Nintendo to close 3DS and Wii U eShop in 42 countries, but which are affected?

In a recent blog post on Nintendo America’s website, the company confirmed that the Nintendo eShop is due to close for those accessing it on a Wii U and the 3DS range for select countries in the Americas on July 31, with those that have access to the limited eShop affected.

What this means is that any customers who still have codes for the systems to redeem must do so before the closing date in order to redeem them successfully. It also means that anyone who has been looking to purchase and download a game or has previously purchased a game and looking to redownload it must do so before July 31 or risk losing them forever. Finally, games will no longer be updated for consoles in the region.

The countries affected by the closure all reside in the Central and South Americas and have limited access to the eShop. The reason for the closure was cited as being “based on a variety of factors.” This likely means that a lack of customer engagement or revenue formed the decision, though supporting these regions can also be more expensive due to their location. 

It has been highlighted that two countries not affected by this closure are Mexico and Brazil, as both have access to the full eShop. Currently, Nintendo has stated that it does not have plans to extend the full access of the eShop to the locations affected by this closure. Ultimately, this is likely to mean that the eShop features for both systems will be gone for good on July 31 in the affected areas, though Nintendo has not confirmed this. No other regions with the Limited eShop are affected at this time.

The countries that are affected are:

• Anguilla 
• Antigua/Barbuda
• Argentina
• Aruba
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermuda
• Bolivia
• The British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador, El Salvador
• French Guiana
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Guatemala
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Jamaica
• Martinique
• Montserrat
• Netherlands Antilles
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent/Grenadines
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• US Virgin Islands
• Uruguay
• Venezuela