Today, Nintendo announced that the Wii Shop Channel would officially be shutting down on Thursday, January 31, 2019, and starting on March 26, 2018, users will be unable to add points to their Wii Shop accounts.
Initially launched in December of 2006 the Wii Shop Channel was a digital-only storefront where Wii and Wii-U owners could download apps onto their console. Several services the Wii Shop channel offers include WiiWare, Virtual Console games, downloading Wii Channels, and the Wii-U Transfer Tool.
According to the press release, any WiiWare and Virtual Console software that you’ve already bought will still be accessible. However, the company noted that this feature would only be available for a limited time only. Wii owners, I highly recommend you buy, redownload and transfer your software from Wii to Wii-U as soon as you can.
Honestly, I am surprised that the Wii Shop Channel has survived for as long as it did; three years ago Nintendo officially announced they would pull the plug on the Nintendo DS and Wii online multiplayer service channels.
In other Nintendo news, today the company launched a new trailer to accompany the release of the new mini console the SNES Classic Edtion. Additionally, several new titles will be making its way onto the Switch in the near future, including Darkest Dungeon, Oxenfree, Twin-Stick Shooter Vostok, Inc., and the recently-released fighting title Pokkén Tournament DX.