Video Game History Foundation responds to closure of Wii U eShop and Nintendo 3DS eShop

Two days after Nintendo announced the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop and the Wii U eShop, the Video Game History Foundation, a non-profit organization created by Frank Cifaldi, said Nintendo is not contributing to preserve games.

Our statement on the closure of Nintendo's legacy digital shops. pic.twitter.com/mG5GzuGH4G

— Video Game History Foundation (@GameHistoryOrg) February 17, 2022

This comes two days after Nintendo announced the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop and the Wii U eShop in late March 2023. After that month, users will no longer be able to purchase titles for both mentioned consoles, closing part of gaming history forever. Gamers currently can’t purchase Nintendo 3DS and Wii U titles to play them on Nintendo Switch. Only digital versions of NES, SNES and N64 games are playable on the Switch under its Nintendo Switch Online service.

Cifaldi also shared a picture of an earlier version of the Wii U and 3DS eShop closure page. A statement by Nintendo that was eventually removed said the company “has no plans to offer classic content in other ways.” In other words, there are no plans to bring Wii U and 3DS titles to Switch.

You want proof that Nintendo's not going to take responsibility for keeping games in print? This is the NOW DELETED question and answer from their own FAQ. The answer to whether it's their obligation to keep games available is "we sell some old stuff on Switch so it's fine." pic.twitter.com/x2sB7evtIx

— Frank Cifaldi (Unlicensed).nes (@frankcifaldi) February 16, 2022

[Sources]: @GameHistoryOrg (Twitter): Our statement on the closure of Nintendo’s legacy digital shops – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. @frankcifaldi (Twitter): You want proof that Nintendo’s not going to take responsibility for keeping games in print? – [Archive] – [Screenshot].