Well, we all saw this coming. The end of the era is upon us.
Starting March 26th, 2018, people will not be able to add new Wii Shop Points to their accounts. The Wii Shop Channel itself will go into the next phase January 31, 2019.
So the shop will still exist, however it will only exist to redownload software that has already been purchased. This is how the DSi Shop currently is.
Wii to Wii U system transfers will also work after this time period. Like with the DSi Shop, Nintendo currently has not stated when the ability to redownload games and do system transfers will end, but they have stated that it will happen sometime later in 2019 (who knows, possibly the same time the DSi Shop goes down.)
Pack it up, everyone, let's all head out to the Decaf emulator before it is too late. But seriously, we should catalog what games various Dolphin developers have to make sure that nothing in the Wii Shop Channel is being left behind. We should also document which games have their own online services independent of Nintendo's framework, because several of those will be around for a long time after, most likely.
It should also be noted that they are taking the Wii U lifecycle even faster. They are killing off Miiverse while the console is still technically supported by Nintendo. And Miiverse is going away BEFORE the Wii Shop Channel does. It just surprises me that there is STILL a game coming out for the Wii; Just Dance 2018 will be out October 24th for the Wii along with everything else.
Starting March 26th, 2018, people will not be able to add new Wii Shop Points to their accounts. The Wii Shop Channel itself will go into the next phase January 31, 2019.
So the shop will still exist, however it will only exist to redownload software that has already been purchased. This is how the DSi Shop currently is.
Wii to Wii U system transfers will also work after this time period. Like with the DSi Shop, Nintendo currently has not stated when the ability to redownload games and do system transfers will end, but they have stated that it will happen sometime later in 2019 (who knows, possibly the same time the DSi Shop goes down.)
Pack it up, everyone, let's all head out to the Decaf emulator before it is too late. But seriously, we should catalog what games various Dolphin developers have to make sure that nothing in the Wii Shop Channel is being left behind. We should also document which games have their own online services independent of Nintendo's framework, because several of those will be around for a long time after, most likely.
It should also be noted that they are taking the Wii U lifecycle even faster. They are killing off Miiverse while the console is still technically supported by Nintendo. And Miiverse is going away BEFORE the Wii Shop Channel does. It just surprises me that there is STILL a game coming out for the Wii; Just Dance 2018 will be out October 24th for the Wii along with everything else.