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

The Nintendo eShop for the Wii U and 3DS game consoles officially closed for business on March 27th, 2023, permanently disabling all new purchases on the platforms. We knew this was coming. Nintendo quietly announced the eShop's closure over a year ago, asserting that it was the "natural life cycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." That doesn't make it any less of a loss for Nintendo fans, because legally playing some of these console's best games is now not only harder, but in some cases, nearly impossible. The time to argue that Nintendo should keep this aging digital storefront open has long since passed (though yes, they should have).