Since the 1980s, Nintendo has been developing some of the best games on the market for fans to play. While console generations come and go, digital shops have allowed gamers to continue to purchase many of the best Nintendo games for their systems. Unfortunately, the number of Nintendo platforms that support a digital store has suddenly lessened.
Recently, it was discovered that the Wii Shopping Channel for the Nintendo Wii and the DSi Shop for the Nintendo DSi family of handhelds had been shut down. Both digital stores have been offline since Wednesday, March 16, according to Eurogamer. While shutting down these classic shops might not surprise some, the nebulous circumstances surrounding these closures are somewhat perplexing. Adding to the confusion, the company has not stated whether this shutdown is temporary (perhaps for maintenance) or if it is permanent. This decision from Nintendo is seemingly random and came with no advanced notice for those still wanting to use these digital stores.
It is worth mentioning that the Nintendo Wii Shopping Channel has been only partially functional for the last couple of years. In 2019, the Japanese video game company decided to end transactions on the platform, meaning players could no longer purchase new titles from the shop. The same happened to the DSi shop several years earlier in 2017. However, gamers could still access the stores to download games previously acquired from these shops. Unfortunately, this is now much more difficult.
Supposedly, the main server for these shops is still operational, with only the apps being offline. If this is the case, it would mean that some services for the stores are still online. With this in mind, players could, in theory, still access the stores and download previously obtained games using third-party software, such as the NUSDownloader.
While the closure of the Wii Shopping Channel and DSi Shop likely caught many gamers by surprise, it is not the only Nintendo digital store closing its doors. Last month, Nintendo announced that many of the services for the eShop on the Wii U and 3DS would be ending. However, the company noted that the closure would not come until 2023, giving fans ample notice compared to the odd situation seen with the Wii and DSi online shops.
It will be interesting to see what the response from the community is regarding the news of these unexpected shutdowns of the Wii Shopping Channel and the DSi shop. Both systems were massively popular following their respective releases, with the Nintendo DS systems selling approximately 154 million units and the Nintendo Wii selling over 101 million consoles. While many probably are done downloading titles on these systems, some likely still use the consoles regularly. Time will tell if these closures are temporary or if the services are gone forever.
Source: Eurogamer