Over the last several weeks, games have been disappearing from the Nintendo DS online store. Mere months afterthe 3DS was discontinued, theLEGO City: Undercovergames have joined the growing list of Wii U and 3DS titles no longer available for purchase.
As of December 22, Nintendo has removedLEGO City: UndercoverandLEGO City Undercover: The Chase Beginsfrom the Wii U and 3DS eShop. These are just the latest games to disappear from the eShop over the last few weeks.
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Gamers who have already purchased either title should still be able to play them without difficulty. TheSwitch port ofLEGO City: Undercoveris also still available. However, anyone hoping to purchase the games for the Wii U or 3DS will be unable to. This is particularly troubling forThe Chase Begins.UndercoverandThe Chase Beginsreleased in 2013 for the Wii U and 3DS, respectively. Since then,Undercoverhas made its way to numerous other platforms. However, its prequel,The Chase Begins,remains a 3DS exclusive, possibly in part due to the 3DS title’s relative lack of popularity.
TheLEGO City: Undercovergames are not the first or only ones to vanish from the eStore in recent weeks. Hundreds of DSiWare games have been pulled, includingDr. Mario Express,Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, andAsphalt 4: Elite Racing. The purge seems to be mostly targeting older games, with one Twitter user noting the removal of most or all 3DS games released before 2011.Netflix has also removed its appfrom the eStore. However, existing users will still have access to the service until June 30th. Interestingly, the takedowns are most widespread in the United States. Many removed games are still available for download in Europe and other regions.
Nintendo discontinued The Wii U in January of 2017.The 3DS followed suit in September 2020, after nine years and over 75 million units sold. After five years, it’s unfortunate but understandable that Nintendo is phasing out support for the Wii U’s online features. However, they are moving surprisingly quickly with the 3DS. Compare this to Microsoft and Sony, which continue to release software updates for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
The ability of publishers to delist games has long been the primary criticism of digital distribution. Even relatively successful games aren’t guaranteed to remain available online forever, and an increasing number ofgames simply can’t be played anymore. With the mass delisting of Wii U and 3DS games, it seems many more will soon bite the dust.
LEGO City: Undercoveris still available for the Nintendo Switch, PC, Play Station 4, and Xbox One.
