The second only to the PlayStation 2. Even though the 3DS did not sell as well as its predecessor, becoming the lowest-selling Nintendo handheld console, it was still a popular handheld that sold over 70 million units.
Unfortunately, the Nintendo Wii U wasn’t as successful as the. The successor to the massively popular and industry-changing Wii failed to sell, although it did host some pretty good first-party titles, and Nintendo discontinued the device in 2017. On the bright side, the company took many of the concepts of the Wii U and improved on it to come up with the Nintendo Switch, one of the fastest-selling consoles in recent memory.
On its official website, Nintendo of Japan announced that the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops will no longer allow s to add funds via credit card or e-money card starting January 18, 2022. The announcement currently only applies to Japan, but the company could very likely do the same for other regions. According to the announcement, any remaining funds in either of the respective eShops after the aforementioned date may still be used as is. Once for credit cards and e-money cards has ended, s will only be able to add funds for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops via Nintendo prepaid cards or by linking their Nintendo Network ID with their Nintendo .
This change may mean that Nintendo is simply discontinuing whatever separate payment infrastructures it had in place for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops and is centralizing where players are able to add funds to purchase content for the two older consoles. On the other hand, it could potentially mean something more in the future as the announcement also mentions certain features being disabled due to the change, including disabling the filter of the Nintendo 3DS’s internet browser as well as the subscription services of titles such as Karaoke JOYSOUND for the Wii U.
While Nintendo of Japan’s announcement doesn’t directly mention the shuttering of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops anytime soon, it still isn’t an impossibility. Sony just recently fully closed the PSP's digital store and almost closed the stores for both the PS3 and PS Vita, too, so it isn’t unprecedented for a console manufacturer like Nintendo to eventually shutter the older consoles' online stores. But given that it took Sony almost 17 years to close the PSP store, s of both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U may not have to worry anytime soon.
Source: Nintendo of Japan
