Home / News Articles / Nintendo Wii U & Nintendo 3DS eShop Discontinuation - Free Pokémon Bank Service - Late March 2023
Nintendo has announced that they will discontinue the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop and related services in late March 2023. As a result, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have announced that Pokémon Bank will become a free service in March 2023. Players still have to subscribe to a Pokémon HOME Premium Plan to transfer Pokémon from Bank to HOME.

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Notice of Free Pokémon Bank Service Due to Termination of the Nintendo eShop Service for Nintendo 3DS Series

To Our Customers,
Thank you very much for enjoying the Pokémon series.

Due to the termination of the Nintendo eShop service for the Nintendo 3DS series, the Pokémon Bank service will become free of charge.

Please continue to use the Pokémon Bank service free of charge at that time, as you can import Pokémon deposited in the Pokémon Bank to Pokémon HOME.

To transfer Pokémon to Pokémon HOME, you need to subscribe to a Premium Plan for Pokémon HOME.

Schedule - late March 2023

Sales End for Pokémon Bank tickets. New downloads of Pokémon Bank and PokéMover will also end.
On that same day, the Pokémon Bank service will become free of charge. Purchased subscription tickets will not be refunded.

The exact end date of the free service is yet to be determined. We will announce it on the official website.

Source: https://www.pokemon.co.jp/info/2022/02/220216_gm01.html

Wii U & Nintendo 3DS eShop Discontinuation

Applies to: New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 2DS XL, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS, Wii U Deluxe, Wii U Basic

As of late March 2023, it will no longer be possible to make purchases in Nintendo eShop for the Wii U system and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. It will also no longer be possible to download free content, including game demos. Furthermore, as this date draws closer, related services will cease to function:

  • As of May 23, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a credit card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
  • As of August 29, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a Nintendo eShop Card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. However, it will still be possible to redeem download codes until late March 2023.

Users who link their Nintendo Network ID wallet (used with Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems) with their Nintendo Account wallet (used with the Nintendo Switch family of systems) can use the shared balance to purchase content on any of these systems until late March 2023. After that, the balance can only be used to purchase content for the Nintendo Switch family of systems.

No changes are planned for Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo Switch family of systems.

The changes to Nintendo eShop on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems will simultaneously take effect in software on these platforms where it is possible to make purchases, such as StreetPass Mii Plaza, Theme Shop and Nintendo Badge Arcade.

Even after late March 2023, and for the foreseeable future, it will still be possible to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and enjoy online play on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

We thank you for supporting Nintendo eShop on Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

Source: https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/57847

Pokémon Bank Services Will Be Available at No Cost to Players

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Paid passes will be discontinued, but users will still be able to access some features—including transferring their Pokémon to Pokémon HOME.

With the discontinuation of the Nintendo eShop service for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, the Pokémon Bank service for Nintendo 3DS will become available at no cost to users. You will still be able to transfer the Pokémon you've deposited in Pokémon Bank to Pokémon HOME even after the paid service is discontinued, and you'll still be able to bring Pokémon into Pokémon Bank from compatible titles. However, you'll need to be enrolled in a paid Pokémon HOME Premium Plan to do so.

In late March 2023, Pokémon Bank's paid passes will no longer be offered for purchase, at which time Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter will no longer be available to download. On the same day, Trainers will be able to start using Pokémon Bank at no cost. Be aware that there will be no refunds for paid passes that have already been purchased.

There is no end date planned for this no-cost service.

Source: https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/pokemon-bank-services-will-be-available-at-no-cost-to-players/
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