The most frustrating part of this all isn't the fact that we have a very limited time to get these things if we want them before they're impossible to get legally down the road. The most frustrating part is the point you made at the end: even if we do everything in our power to grab everything we want before this shuts down, all it takes is the Wii U or 3DS not turning on one day for all to be lost. Be it that they die, that there's an accident and they break, or any number of things, these systems all of a sudden become very fragile things with irreplaceable data on them, and when we comfortably buy these games and DLCs and what have you, we do so with the idea/intention of owning them forever. But we're facing an age where the reality of digital gaming is really coming at us now. We knew this could/would happen someday, but now that it's here it just sucks so bad. Well put, Jon, looking forward to the 3DS video as well.
I wouldn't worry. Nintendo is known for making devices that last a lot. Look at all the GBA that are still working. The 3ds and the wii u are sturdy consoles that will last a really long time. And if one day they'll die, there is a good chance that Nintendo has already ported many games to their future console.
I read somewhere that you could still redownload your already purchased games /dlc after the eshop shuts down. Even if our consoles suddenly died , we could still purchase another and re-download all the games using our 3ds/wii account.
@@Dairunt1 I've been torn on the decision to go this route. I love having the physical versions of my favorite games but even then there's so many are just out of my price range
Let it be known that e-reader levels aren't actually the easiest thing to get working on an emulator. The Wii U is by far the EASIEST way to experience those levels.
I'm going to have to figuratively cave and spend a couple hundred dollars - or even a few hundred dollars, for that matter - to buy a used, second-hand Nintendo Wii U and buy a Nintendo eShop Gift Card or two *_*just*_* so that I can digitally buy the _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ video game from the Nintendo Game Boy Advance Virtual Console on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo Wii U *_*before*_* August of this year (you cannot use eShop Gift Cards after a certain date in August of this year to make purchases on the Nintendo Wii U eShop, and it's *_even earlier_* - sometime in *_May_* of this year - for not being able to use credit cards to make purchases on the Nintendo Wii U eShop!!). This is because I've *_NEVER,_*_ _*_*EVER*_* got to play the Japan-exclusive, U.S.-Walmart-exclusive and U.S.-Target-exclusive e-Reader stages/levels when they were originally released on the physical version of the _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ video game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance back in the early-to-mid-2000's as I live in Canada; and yet I desperately, *_desperately, DESPERATELY_* want to play those _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ e-Reader stages/levels!!! 😖😖😖😢😢😢😭😭😭😩😩😩
Incorrect. Here's a video showing how simple it is to set up an emulator that has the ereader cards scanned as files to be read. ua-cam.com/video/q2iMm143gmQ/v-deo.html Follow this video and you get access to not only the level cards, but power ups and demos.
Xenoblade Chronicles X made me have to make a lot of room for it back in the day; upgrading for the extra space was a necessity lol Obviously a lot of people are gonna rush to purchase what they can before the stores shut down; and a lot of games are gonna go away. Seriously wish Nintendo would do more to make their long legacy of games more available to people who want them.
Come to think of it, the DLC for Breath of the Wild will become unpurchaseable on Wii U. So features like the master cycle will become switch exclusive.
I was eagerly awaiting Jon's vid on this topic. His Nintendo Life Wii U and 3DS vids have brought me back to these fantastic systems and game collecting in general. Glad to see the style and quality of his work continue here on GVG.
@@GoldTopCookie You can use a credit card to add funds or purchase E shop gift cards and redeem the codes. Keep in mind you can’t have more than $200 worth of E shop balance at once. Hope this helps.
@@rayes119 yeah I noticed when I did top up my account on 3ds I accidentally spent something on the switch eshop and it used my balance from 3ds and Wii u, not sure that’s works the other way round though
I honestly loved the Wii U’s virtual console for the amount of GBA support there was alone. Aside from the mainline Pokémon titles, any GBA game you would care about playing is there and then some. It was probably the best way to experience the GBA library (besides emulation) and now it’s about to go away forever. Damn.
I'd say there are a lot of great GBA games not on there, after all it has like 5% of the system library, but it does have almost all the first party games released in the west with very few exceptions, unlike the DS or N64 Virtual Console.
As a _Fire Emblem_ fan, I immediately purchased the remaining Fates routes when I heard the 3DS & Wii U news since I only bought Birthright 6 years ago, but it’s crazy to think that a DLC-only route like Revelation will essentially be gone for good unless you have the Special Edition cartridge with all 3 routes & DLC. The Wii U eShop closing is also relevant to FE because that means The Blazing Blade (FE7), The Sacred Stones (FE8), and Shadow Dragon (FE11) will no longer be available through Virtual Console. FE7 on Wii U VC was how I got into the series in 2015, so it sucks that other people won’t have that same experience through legal purchase. Yes, emulating FE7, FE8, & FE11 is incredibly easy compared to other games, but the average consumer (like me at the time) wouldn’t even know of those games’ existence without the eShop giving them exposure. While I had heard of the series through Smash at the time, I never made the move to actually play one of the games until I saw FE7 listed in the GBA section of Wii U Virtual Console. Of course, I emulate the Japan-only titles as well as the Tellius games, but that’s because I’ve become a hardcore fan who would be willing to put in that effort. The casual player won’t go out of their way to emulate a game they may not like, so Virtual Console did a great job of giving exposure to those older games and providing a low barrier to entry for potential consumers.
hey, another fire emblem fan out in the wild! anyways, yeah, like for me, emulating on my computer takes alot of the fun out of it. like my sacred stones rom has been digitally collecting dust for years simply because it isnt as fun to play on the computer as it is with the original (or close to the original) hardware. you also have to deal with janky emulators if you want to play most of the fe titles. we're losing so much outside of virtual console releases and revelations- future past, the echoes cipher characters (especially bc with cipher done, they'll probably never return), having more than one route on one fates cartridge, heirs of fate, etc. while the fe community is lucky to have most of this already documented we'll still be missing so much. and if the eshop is shutting down, then who knows when the wifi servers do? with nintendo's track record with how theyre handling legacy content on the switch, its really unlikely most of fe's past will be legally available again. the move in modern gaming to have lots of content locked behind digital paywalls is going to make games preservation a nightmare in the future. nintendo once again making the worse decisions possible for literally everyone
I really hope GVG blows up more with Jon providing this content. He’s very knowledgable, clearly passionate, and has a very strong presentation in both his voice itself and his delivery.
He's the only one doing content on the channel, back when they were on GX they used to make a lot of videos but now they limit themselves to the Podcast. That's something I don't get.
I'd love to see a second part about the 3DS eShop, this was good watch because i didn't knew just how much is going to be lost when they close the digital stores.
btw after the closure you can still redownload software/DLC you bought and you will still be able to download updates even after the shutdown. plus the games would be linked to the Nintendo Network account so if your Wii U dies and you buy a new one you can link that account to it and redownload the old software onto that.
@@rapidloaf Wii Shop Channel was much worse. Your purchases were actually tied to the console, so if it died or you lost it or something... bye bye all your purchases.
Granted, I've already been largely priced out of the second-hand market even for common Nintendo games, because game collecting is becoming hell, but this is going to be brutal for the physical versions of Wii U, 3DS and Virtual Console games. Like, damn, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is already regularly going for $100, I can't imagine how much worse that's going to get without a digital alternative as an option.
And this is why I still preorder and buy games when they’re still in stores, because for every game that’s price tanks after the first week there’s another that’s price hits the stratosphere. And that second option gets exponentially higher if the game is good. Speaking of Radiant Historia it’s got DLC missions that you’ll really want to pick up before the shop closes.
Thank you for reminding me to make sure I still have the XCX patch downloaded. I think I had to put it on an external hard drive, so worth checking that it's still intact.
Seeing that slot machine in the beginning and the variety of music that the Wii U eshop would play definitely brings so much positive nostalgia (even if the Wii U isn't really retro) too bad my gamepad is broken and wont charge if it weren't for that I would love to play some Wii U right now
seconding this, unless you want to jump through some wild loops buying lots of weird, non-official hardware and cartridge dumpers, it's going to be basically impossible to save Pokemon from Gens 1 and 2 and and transfer them up into current games after these go away
We need GBA and GameCube preservation on the Switch. I hope this is a sign Nintendo will do better at offering their older games to the customer base. Also it’s so great to see Jon with GVG. You can tell he’s having such a good time with his latest uploads. Good work man!
@FlyingShoeMan I remember that, I think it was 500gb or so, they also had a list, but now it's not feasible. I think the Wii U can use 2tb but I got 1tb to be safe.
"One day you'll push the power button and nothing will happen." And that is exactly why I bought THREE of these things. Sure, that'll still happen eventually, but I'll be ok for a good long while.
@@qactustick That is an excellent point. My main concern is the touch screen. The thumb sticks I taught myself how to repair and replacing the battery is easy but if the screen goes that's above my pay grade in terms of knowing how to fix it.
Just curious, does your solution still apply considering the e-shop itself is being taken down? For updates I mean since they won't be accessible anymore. Or did you download the updates to all 3 of your systems?
@@pa5666 Just the one for now. I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to link them together and transfer files from one Wii U to another. I know you can't do it with an external harddrive or SD card, but I haven't seen anything saying you can't do it via hooking up one to another. I'm praying it's possible to save me a lot of time.
@@chaospoet Oh, wow good idea! I hope it works, it would definitely be interesting to find out. So many problems with this shut down haha. Good luck! :)
I wasn’t aware that some of the virtual console games had functionality changes, like animal crossing wild world removing multiplayer requirements for unlocks. That’s huge! The Super Mario Bros 3 gba version details were news to me too, the Wii U version has content that never existed anywhere else before…that is noteworthy.
I checked out Smash Wii U today after like 4 years and to my surprise I was getting plenty of matches online. God it feels so slow next to Ultimate but it was still good fun. And the lobby system were you can pick a fighter after each match when playing the same person is so much better than Ultimate's single use character in quick play.
I think we should also mention EarthBound Beginnings. As much as it’s on NES Online on Switch at the moment, if they ever turn off the servers for their Online service, the Wii U might be the only way to play it.
It's now on the Switch alongside EarthBound Still, they're tied to the sub so the moment the Switch servers shut down, no one will be able to play them anymore. At least with the Wii U ports, they're single-time purchases that stay locked to your Nintendo account.
The WiiU eshop music is superb. The whole changing themes is brilliant and far superior to any digital sales platform, in terms of its style and personality. Eat your heart out Steam.
Jon! I’m glad you mentioned the ereader levels in the GBA version on super Mario bros 3. I feel like a lot of people are unaware of that addition in the virtual console release. Also being able to play DS games on the big screen is awesome. I’m sad these stores are closing and I do hope Nintendo changes their mind but I think the chances of that are slim to none.
I hate to be that guy, but that’s not going to happen. From a business perspective, it just wouldn’t make sense to keep the servers alive. Everyone has to remember, they are a business first.
Yeah, I don't like saying "hate to break it to you" but if they didn't hesitate with Wii, I see little reason they'd hesitate with Wii U. Same for the line of DS things... I doubt 3DS is going to receive any mercy on this one too.
That's why I'm trying to get as much games as possible if not all of them, for both 3ds and Wii U, with my full time job, I add like $200 each paycheck into the eShop and buy games from each Category at a time
Looking right dapper, Jon! Although I haven't touched my Wii U/3DS systems in like a year, I'll still miss the charming eShop. And how you can play with a little slot machine while it loaded. The Switch's interface just isn't the same. Nintendo has changed. It's no secret. However, the Switch already has almost all of my favorite games of all time on it in some form (ALMOST all of them), and it's no big loss. We must simply...move on. Whatever was great on previous consoles, there are (mostly) better alternatives available now. RIP and thanks for the memories, downloadable Wii U and 3DS software!
Considering that the switch was like that from the get-go, even while the WiiU still had a tiny bit of support going…I feel hesitant to say the less interesting eshop is a product of the times. But I certainly do wish they’d go back sometime
You’re doing the lord’s work making a video like this. I love the Wii U despite its reputation, and would hate to miss out on some must have or interesting titles.
This is a great list. I already started buying some 3DS eShop games, have to hook up my WiiU again too before its too late. I especially want to play the Sonic Lost Worlds DLC.
Man that Smash DLC thing made me kinda nervous about Ultimate's DLC run. Eventually the Switch eshop is going to close, and eventually, we wont be able to play with Joker or Sora unless they come back in future smash games.
I'm sorry to see the eShop go. It is a great way to get games that are sometimes hard to find, and even rather expensive, in cartridge form. Some of the games were exclusive to it as well. This was brought home to me when I tried to find cartridges of Breath of Fire and especially Breath of Fire 2 in a store and saw how expensive they are. The Wii Shop Channel is really missed too. Nintendo is making a huge mistake in putting all of its eggs in the Switch basket. I suspect that they'll eventually realize this and bring back something like 3DS again and hopefully a shop like this. They did do the NES and SNES minis and are now doing the Game and Watch things, so maybe that's a good sign that Nintendo realizes that not everyone on Earth wants a Switch. The WiiU is one of the best consoles Nintendo has ever made. The controller pad is big and easy to use for everybody. The games that made use of the screen on the control pad are fantastic! It's also great because I can still play my Wii games that would have been unplayable otherwise once my Wii started overheating more and more. I also love the New 3DS XL console. These two consoles are far more innovative in the sorts of gaming experiences you can have than the Switch which is just Nintendo's take on a PS Vita. Good video. It points out the best and worst things of digital games - you can access so many more games that we can with physical cartridges, but if the company decides to shut off the servers, those games are gone. It's also concerning that some of the physical games rely on downloads before you can even play them.
I’m mostly bummed about those GBA games leaving the eShop. I didn’t know that Xenoblade Chronicles X had downloads to help it run better either. I own the game but didn’t get around to playing past the early game. Might be a good time to.
@@sirmel11 Oh! oh i see. You don't understand the original comment. Ok. Well he was (i believe) implying that in lue of official means of getting these games that people illegally download the games onto their PC from pirates and emulate them. But this only works for PC. If you don't have a computer and the expertise to find, download and run these games then you can't pirate a game.
I've been hoping to pick up a physical copy of Xenoblade X soon, but looks like those plans are gone. I doubt I can have both it and Metroid Prime Trilogy both on my Wii U, which is a huge problem...
@@leonardm6858 Thank you! I actually found a reasonably priced physical copy of X, but I might need some extra storage anyways. I'll keep that in mind.
The Xenoblade Chronicles X free software going away is debatable. On the Wii Shop you can still download the Skyward Sword patch which was free. So there's the potential the Xenoblade data packs might still remain.
Thanks for doing this Jon, knew you'd understand why this is such a big deal. Keep these Wii U and 3DS videos coming. Would be worth doing a video on what (if any) ways we can preserve our collections for the long haul. Don't want these games to disappear like the Satellaview games.
I came here to satisfy my craving for critique of the games industry, but was surprised by this *smooth melted chocolate voice* unexpectedly caressing my ears.
One interesting case is Neutopia - a Turbografx game on the Wii U Virtual Console - which also happens to be available on the PS3's PSN store. The sequel, however, is only on the Wii U (outside Japan).
It's interesting to see the same people who have trashed the WiiU for years now suddenly care that their online store is closing because they've suddenly realized that old games on the Switch are not something you truly own. You people should have realized this fact sooner, but whatever. At least the shop is closing next year instead of years ago.
Just an FYI, I've had a Wii U since launch year, and I've had discs randomly just die. They're kept in perfect, climate controlled conditions, and occasionally a disc just wouldn't work for zero reason. I personally don't think Wii U discs were manufactured with the highest of quality, so be wary of picking up pre-owned games.
This could be really bad for game preservation, luckily people have saved the Roms onto their pc’s and shared them online but if people want to collect the actual copies of the games.... **sighs**
@@starforce1310 If you thought collecting physical games is hard now, it's ONLY going to get worse. Eventually, Sony is going to shut down PS3/Vita, and in due time the PS4 stores. Microsoft is going to move on from their current system (360 will shut down relatively soon), and their awful DRM policies isn't going to help matters (yes their backwards compatibility program was good but it's going to be the determent of their DRM policies).
@@NoonDragoon For me it was Xenoblade Chronicles X, Hyrule Warriors, and the Monster Hunter game on the system. I really don't pick up Wii U games any more for this reason.
It's worth noting that Fast Racing NEO, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackwater, and Art Academy: Home Studio don't have physical releases in the US.
Glad to see you continuing your work! Not sure why you made the jump but it does feel good to feel like I’m picking up,right where I left off with the Cartwright content.
Wii U & 3DS owners: "Why are we still here? Just to suffer? The games I've lost...the Miiverse I've lost...won't stop hurting. I'm gonna make them give back our past." [buys $100 of obscure eShop titles] *woah-HOAAAAAAAAAAA*
thanks for putting the Xenoblade X stuff on my radar. I still have my copy sealed (I keep games sealed until I play them) so I would've definitely missed out on those packs!
Tethering games to the console was the absolute worst idea. I lost so much of my Wii U and 3ds collection in 2016 when my stuff was stolen. If it was on an account that wouldn't have happened.
The way I read the statement was that these titles wouldn’t come back in the form of a virtual console, and then they pointed to NSO. I feel like the indication is clearly that they’ll be porting these to NSO, unless I’m missing something there. So long as that’s the case I’m ok with this, but I get that a lot of people prefer paying for something that they own rather than a subscription.
Don’t worry Jon I have bought a number of titles on my Wii U including a few that’s on switch online such as super Metroid, mainly because I like owning my games and I don’t the rental service we have now.
They could bother putting some of the big titles on sale, since we have to download everything before 2023. Fast Neo for example was just discounted and I bought it running.
The most frustrating part of this all isn't the fact that we have a very limited time to get these things if we want them before they're impossible to get legally down the road. The most frustrating part is the point you made at the end: even if we do everything in our power to grab everything we want before this shuts down, all it takes is the Wii U or 3DS not turning on one day for all to be lost. Be it that they die, that there's an accident and they break, or any number of things, these systems all of a sudden become very fragile things with irreplaceable data on them, and when we comfortably buy these games and DLCs and what have you, we do so with the idea/intention of owning them forever. But we're facing an age where the reality of digital gaming is really coming at us now. We knew this could/would happen someday, but now that it's here it just sucks so bad.
Well put, Jon, looking forward to the 3DS video as well.
Okay, so what do you do about it then?
I wouldn't worry. Nintendo is known for making devices that last a lot. Look at all the GBA that are still working. The 3ds and the wii u are sturdy consoles that will last a really long time. And if one day they'll die, there is a good chance that Nintendo has already ported many games to their future console.
PIRACYYYY, HECK YEAHHHHH
I read somewhere that you could still redownload your already purchased games /dlc after the eshop shuts down. Even if our consoles suddenly died , we could still purchase another and re-download all the games using our 3ds/wii account.
Good luck playing physical smash Bros after Nintendo turns off the server for patch downloads 😂
Being a game collector hurts so much these days
@@Dairunt1 I've been torn on the decision to go this route. I love having the physical versions of my favorite games but even then there's so many are just out of my price range
There is a new saying out there... you will own nothing and be happy about it.
I think game collections are pointless at this point, if you want to experience a game, don't tell Nintendo but you can sail the seas.
@X D troll?
@@Saz103 Unless your purely a console gamer, then your landlocked watching all the sailors enjoy doing shit you never can.
Let it be known that e-reader levels aren't actually the easiest thing to get working on an emulator. The Wii U is by far the EASIEST way to experience those levels.
Can confirm. Used to give me so much trouble.
I'm going to have to figuratively cave and spend a couple hundred dollars - or even a few hundred dollars, for that matter - to buy a used, second-hand Nintendo Wii U and buy a Nintendo eShop Gift Card or two *_*just*_* so that I can digitally buy the _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ video game from the Nintendo Game Boy Advance Virtual Console on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo Wii U *_*before*_* August of this year (you cannot use eShop Gift Cards after a certain date in August of this year to make purchases on the Nintendo Wii U eShop, and it's *_even earlier_* - sometime in *_May_* of this year - for not being able to use credit cards to make purchases on the Nintendo Wii U eShop!!). This is because I've *_NEVER,_*_ _*_*EVER*_* got to play the Japan-exclusive, U.S.-Walmart-exclusive and U.S.-Target-exclusive e-Reader stages/levels when they were originally released on the physical version of the _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ video game for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance back in the early-to-mid-2000's as I live in Canada; and yet I desperately, *_desperately, DESPERATELY_* want to play those _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ e-Reader stages/levels!!! 😖😖😖😢😢😢😭😭😭😩😩😩
Incorrect. Here's a video showing how simple it is to set up an emulator that has the ereader cards scanned as files to be read.
ua-cam.com/video/q2iMm143gmQ/v-deo.html
Follow this video and you get access to not only the level cards, but power ups and demos.
Yeah, I’m about to buy about $50 worth of games on my Wii U
@@Pysnpai Go for it, mate. While you still can.
Thank you Jon. Your tie/short coordination is impecible.
@@darrenmcfadden6744 respectfully, no
Xenoblade Chronicles X made me have to make a lot of room for it back in the day; upgrading for the extra space was a necessity lol
Obviously a lot of people are gonna rush to purchase what they can before the stores shut down; and a lot of games are gonna go away. Seriously wish Nintendo would do more to make their long legacy of games more available to people who want them.
And their music more easily accessible
@@Dust3290 hmm xenoblade chronicles x better get a port lol but um u can't buy games u can still play them just can't buy them
@@Heira That was a reference to people who wanna look up game osts on demand lol
@@tamalemuncher789 lol thinking it's a big deal but it's not
@@Heira Monolith already said that it probably isn't going to happen.
I’m so glad I kept my Wii U. For all the shit it got during it’s run, it makes me happy to see people flock back to it after all these years.
Personally I’ve always loved the WiiU since day 1.
Same here
I got the Wii U for my 30th birthday, so of course it has always been special to me. It's nice to see the system getting some love.
Come to think of it, the DLC for Breath of the Wild will become unpurchaseable on Wii U. So features like the master cycle will become switch exclusive.
Damn I didn't even know the DLC came to the Wii U
@@GrimlandCS They never brought the Captain Toad dlc to Wii U though which I'm STILL salty about.
Fuck you Nintendo.
I suddenly don’t feel bad for buying that dlc twice now.
@@gamingblastoise7959 I did, on day one too.
@@gamingblastoise7959 I bought it on the WiiU.
I was eagerly awaiting Jon's vid on this topic. His Nintendo Life Wii U and 3DS vids have brought me back to these fantastic systems and game collecting in general. Glad to see the style and quality of his work continue here on GVG.
I’m definitely gonna be picking up some of those games, there’s so many great ones
Need to figure out how to add funds to eShop asap haha
@@GoldTopCookie You can use a credit card to add funds or purchase E shop gift cards and redeem the codes. Keep in mind you can’t have more than $200 worth of E shop balance at once. Hope this helps.
@@GoldTopCookie I think there is a way via switch
@@rayes119 yeah I noticed when I did top up my account on 3ds I accidentally spent something on the switch eshop and it used my balance from 3ds and Wii u, not sure that’s works the other way round though
I honestly loved the Wii U’s virtual console for the amount of GBA support there was alone. Aside from the mainline Pokémon titles, any GBA game you would care about playing is there and then some.
It was probably the best way to experience the GBA library (besides emulation) and now it’s about to go away forever. Damn.
I'd say there are a lot of great GBA games not on there, after all it has like 5% of the system library, but it does have almost all the first party games released in the west with very few exceptions, unlike the DS or N64 Virtual Console.
The best way is on a back-lit GBA or DS/DS Lite, but yeah Wii U is a pretty good alternative too.
I was SO happy when they put the MegaMan Battle Network games on. Still hoping for a collection for Switch...
As a _Fire Emblem_ fan, I immediately purchased the remaining Fates routes when I heard the 3DS & Wii U news since I only bought Birthright 6 years ago, but it’s crazy to think that a DLC-only route like Revelation will essentially be gone for good unless you have the Special Edition cartridge with all 3 routes & DLC.
The Wii U eShop closing is also relevant to FE because that means The Blazing Blade (FE7), The Sacred Stones (FE8), and Shadow Dragon (FE11) will no longer be available through Virtual Console. FE7 on Wii U VC was how I got into the series in 2015, so it sucks that other people won’t have that same experience through legal purchase.
Yes, emulating FE7, FE8, & FE11 is incredibly easy compared to other games, but the average consumer (like me at the time) wouldn’t even know of those games’ existence without the eShop giving them exposure. While I had heard of the series through Smash at the time, I never made the move to actually play one of the games until I saw FE7 listed in the GBA section of Wii U Virtual Console.
Of course, I emulate the Japan-only titles as well as the Tellius games, but that’s because I’ve become a hardcore fan who would be willing to put in that effort. The casual player won’t go out of their way to emulate a game they may not like, so Virtual Console did a great job of giving exposure to those older games and providing a low barrier to entry for potential consumers.
hey, another fire emblem fan out in the wild!
anyways, yeah, like for me, emulating on my computer takes alot of the fun out of it. like my sacred stones rom has been digitally collecting dust for years simply because it isnt as fun to play on the computer as it is with the original (or close to the original) hardware. you also have to deal with janky emulators if you want to play most of the fe titles.
we're losing so much outside of virtual console releases and revelations- future past, the echoes cipher characters (especially bc with cipher done, they'll probably never return), having more than one route on one fates cartridge, heirs of fate, etc. while the fe community is lucky to have most of this already documented we'll still be missing so much. and if the eshop is shutting down, then who knows when the wifi servers do?
with nintendo's track record with how theyre handling legacy content on the switch, its really unlikely most of fe's past will be legally available again. the move in modern gaming to have lots of content locked behind digital paywalls is going to make games preservation a nightmare in the future. nintendo once again making the worse decisions possible for literally everyone
Being a fire emblem fan is hard man
I too only got Birthright at release and plan to grab the other paths as soon as I can now....
I really hope GVG blows up more with Jon providing this content. He’s very knowledgable, clearly passionate, and has a very strong presentation in both his voice itself and his delivery.
So far they’re doing great, jumped 4K subs within 2 weeks
He's the only one doing content on the channel, back when they were on GX they used to make a lot of videos but now they limit themselves to the Podcast. That's something I don't get.
@@TheRodlack Jon was the one who did most of that content though
@@TheRodlack They were overworked actually, that's the whole reason they started GVG
He’s gonna be missed at Nintendo Life. Good to know he’ll keep making content . Didn’t know about this channel prior
Very emotional when the Wii Shop Channel closed. Can’t believe Virtual Console is over.
I'd love to see a second part about the 3DS eShop, this was good watch because i didn't knew just how much is going to be lost when they close the digital stores.
Don’t forget the time the Wii U eShop played nothing but the Malo Mart theme from Twilight Princess for over a week.
This is why game preservation in the digital era is more important than ever.
this very much feels like the end of an era
The wii u eshop has so much personality that the switch can’t even hold a candle to. It really sucks there taking it down.
Yeah but considering how the wiiu did...
Now the 3ds on the otherhand...
I agree I lots of positive memories and enjoyment listening to those music
Jon rules. So glad he’s still doing his thing better than ever.
btw after the closure you can still redownload software/DLC you bought and you will still be able to download updates even after the shutdown.
plus the games would be linked to the Nintendo Network account so if your Wii U dies and you buy a new one you can link that account to it and redownload the old software onto that.
It seems a lot of people don’t realize this at all and think their games are gone forever when clearly you can still redownload them afterwards.
I don't think that it's far fetched to assume that the redownload option will also dissapear after a year or two.
@@MeneerEnMevrouwTrein Isn't that what happened with the Wii shop channel? Or am I dumb? I'm losing track of all this stuff.
@@rapidloaf pretty sure you can still redownload already purchased software
@@rapidloaf Wii Shop Channel was much worse. Your purchases were actually tied to the console, so if it died or you lost it or something... bye bye all your purchases.
Granted, I've already been largely priced out of the second-hand market even for common Nintendo games, because game collecting is becoming hell, but this is going to be brutal for the physical versions of Wii U, 3DS and Virtual Console games. Like, damn, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is already regularly going for $100, I can't imagine how much worse that's going to get without a digital alternative as an option.
I fortunately got radiant historia on the 3DS eShop at the beginning of the year when pretty much all the atlas RPGs on eShop went on sale
I always feel bad for the JRPG fans. You guys always take the biggest loss with these shut downs.
And this is why I still preorder and buy games when they’re still in stores, because for every game that’s price tanks after the first week there’s another that’s price hits the stratosphere. And that second option gets exponentially higher if the game is good. Speaking of Radiant Historia it’s got DLC missions that you’ll really want to pick up before the shop closes.
The 3DS and Wii U were parts of my childhood, sad to see their digital storefront be shut down forever quite so soon.
@@benjackson7872 Sure, send me the link.
Nintendo has confirmed that the function to redownload your games even if the shop closes. The wii still has that functionality.
Thank you for reminding me to make sure I still have the XCX patch downloaded. I think I had to put it on an external hard drive, so worth checking that it's still intact.
Seeing that slot machine in the beginning and the variety of music that the Wii U eshop would play definitely brings so much positive nostalgia (even if the Wii U isn't really retro) too bad my gamepad is broken and wont charge if it weren't for that I would love to play some Wii U right now
Download the 3DS Pokemon games while you can before the physical copies prices go up. RIP VC Pokemon games.
seconding this, unless you want to jump through some wild loops buying lots of weird, non-official hardware and cartridge dumpers, it's going to be basically impossible to save Pokemon from Gens 1 and 2 and and transfer them up into current games after these go away
We need GBA and GameCube preservation on the Switch. I hope this is a sign Nintendo will do better at offering their older games to the customer base. Also it’s so great to see Jon with GVG. You can tell he’s having such a good time with his latest uploads. Good work man!
Wait... How does pulling the plug from the estore translates to it being a sign Nintendo will do better?
I plan on buying a external hard drive for my Wii U. One of the games I need to get is Game and Wario, a physical copy is expensive.
Be sure to buy a Y-cable for the external hard drive, the USB ports don't provide enough power to allow the external HDD to function.
@@Renegado140 This! Back years ago, some external HDDs probably worked without it, but not even sure how big that was when they enabled it on Wii U.
@FlyingShoeMan I remember that, I think it was 500gb or so, they also had a list, but now it's not feasible. I think the Wii U can use 2tb but I got 1tb to be safe.
@@Renegado140 or one with an external power source.
@phantomliger89 That works as well! I was thinking convenience so they don't have more wires running around or anything.
Glad you reminded me about Drill Dozer, Jon. I forgot about that gem.
I believe everything he says when he wears a suit.
A few weeks ago I soft modded my wii u, damn it’s like I predicted the future.
"One day you'll push the power button and nothing will happen."
And that is exactly why I bought THREE of these things. Sure, that'll still happen eventually, but I'll be ok for a good long while.
With the Wii U, I'd be more worried about the Gamepad. Take excellent care of it!
@@qactustick That is an excellent point. My main concern is the touch screen. The thumb sticks I taught myself how to repair and replacing the battery is easy but if the screen goes that's above my pay grade in terms of knowing how to fix it.
Just curious, does your solution still apply considering the e-shop itself is being taken down? For updates I mean since they won't be accessible anymore. Or did you download the updates to all 3 of your systems?
@@pa5666 Just the one for now. I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to link them together and transfer files from one Wii U to another. I know you can't do it with an external harddrive or SD card, but I haven't seen anything saying you can't do it via hooking up one to another. I'm praying it's possible to save me a lot of time.
@@chaospoet Oh, wow good idea! I hope it works, it would definitely be interesting to find out. So many problems with this shut down haha. Good luck! :)
I wasn’t aware that some of the virtual console games had functionality changes, like animal crossing wild world removing multiplayer requirements for unlocks. That’s huge!
The Super Mario Bros 3 gba version details were news to me too, the Wii U version has content that never existed anywhere else before…that is noteworthy.
I checked out Smash Wii U today after like 4 years and to my surprise I was getting plenty of matches online.
God it feels so slow next to Ultimate but it was still good fun. And the lobby system were you can pick a fighter after each match when playing the same person is so much better than Ultimate's single use character in quick play.
I think we should also mention EarthBound Beginnings. As much as it’s on NES Online on Switch at the moment, if they ever turn off the servers for their Online service, the Wii U might be the only way to play it.
It's now on the Switch alongside EarthBound
Still, they're tied to the sub so the moment the Switch servers shut down, no one will be able to play them anymore. At least with the Wii U ports, they're single-time purchases that stay locked to your Nintendo account.
On top of that, because it's a JRPG any potential lag issues that some of the NES and N64 games have won't really matter for Origins :)
The WiiU eshop music is superb. The whole changing themes is brilliant and far superior to any digital sales platform, in terms of its style and personality.
Eat your heart out Steam.
Jon! I’m glad you mentioned the ereader levels in the GBA version on super Mario bros 3. I feel like a lot of people are unaware of that addition in the virtual console release. Also being able to play DS games on the big screen is awesome. I’m sad these stores are closing and I do hope Nintendo changes their mind but I think the chances of that are slim to none.
I hate to be that guy, but that’s not going to happen. From a business perspective, it just wouldn’t make sense to keep the servers alive. Everyone has to remember, they are a business first.
Yeah, I don't like saying "hate to break it to you" but if they didn't hesitate with Wii, I see little reason they'd hesitate with Wii U.
Same for the line of DS things... I doubt 3DS is going to receive any mercy on this one too.
This new era of GVG with Jon is just Going to be peak content every upload
That's why I'm trying to get as much games as possible if not all of them, for both 3ds and Wii U, with my full time job, I add like $200 each paycheck into the eShop and buy games from each Category at a time
I like how you wear a tie like this is a funeral
I’ve never heard 13 months called “about to” but things have also just never been the same since they took down Meme Run
*cries*
well they aren't letting you add funds after august I believe, so that is pretty soon
Just realised, THERE IS DR. MARIO ON SWITCH! I have a physical copy of it: It's on the Dr Kawashima's Brain Training game cart.
WII U had the best e shop change my mind
The WiiU and 3DS eshop died so the dream of Jon coming to GVG could live.
Looking right dapper, Jon!
Although I haven't touched my Wii U/3DS systems in like a year, I'll still miss the charming eShop. And how you can play with a little slot machine while it loaded. The Switch's interface just isn't the same. Nintendo has changed. It's no secret. However, the Switch already has almost all of my favorite games of all time on it in some form (ALMOST all of them), and it's no big loss. We must simply...move on. Whatever was great on previous consoles, there are (mostly) better alternatives available now. RIP and thanks for the memories, downloadable Wii U and 3DS software!
Considering that the switch was like that from the get-go, even while the WiiU still had a tiny bit of support going…I feel hesitant to say the less interesting eshop is a product of the times. But I certainly do wish they’d go back sometime
You’re doing the lord’s work making a video like this. I love the Wii U despite its reputation, and would hate to miss out on some must have or interesting titles.
I have been out of the loop JON IS HERE!!!!! HOORAYYYY!!!
12:08 At least Switch has Kawashima's Brain Training, which includes Dr Mario. :)
I see your point. But I'm more partially sad that the Wii U Virtual Console will be gone.
This is a great list.
I already started buying some 3DS eShop games, have to hook up my WiiU again too before its too late.
I especially want to play the Sonic Lost Worlds DLC.
Me seeing the title through a notification: this is a Jon vid just by the title
Jon 2 seconds in: Ugh.
Me: lol called it.
Germans can't play Drill Dozer?! So ein Mist!
Man that Smash DLC thing made me kinda nervous about Ultimate's DLC run.
Eventually the Switch eshop is going to close, and eventually, we wont be able to play with Joker or Sora unless they come back in future smash games.
Affordable space adventures will be lost to time forever :(
I'm sorry to see the eShop go. It is a great way to get games that are sometimes hard to find, and even rather expensive, in cartridge form. Some of the games were exclusive to it as well. This was brought home to me when I tried to find cartridges of Breath of Fire and especially Breath of Fire 2 in a store and saw how expensive they are. The Wii Shop Channel is really missed too. Nintendo is making a huge mistake in putting all of its eggs in the Switch basket. I suspect that they'll eventually realize this and bring back something like 3DS again and hopefully a shop like this. They did do the NES and SNES minis and are now doing the Game and Watch things, so maybe that's a good sign that Nintendo realizes that not everyone on Earth wants a Switch.
The WiiU is one of the best consoles Nintendo has ever made. The controller pad is big and easy to use for everybody. The games that made use of the screen on the control pad are fantastic! It's also great because I can still play my Wii games that would have been unplayable otherwise once my Wii started overheating more and more. I also love the New 3DS XL console. These two consoles are far more innovative in the sorts of gaming experiences you can have than the Switch which is just Nintendo's take on a PS Vita.
Good video. It points out the best and worst things of digital games - you can access so many more games that we can with physical cartridges, but if the company decides to shut off the servers, those games are gone. It's also concerning that some of the physical games rely on downloads before you can even play them.
I never knew that Ultimate NES Remix on 3DS was valuable. Glad I got it at release
I’m mostly bummed about those GBA games leaving the eShop. I didn’t know that Xenoblade Chronicles X had downloads to help it run better either. I own the game but didn’t get around to playing past the early game. Might be a good time to.
Thank you for the heads up on the Xenoblade Chronicle X game performance updates on the Wii U eshop.
"All this content will be _legally_ lost"
Well, (dons dusty, old tricorne hat) looks like it be time to start singin' the ol' shanties, then.
I appreciate your attitude but keep in mind that console gamers can't pirate games (as much as we would like to)
@@Sin_Shadow_Fox What?
@@sirmel11 oh were you not implying people pirate games that can't be gotten legally anymore? sorry.
@@Sin_Shadow_Fox I'm not the person that made the comment.
@@sirmel11 Oh! oh i see. You don't understand the original comment. Ok. Well he was (i believe) implying that in lue of official means of getting these games that people illegally download the games onto their PC from pirates and emulate them. But this only works for PC. If you don't have a computer and the expertise to find, download and run these games then you can't pirate a game.
I've been hoping to pick up a physical copy of Xenoblade X soon, but looks like those plans are gone. I doubt I can have both it and Metroid Prime Trilogy both on my Wii U, which is a huge problem...
You can actually add more storage via the USB port. It's clunky but it works.
@@leonardm6858 Thank you! I actually found a reasonably priced physical copy of X, but I might need some extra storage anyways. I'll keep that in mind.
The Xenoblade Chronicles X free software going away is debatable. On the Wii Shop you can still download the Skyward Sword patch which was free. So there's the potential the Xenoblade data packs might still remain.
I really like your GVG Attire it's so professional
The Wii U is such an underrated console.
Now I feel like wanting to buy a Wii-U just to buy whatever is on the Eshop. Especially Metroid Prime Trilogy.
I highly recommend getting one if possible - Virtual Console is an absolute treasure trove.
it sucks that we're losing these eshops, but hopefully there's a way to play them & even if that's the case, it might not be all of them.
Thanks for doing this Jon, knew you'd understand why this is such a big deal. Keep these Wii U and 3DS videos coming. Would be worth doing a video on what (if any) ways we can preserve our collections for the long haul. Don't want these games to disappear like the Satellaview games.
Thumbnail: “We’re losing a lot”
Game collectors: Yeah..
Emulators: Haha pirate go brrrr
Virtual console games, sure, but I'm not about to try bothering to emulate 3DS and Wii U.
Great job with this video. I hope to see a similar video on the 3DS eshop.
Holy crap I did not know about those xenoblade x patches, downloading ASAP!
Thanks!
Xenoblade X NEEDS a switch port
I came here to satisfy my craving for critique of the games industry, but was surprised by this *smooth melted chocolate voice* unexpectedly caressing my ears.
I’m just glad I got the Golden Sun games on Wii U eShop.
A man of culture, I see!
great voice, Mr Cartwright.
Aye so this is where Jon landed background music and all.
The Wii U eShop is so much better than the Switch eShop. Music and better performance.
One interesting case is Neutopia - a Turbografx game on the Wii U Virtual Console - which also happens to be available on the PS3's PSN store. The sequel, however, is only on the Wii U (outside Japan).
It's interesting to see the same people who have trashed the WiiU for years now suddenly care that their online store is closing because they've suddenly realized that old games on the Switch are not something you truly own. You people should have realized this fact sooner, but whatever. At least the shop is closing next year instead of years ago.
Gonna get mario 3 since I forgot the Wii U version included the E-reader levels
Must have and I knew years ago. Get it friend!
John I literally did the same thing and panicked and bought the PS All Stars DLC when I thought the PSN was closing! That’s hilarious.
The eShop Selects is a whole Scott the Woz episode... He's going to be pissed off!
Thank you. This is helpful like Max Dood’s video about PS3 stuff to download before it’s too late
Just an FYI, I've had a Wii U since launch year, and I've had discs randomly just die. They're kept in perfect, climate controlled conditions, and occasionally a disc just wouldn't work for zero reason. I personally don't think Wii U discs were manufactured with the highest of quality, so be wary of picking up pre-owned games.
This could be really bad for game preservation, luckily people have saved the Roms onto their pc’s and shared them online but if people want to collect the actual copies of the games.... **sighs**
@@starforce1310 If you thought collecting physical games is hard now, it's ONLY going to get worse. Eventually, Sony is going to shut down PS3/Vita, and in due time the PS4 stores. Microsoft is going to move on from their current system (360 will shut down relatively soon), and their awful DRM policies isn't going to help matters (yes their backwards compatibility program was good but it's going to be the determent of their DRM policies).
I had this happen with my DK Tropical Freeze disc. Barely any smudges on it, but it just does not play on my Wii U for no reason.
@@NoonDragoon For me it was Xenoblade Chronicles X, Hyrule Warriors, and the Monster Hunter game on the system. I really don't pick up Wii U games any more for this reason.
Never had this happen to any of my games... even the launch ones from 2012, but it's concerning to hear.
Will definitely keep an eye on that.
Guys I don't think I can go on without being able to purchase Dr. Luigi
It's worth noting that Fast Racing NEO, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackwater, and Art Academy: Home Studio don't have physical releases in the US.
I subscribed for these kinda of Jon videos. Thank you!
the physical games will still have their updates... but, paid dlc will be off...
So glad you mentioned FF: CC My Life As A King. Its criminal it hasn't been ported over to the Switch
Why is the Wii U eShop better designed than the Switch eShop. And it has music.
Glad to see you continuing your work! Not sure why you made the jump but it does feel good to feel like I’m picking up,right where I left off with the Cartwright content.
I'm still waiting for that Wind Waker Switch port!
I did not know this about black water, not a fan of scary games but for the costumes seems tempting now.
Wii U & 3DS owners: "Why are we still here? Just to suffer? The games I've lost...the Miiverse I've lost...won't stop hurting. I'm gonna make them give back our past."
[buys $100 of obscure eShop titles] *woah-HOAAAAAAAAAAA*
thanks for putting the Xenoblade X stuff on my radar. I still have my copy sealed (I keep games sealed until I play them) so I would've definitely missed out on those packs!
Tethering games to the console was the absolute worst idea. I lost so much of my Wii U and 3ds collection in 2016 when my stuff was stolen. If it was on an account that wouldn't have happened.
The way I read the statement was that these titles wouldn’t come back in the form of a virtual console, and then they pointed to NSO. I feel like the indication is clearly that they’ll be porting these to NSO, unless I’m missing something there. So long as that’s the case I’m ok with this, but I get that a lot of people prefer paying for something that they own rather than a subscription.
Man I love listening to Jon talk about video games
Don’t worry Jon I have bought a number of titles on my Wii U including a few that’s on switch online such as super Metroid, mainly because I like owning my games and I don’t the rental service we have now.
wow! so this is where John went!
They could bother putting some of the big titles on sale, since we have to download everything before 2023. Fast Neo for example was just discounted and I bought it running.
I got Nano Assault Neo and Axiom Verge on Wii U eshop sales very recently.
I played quite a lot of indies and VC games on WiiU, like The Swapper and Human Resource Machine.