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Nintendo To Cut Off Addition Of Wii Shop Points
Nintendo have announced that soon people will be unable to add Wii Points, the currency used to buy games from the Wii Shop Channel, to their accounts.
Beginning at 1 p.m. PT on March 26, Wii Points cannot be added via credit card or a Wii Points card. The points will be disabled to prepare for the Wii Shop's closure on January 30, 2019.
Other than Arcade Archives and some Neo Geo titles, the Switch currently has no Virtual Console or ways to download older Nintendo titles. The Wii U, 3DS, and Wii are the only platforms in which retro Nintendo games can be digitally purchased. The Wii Shop Channel in particular is the only way to download over 220 games, according to redditor Mechageo. Those titles include Chrono Trigger, Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, the first three Final Fantasy games, and Super Smash Bros.
[Source: Nintendo]
Our Take
It makes perfect sense that Nintendo is moving on from a 12-year-old console's
service, but it's also tragic since the only way to legally download more than 200
games, a few of which are staples in video game history, is on the Wii. I'm
certainly no expert on how the technology works, but it's also strange they are
cutting off additional Wii Points nine months before the Wii Shop shuts its virtual
doors forever. It's not like their central profits are coming from the Wii at
this point, but that's still nine months Nintendo could use to get some
last-time purchases.
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