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.

Wow, I look like a dummy now. But I think it means the PS3 Store is still closing soon, since you can only buy the games directly on the console now. But my question about the Nintendo platforms still stands.

The PS3 and Vita stores are both still running and accessible through those respective platforms. Sony only de-listed PS3 and Vita content from the PS Store website. I think the reason was to cut down on clutter in the storefront to make room for the addition of PS5 content.

When Nintendo stops making money from them.

Don't scare me like that.

Pretty much. The Wii U lost Nintendo tens of millions of dollars, but that's very tame compared to most video game hardware. It's because Nintendo just about never sold the Wii U at a loss. If they did, it was a minor loss.

As long as Nintendo is making at least a few million a year from the Wii U eShop and its servers are cheap to keep up, it's worth it for them. I'm sure almost no one was buying things on the Wii Shop from about 2015 onward, but Nintendo still kept it open.

The Xbox 360 eShop is still online because it's sorta- accessible on the Xbox One/Xbox Series S+X with BC titles.
I don't envisage it closing anytime soon, especially as BC titles continue to sell on the store.

To be honest I don't think online stores should be closed. That is a ton of video games that will be lost forever, and it probably doesn't cost that much for Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo to keep them up indefinitely.

It's hard to say. I think the situation is a lot different than it was with the Wii and DSi shops, as not only is the branding the same for Wii U/3DS as it is on Switch, but assuredly the eShops for those systems run on the same server, as they're connected in multiple ways and funds can be shared between all three under just one account. So my guess is as long as the Switch is around and the eShop for that doesn't close, the Wii U/3DS ones will stick around as well. Not to mention, online play is still available for both consoles, and I think the shops closing would come after those services shut down first. My guess is 2024 or later.

If I'm wrong and they shut them down regardless of what's going on with Switch, I imagine Wii U eShop would shut down first.

I was a little miffed that they closed the Wii Shop last year, but whatever, as long as they keep allowing me to download games I already own and keep bringing that content over to Switch. Unfortunately, with Wii being phased out, it’s also the end of getting the definitive versions of some games. Wii U has a few of them as well: the Earthbound games, most notably.