RIP Wii Shop Channel to end service on January 31, 2019!

[Atariboy]

Too bad the Wii U wasn't more popular. I believe the 3DS eShop shows us what likely would've happened here had it been.

When the DSi storefront went down, 99.9% of that content was migrated over to the 3DS eShop thanks to backwards compatibility. DSi owners lost the ability to make purchases and redownload games, but it was a fine compromise thanks to excellent backwards compatibility and the fact that most active DS owners had migrated to the newer platform anyways.

Wii Virtual Console downloads perhaps were cloudy, but I have little doubt that most WiiWare games still actively being sold would've been shifted into the Wii U eShop and bundled with a Wii mode launcher like the small range of Wii Classic downloads on the Wii U eShop use (Allowing you to boot straight into your download of something like Super Mario Galaxy from the Wii U dashboard while also enabling Wii U gamepad support for Classic Controller enabled Wii games).

Alas, with the Wii U commercially just about as dead as the Wii, there was little incentive to do this. I'm just glad I'm close to the finish line with Wii U downloads, since I suspect we'll be back in this spot within a year or two.

[Retro STrife]

Alas, with the Wii U commercially just about as dead as the Wii, there was little incentive to do this. I'm just glad I'm close to the finish line with Wii U downloads, since I suspect we'll be back in this spot within a year or two.

True. With the huge difference in user base -- i.e., the Wii selling over 100 million consoles and the Wii U selling around 13 million -- there certainly won't be the same incentive to keep the Wii U shop open for 10 years like the Wii Shop. I think 2 to 3 more years sounds about right.

Also, while the Wii U carried over a ton of content from the Wii, the same wasn't done from the Wii U to the Switch. So it might be an even bigger lose of content when the Wii U shop goes down.

[velcrozombie]

Wasn't really sure where to put this since I couldn't find a review page in the forum for Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, but I figured that since the Wii Virtual Console was the last place to sell a port of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and it's no longer available otherwise, I'd put it here.

The PS4 online store now sells a port of Rondo of Blood bundled with Castlevaina: Symphony of the Night as Castlevania: Requiem. I've played through SOTN several times but this is the first time I've had a copy of Rondo of Blood, which is excellent so far. I don't know if there are other people on this forum that never got of play it because of it's rarity or high price and missed their opportunity on the Wii VC, but if so you now have another chance.

[Atariboy]

If handhelds count, the PSP release of a decade or so ago remains available digitally on the Playstation Store for $15.

It's called Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and while the primary game is a 2.5d remake of Rondo, the original PC Engine game and Symphony of the Night are both unlockable. It's believed in fact that this code is what was ported over to the PS4 for the Castlevania Requiem collection.

The one catch is for the PSTV owners out there. It's not on the PSTV compatibility list even though Vita handhelds are supported.