PSA: Direct credit card 3DS purchases end soon, but there is a workaround

If you have a Wii U or Switch, you can use the same ecosystem to pay

Nintendo is ending direct credit card 3DS purchases soon, with a hard cutoff of May 23, 2022. To be clear, here is Nintendo’s full clarification on the matter:

“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.”

And here is Nintendo’s statement on eShop card support ending later this year on August 29, 2022:

“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.”

This actually already happened in several regions, so the credit card 3DS purchases shutoff valve mostly applies to the US. Despite this news, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you have an interconnected Nintendo account, your Switch wallet will interface with old devices. In other words, you can add money to your wallet on Switch, then buy something on 3DS. If you only own a 3DS (or this doesn’t work for you), eShop cards will do the trick until the end of August: and you can buy 3DS (but not Wii U) software on the Nintendo.com website. So there’s options!

Of course, you have until March 2023 to actually get that done. Make sure you at least get the Pushmo trilogy!

Chris Carter

Reviews Director, Co-EIC – Chris has been enjoying Destructoid avidly since 2008. He finally decided to take the next step, make an account, and start blogging in January of 2009. Now, he’s staff!