Video games

Still got Wii Points? Virtual Console, Wii Ware access closing for good with Nintendo Wii Shop Channel

BY JAYSON PETERS

It’s long past the deadline to add funds to a Nintendo Wii Shop Channel account — if you’ve missed all our warnings and how-to guides so far, you’re out of luck. But, if you managed to buy Wii Points before March 26, 2018, and you haven’t spent them all yet, you still have a little time to use them. Jan. 30, 2019, is when the Wii Shop Channel will be closed for good — and, with it, access to the deep library of Virtual Console and Wii Ware titles available there. So be sure to use any existing Wii Points by the end of the day Jan. 29 — you won’t get a refund, according to Nintendo. After that, you’ll still be able to play any games you’ve downloaded, as long as your hardware holds up — but you won’t be able to download them again if you’ve removed them from your Wii storage. That’s where SD cards come in. The Wii only holds 512 MB, but SD cards up to 2 GB in capacity are supported, as well as high-capacity SDHC cards up to 32 GB. You can even play games directly off of a slotted SD card (this wasn’t always the case — but if you’ve kept your

console updated, you should be good). SD cards also will work for storing games and playing them from the Wii U’s Wii Menu; that’s a way to use the newer Wii U console, which followed the Wii and preceded the Switch but was never as popular as either, to emulate as an original Wii with all its services and software. If you have a Wii and want to transfer its content to a Wii U, Nintendo has a process for doing so (complete with a helpful video) — but before doing this, you should be warned that it’s a one-way, permanent procedure. Also, the option to do this will no longer be available starting Jan. 30 once the Wii Shop Channel shuts down; that’s because there’s a transfer utility that must be downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel, and you already know that capability is ending. Check out and share this post for more information about making the most of the Nintendo Wii Shop Channel’s last days. including what the various kinds of Wii Ware and Virtual Console games will cost if you’re lucky enough to have a few Wii Points still in your account: https://wp.me/p7jz0b-vKG