In February, Nintendo announced plans to shut down digital eShops on the 3DS and Wii U, two consoles it said have “become less popular with consumers over time.” After today, the first phase of this plan will go into effect and players will no longer be able to use a credit card to add new funds to their eShop wallets.

Physical eShop gift cards, which can still be purchased at major retailers, will be redeemable until August 29. But today marks the last chance to add eShop funds directly without going through an outside retailer.

Players who add funds today (or who use funds in a linked “Nintendo Account Wallet” as used on the Switch) will still be able to make purchases until “the end of March 2023”, Nintendo said. Purchases made before this deadline will still be available to redownload “for the foreseeable future”, although demos and “free” games will no longer be downloadable after this date.

what we lose

The upcoming shutdown means Nintendo will no longer offer classic games for direct purchase under its long-running Virtual Console program. This includes over 300 titles on the Wii U chosen from the NES, SNES, TurboGrafx-16, N64, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS libraries and nearly 200 titles on the 3DS chosen from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Gear libraries.

In a February FAQ, Nintendo noted that it offers over 130 classic games as part of a Nintendo Switch Online subscription and that “we currently have no plans to offer classic content from any other way”. However, this answer (archived here) was removed from the company’s public FAQ within 24 hours of posting.

The shutdowns will also mean the end of availability for hundreds of eShop-exclusive titles that have never been released on other consoles or on physical media of any type. Fans have compiled a list of over 700 3DS eShop exclusives and nearly 200 Wii U eShop exclusives that will no longer be available after this transition. Many reviewers have also been busy compiling lists of the best eShop exclusives to check out before they’re gone for good.

Even some 3DS and Wii U games that have technically seen a physical release may be difficult to access for less after eShop closures. Used prices are already skyrocketing for rare 3DS cartridges like Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright and rhythm thief, even though they are available as a relatively cheap download from the eShop (for now). The same goes for rare Wii U discs like Bayonet 2 and Wii Sports Club.

Nintendo will likely see a slight increase in revenue from these eShops before they close, as gamers track their FOMO and purchase digital games while they still have the option. Video game preservation groups, meanwhile, are scrambling to ensure that archival copies of these digital games will be available to researchers in the future.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this posting through affiliate programs.