3DS and Wii U eShops have officially closed

That’s officially a wrap on the 3DS and Wii U eShops – both stores are now closed for business. The two shops have been updated so that purchasing content is no longer possible. Also, if you were hoping to download free content like demos, you’ll be out of luck as well.

When Nintendo announced the closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShops, the company merely stated: “This is part of the natural lifecycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time.” It did not provide any other explanations about the decision to end purchases and free downloads.

Although the 3DS and Wii U eShops have closed off purchases, remember that you can still redownload any content you previously claimed. However, there could come a point in the future that this functionality ends as well. Note that if you attempt to access the eShops at all right now you’ll probably be unable to do so because of maintenance, but they should open back up for redownloads soon.

We recently kicked off a discussion talking about the final purchases some of our readers made on the eShops. You can find that right here.