch anti-piracy.

If #2 happens, then there will be no reason to buy physical games for the average homebrewed 3DS / Wii U owner.

If #1 happens, then people will be upset because Nintendo is maintaining anti-piracy measures on a system that they discontinued the ability to buy most of the games for.

I think the only silver lining is if Nintendo follows in Sony's footsteps about the closure of the Vita and PS3 stores. I do not expect that to happen, but you can always hope for the better.

I've been koola, and I've had like 3 article ideas this month.

(They're all probably going to be pushed back by at least 4 years.)

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