A YouTuber has spent almost $22,000 digitally purchasing every Wii U and 3DS game before their respective Nintendo eShops close next week.
As reported by VGC, The Completionist published a video documenting the 328-day-long endeavor. Counting DSi Ware, Virtual Console, and DLC, 866 Wii U and 1,547 3DS titles were acquired for the project.\
On March 27 all of the shops will be closing.
The completed project, consisting of a Wii U with three external hard drives and a 3DS with four micro SD cards, will be donated to the Video Game History Foundation in order to preserve the digital content that will otherwise cease to exist on March 27 when the stores close.
The Completionist spent $22,791 on 464 eShop cards, accumulating 1.2 terabytes of Wii U games and 267 gigabytes of 3DS titles, which equates to 2,136,689 blocks (Nintendo’s own data measurement).
This was just half the struggle for The Completionist, though, as the older Nintendo eShops do not operate as smoothly as the Switch’s version. The program is more cumbersome, slower, has restricted search capabilities, and even adding funds can be difficult.
Before Nintendo’s eShop closure, a YouTuber spent $22,000 to get every Wii U and 3DS titles.
To avoid fraud and the such, there are restrictions on acquiring eShop gift cards, therefore The Competitor’s crew had to visit a multitude of businesses to get the required quantity. However, the eShop has a limit of $250, indicating that users may only contribute a certain amount before having to begin purchasing games.
In addition, only about 10 games could be purchased at once before the 3DS forced users to download them, and daily spending was limited. On the 3DS, DLC must be paid in-game, with certain titles needing partial or complete completion before new material may be purchased.
The competitor explains every glitch in the video, but it goes without saying that the procedure was anything from smooth.
For those who still own a Wii U or 3DS, make sure to purchase any remaining wishlist items by March 27. IGN has published lists of the finest Wii U and 3DS titles, which include Super Mario Maker and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, and Fire Emblem Awakening and Bravely Default, respectively.