The end is near: Wii U, 3DS eShop ending credit card support in Japan

In another sign that Nintendo appears ready and willing to move on from the Nintendo 3Ds and failed Wii U, the company announced it will soon end credit card support for the eShop in Japan on those consoles.

On January 18, 2022, support for credit card payments will end. A translation (via mynintendonews) of the announcement reads:

"“…the handling of credit cards and transportation e-money in the Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo 3DS series and Wii U will be terminated at 9:00 a.m. on January 18th, 2022 (Tuesday). After the termination, you will no longer be able to add balances using credit cards and transportation e-money from the Nintendo 3DS series and Wii U”."

This isn’t the first time this has happened. In 2019, Nintendo stopped credit card support for 3DS and Wii U users in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. But Japan is by far the most prominent region for Nintendo and surely a sign that the end is near for these consoles.

It’s worth noting that this change is only for direct payments. You can still use eShop cards and fund your 3DS and Wii U eShop account via the Nintendo Switch using shared Nintendo Network ID (NNID) accounts.

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The 3DS launched in Japan on February 26, 2011, while the Wii U follwed it up on December 8, 2012. While the 3DS is one of Nintendo’s most successful consoles with nearly 76 million units shipped, the Wii U was a colossal failure with just 13.5 million units shipped worldwide. Nintendo discontinued the Wii U in January 2017, while support for the 3DS went on for a few more years before being discontinued in September 2020.

Given the age of the Wii U and 3DS coupled with the success of the Nintendo Switch — which is basically the best of both consoles — it’s understandable why Nintendo is slowly discontinuing eShop support. The writing is on the wall for these consoles; Nintendo wants to focus its attention on the much more successful Nintendo Switch.

So far, nothing about the eShop in the United States has been announced, but one has to expect that will be the next to go. It’s the end of an era for Nintendo, but the future looks bright for the company with the Nintendo Switch, which has already shipped nearly 85 million units. It’s starting to close in on the Wii’s 101 million sales mark.