Sony recently closed the PS3 and PS Vita stores with the launch of the PlayStation 5. The PS4 store is safe for another 5-7 years, I'm thinking. Nintendo closed the DSi shop in March 2017, and the Wii Shop in January 2019. Before those closed, they had cut off dates the previous years to add points. Interestingly, I think the Microsoft Store on the Xbox 360 is still open for the time being, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
So when do you think the Wii U and 3DS shops will go? I think Wii U will go first, since the amount of Wii U units sold was far lower than the 3DS. I'd also wager the active user base of the Wii U is quite a bit lower, than probably not proportionally lower to the sales differences.
I honestly think the Wii U eShop will stop accepting funds in Q3/Q4 2021, and close in Q1 2022. That's really good for a commercial failure. For the 3DS eShop, I think it can survive another year or two past the Wii U. I think funds will stop being accepted in Q3 2023, and the eShop will shutter in Q1 2024. But it's just as likely those dates are a year earlier for 3DS.
Lifetime Sales Predictions
Switch: 156 million (was 73, then 96, then 113 million, then 125 million, then 144 million, then 151 million)
PS5: 115 million (was 105 million) Xbox Series S/X: 48 million (was 60 million, then 67 million, then 57 million)
PS4: 120 mil (was 100 then 130 million, then 122 million) Xbox One: 51 mil (was 50 then 55 mil)
3DS: 75.5 mil (was 73, then 77 million)
"Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind." - Guru Laghima
