Image: Nintendo Life
Unless you’ve been living off the gaming grid for the past few days/weeks/months, you no doubt already know that the 3DS and Wii U eShops are now closed to new business. You can currently still re-download any previous purchases from the online stores but the window has closed as your last legal opportunity was to snag many exclusive eShop products on these consoles and fans have taken to social media to share the to pay tribute to closed shops.
Much of the colorful artwork features the little orange eShop bag from the 3DS eShop that would peek around the back of the game icon before those little colored data cubes fall down and fill the icon with delicious orange…um, game data juice? Nothing says drab like a progress bar for Nintendo!
The nice folks at Press Start singled out a handful, but there are many brilliant efforts online today. Let’s take a look at some of the best eShop Tributes for 3DS and Wii U we’ve seen:
First the sad Kirby from @benmrhall:
I took this little picture to commemorate today’s closure of the Nintendo eShop for 3DS and Wii U.
End of an era! π#Kirby #Nintendo3DS #wiiu pic.twitter.com/8RVggLv9X9
β Ben MR Hall (@benmrhall) March 27, 2023
@eto2d lets the little orange guy soar with wings, as does @graylure:
Goodbye 3DS eShop. pic.twitter.com/1JxF7aCe73 β Eto (@eto2d) March 28, 2023 rip 3ds eshop pic.twitter.com/zTSFWgJKrU β gray π£ pixel art (@graylure) March 27, 2023
@DumbBubbers stands for something happier and also has an amazingly larger work-in-progress with a variety of eShop stars:
In a few hours, the eShops for the 3DS and the Wii U will finally be closed and with it the end of an era.
The eShop bag takes one last ride, thanking you for all your purchases. Now it’s our turn to say thank you… for all the memories. #eShop #Nintendo #NintendoFanart pic.twitter.com/1nLO2gohoQ
β β¨ Bubbers ξ¨ (@DumbBubbers) March 27, 2023 //REQUEST SOME SIGNS//
From March 2023, the 3DS and Wii U eShop will be permanently closed.
To commemorate the great times they gave us, request some characters in this tweet and I might draw them in! #artistontwittter pic.twitter.com/MkX4F9iiMy
β β¨ Bubbers ξ¨ (@DumbBubbers) March 2, 2022
@starozoa presents these little juicy cubes of data that look so yummy:
Good night 3DS eshop guy.. I will miss you the most pic.twitter.com/bhctmQUzhbβ vi π (@starozoa) March 26, 2023
@bozosart, @datenshiluka, @DingityDingus and @Shamaboy11 all leave with grateful, celebratory pieces:
Goodbye 3DS and Wii U E-Shop. It was fun π₯² pic.twitter.com/SQGACZq0Gvβ πbozoπ (1ππ) (@bozosart) March 27, 2023 enjoy your retirement little fella#eShop #Nintendo pic.twitter.com/pk2JISWoNYβ 720-P (@ datenshiluka) March 27, 2023 Thank you for shopping with us! β¨#eShop #Nintendo3DS #Fanart pic.twitter.com/6X1vXnrbs6β Vinny π (@DingityDingus) March 27, 2023 Goodbye 3DS eShop! π«‘#Nintendo3DS #eShop #pixelart pic.twitter.com/EQqKm6ItBO – Shamaboy (@Shamaboy11) March 27, 2023
And after being expertly manipulated by ‘Crafty’ Ol’ Joe Capitalism and getting all tears about a store closing, @MicahTheBrave hits our hearts too:
Time to go kiddo π#eShop #3DSeshop pic.twitter.com/SSkCbt70J5β β¨ MicahTheBrave β¨ (@MicahTheBrave) March 27, 2023
There are even some ‘In Memoriam’ style musical tributes, including one from the nice folks at Vooks and @MasterSwordRemix:
rip eshop pic.twitter.com/vtD5iVh5syβ Vooks (@vooksdotnet) March 27, 2023 Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube
It might be easy to grin at people who get emotional when a store closes, but anyone who remembers visiting a particular store when they were young probably knows the feeling of disappointment when it closes. [Shout out to Our Price and Volume One β one for our maturing British readers, there!] Certain deals are associated with memories of the excitement of a particular game or the tingle of anticipation of finding a discounted treasure on the shelves. Ultimately, that feeling is the same whether it’s a brick-and-mortar store or a digital store.
Nintendo’s eShops in particular are known for having a bit more character than your average digital store (despite the Switch) and many people have great memories of these. We have to admit that we’re sad that we won’t be seeing this happy orange bag boy again.
Feel free to share any other cool tributes you see in the comments below – we may well update the article and add them.
