E-Shop for 3DS and Wii-U to be closed by 2023

[Gameguy]

Some one will find a fix for it.

I hope so, I don't want consoles to just die out. I may not be interested in many Wii U games but the hardware itself seems interesting. Basically it's how I view the original Wii as well, mostly useful or fun to mess around with if modded or hacked.

Dude, I don't have time for a wall of fragmented, piecemeal responses that try to remove the context of each line. That's not how normal people communicate.

I tend to separate text in an attempt to keep posts from becoming too bloated, I am not trying to remove the context.

I'm not telling you to buy something you don't want. You're the one who quoted me to argue against what I had said (that it's unfortunate that many Virtual Console releases are now only available legally via their original cartridge release). How is it so hard to grasp that other people want things that you personally may not be interested in, and why is it bad to you to support them having access to those things? In what way am I supporting a digital-only future? Simply by very rarely buying digital releases? I prefer to buy physical whenever I reasonably can. Nintendo is not going to know or care if I drop $300 for an Earthbound cart on eBay. And when I bought the Virtual Console version on 3DS, that didn't make the physical copies vanish into thin air, nor is it going to make bootleggers stop making repros for those who want a physical copy without paying the cost of an authentic cart. So how exactly does a digital release of a retro game harm anything? Because Nintendo sure as hell isn't about to manufacture new official SNES carts no matter how the Virtual Console sales go (and the repros from Limited Run Games and the like are only half-legit at best because they're not authorized by Nintendo, so it's actually more legit buying VC releases). Boycotting VC releases accomplishes absolutely nothing. And I'm talking about old games because that's literally what I was talking about in what you quoted. If you're trying to shift goalposts and make this about something else, that's your own problem, but don't shove words into my mouth. If you actually read the posts that you quote, you should well know that I always support and encourage new games getting physical releases. I don't know what imaginary person you think you're arguing with.

So this is how I should reply? Throw together around a dozen different points together in a single wall of text with no formatting whatsoever? You consider this easier to read?

First, I never said that it's good that the Virtual Console shop has closed. I do disagree with business practices behind how the shop was structured, but I'm not happy it's closed down(I'm not sad either). I might as well quote the whole paragraph you wrote as you're claiming I took it out of context.

This is also the end of the Virtual Console service. Pretty sizable run from 2006 to 2023. I'm sad to see it go, since I much prefer the idea of a one-time purchase than having to pay a subscription. Plus, there's so much that appeared on the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U via Virtual Console that isn't available on Switch. So many of these games are going back to only being available legally via old secondhand physical copies.

You make it sound like you're about to cry over the closure, like mourning a dead child.

So game collecting will go back to how we collected games when we first got into collecting? I'm not exactly finding a huge problem with that as it's how I've been collecting for the last 20 years.

As for download only games, I'm sure people will find ways to still play these games in the future. Just as people used to emulate old console games before official virtual console options existed. There just may not be a paying option to accomplish it.

My reply was to say that it's closure is almost irrelevant and doesn't matter either way. Games are still available as they were physically, and otherwise will still be available to play digitally through other means. Why be so upset when the games will still be easy enough to obtain? Of course you replied to this by jumping down my throat.

I suppose I can briefly address some other points from your wall of text. With Earthbound, Nintendo rereleased the game in Japan on the GBA, there's no need to ever rerelease it physically here if people happily paid $10 for a download only copy. I do believe if people were unwilling to pay for digital releases then we would be getting actual physical releases. I don't expect Nintendo to start manufacturing new SNES carts but games would get rereleased on whatever the current console available is.

Of course people want other things that I don't. The main thing I've learned is that most people are gladly willing to give up their privacy and consumer rights for extra convenience. You're right, me boycotting VC releases accomplishes absolutely nothing, at this point I'm just sticking to my principals. And yes, you are still supporting a digital-only future by very rarely buying digital releases, because it's not just you but also millions of other people like you who are doing the same. It wasn't too long ago that consumers backlashed against Xbox One when games were originally supposed to be tied to DRM(and also regarding privacy, the Microsoft staff listened in on consumer conversations through the Xbox One), yet now the PS5 is available without a disc drive and people are fine with DRM filled games. In another generation or two there won't be any consoles available with a disc drive or cart slot, there will only be a digital download version. Once games are fully streamable instead of dowloadable to an individual console, there won't be any preservation either.

And this topic is literally solely about the the 3DS and Wii U eShops closing. In other words, solely about digital releases (some digital-only, many not). If you hate digital releases so much, what is the purpose and value of you posting in this topic? You don't even like modern gaming in general, yet you repeatedly come into this section just to bitch and complain in every topic. What's the point? Just to piss on everybody's parade? Do you not have better things to do with your life?

I posted in this topic to have a discussion, which is the purpose of a discussion forum. I would happily post in other topics if there were any additional posts in other sections to reply to, but of course this forum is mostly dead with little discussion at all. I actually like some aspects of modern gaming like various Switch releases, I just don't own a Switch because I can't afford to at this point. The console basically feels like the DS, a large selection of good games of various genres and various developers both large and small.

Of course, there is something you said which is why I replied to you.

The end is nigh. Anybody else making some last-minute purchases before both eShops close tomorrow? I don't have a Wii U myself, but I do have some funds on my 3DS that I need to spend. I added the funds with a Nintendo gift card prior to them disabling that option and spent most of what I had a while back, but I've been waffling on what to do with the last 16-some bucks on there. I'll probably grab a couple of games from Level-5's Guild series, but there is a nice Capcom sale going on. Nice discount on Gurumin 3D too, but I played through that on PSP just recently. I wish more publishers were doing a last-minute sale, but I guess they figure FOMO will make people buy even at full price.

It is still possible to add funds if you want, but I don't know the exact details of it. I've never made a Nintendo Network ID, but if you have one and link your system to it, you can add funds online or via Switch or whatever and then those funds will be available on your linked 3DS/Wii U as well. Sometime like that. If I'm getting any of the specifics wrong, feel free to correct me.

This is also the end of the Virtual Console service. Pretty sizable run from 2006 to 2023. I'm sad to see it go, since I much prefer the idea of a one-time purchase than having to pay a subscription. Plus, there's so much that appeared on the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U via Virtual Console that isn't available on Switch. So many of these games are going back to only being available legally via old secondhand physical copies.

Honestly that's the general modern consumer attitude I really dislike, not just with video games. You outright say you feel the publishers are gouging consumers using FOMO to extract as much money as possible from them, then immediately mention how people can give their money to these publishers. Why would any consumer choose to reward this behavior? You're mostly bothered with this digital storefront closure because you're not able to give businesses your money, not because you can't access these old games anymore through some other means(legal or not). It's not just you but with most consumers today. People are happy to get less and pay more, even if some complain they mostly don't change their spending habits so businesses don't change their policies either. I just don't get this mentality. Businesses used to cater to consumers to attract their business, now consumers go out of their way giving money to a business just to "support the industry" or "support the economy" no matter how they're treated. I just don't get it. And as businesses cater to the majority to maximize profit, I end up affected by other peoples' preferences and spending habits, which is why I care.