The Nintendo eShop is No More: Say Goodbye Forever!

Brandy Hellberg
Staff Writer
  Nintendo has recently shut down the Wii and 3DS stores for good. This means that, as of 27 March 2023, no one will be able to purchase anything from the Nintendo eShop, whether it be new games, downloadable content, demos, or anything else sold on the online shop. While the closure wrought major disagreements from the general Nintendo fanbase, their complaints have since been mitigated by the release of a new game in the Legend of Zelda series. 
  The Nintendo eShop shut down due to various reasons. Firstly, the costs for its upkeep were expected to become more than its profits sometime past the shutdown date. Secondly, its security is not up-to-date and has major safety concerns for user data. In short, this shutdown was planned for a reason, as was discussed by the company on their Q&A page about the topic: "This is part of the natural lifecycle [sic] for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." However, this shutdown does bring the company one problem: old games exclusive to that shop can no longer be obtained through legal means. Players will most likely resort to piracy and emulators to preserve the games, or they might buy overpriced physical copies sold by collectors and scalpers. 
  Yet not all is lost for Nintendo fans. A new game in the famous Legend of Zelda series has been released as a direct sequel to their best-selling Breath of the Wild title. Nintendo plans to release the game on 12 May 2023, with pre-orders available at most retailers. Fans of the company have shown excitement for the game’s potential release, demonstrated by the various reactions to the gameplay trailer. According to Polygon writer Nicole Carpenter, many new features are planned for the upcoming release, including the unique yet useful building tool in the game called Ultrahand, yet only what the game trailer has shown is known. “There’s plenty to analyze in… 10 minutes -- but there’s certainly also plenty that Nintendo’s decided to keep secret.” While the Nintendo eShop closing is regrettable, the release of the new game has kept fans eager for the future.