Nintendo has announced that the Wii Shop Channel will come to a close on 31st January 2017, a service accompanied by music that can still charm the world.
The online store, which was launched on 19th November 2006, lets users redeem Wii Points to download Virtual Console and WiiWare games, as well as new Wii Channels for the console.
WiiWare wasn’t quite the success that Nintendo had perhaps hoped for, despite many great games, but Virtual Console remains hugely popular with games plucked from across gaming libraries for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, SEGA Master System, Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, and more.
Users can continue to add Wii Points to the service until 27th March 2018, which they can then redeem until the service comes to a close nearly a year later. But, for any points that aren’t redeemed, Nintendo has plans to issue refunds, in Japan at least.
As can be expected, you will still have access to anything that you have bought. But, a troubling note is that Nintendo warns against deleting them from your console. Remember that you can use an SD or SDHC Card (maximum 32 GB) to store Wii Channels, Virtual Console games, and WiiWare titles, as that may be your best option to make sure that you don’t lose anything.
“In 2019, we will close the Wii Shop Channel used on Wii and Wii U (the Wii Shop Channel is accessible on the Wii U via the Wii backwards compatibility feature), which has been available since December 2006,” Nintendo of Europe shared.
“We would like to thank our loyal customers for supporting the Wii Shop Channel, and would like them to continue to enjoy software downloaded from the shop.
“We plan to end all services related to Wii Shop Channel, including the purchase of WiiWare and Virtual Console software, downloads of Wii Channels, and use of the Wii U Transfer Tool, which transfers data from Wii to Wii U.”
End Date For The Wii Shop Channel
- Adding points to the Wii Shop Channel: Monday 26th March 2018 at 20:00 UK time
- Purchase of WiiWare, Virtual Console software, Wii Channels (including free software)*: Thursday, 31st January 2019 at 06:00 UK time
- Full closure of the Wii Shop Channel and disabling of redownload functions in 2019 (more details to be announced at a later date)
*With some exceptions, it is possible to re-download previously downloaded WiiWare, Virtual Console and Wii Channel software until the full closure of the Wii Shop Channel in 2019.
