Just this week, Microsoft said on its help page that the Xbox 360 Marketplace will be closing over the next year, and advised that users should purchase games or DLCs they might want before May 2023. However, Microsoft clarified that it is not the case.
Not Closing After All
Bree Adams, Xbox's global product marketing manager, said that the message was a mistake. It was posted in error and they confirmed that the Xbox 360 Marketplace will not be closing in May 2023, according to The Verge. The announcement was spotted by @Wario64 and posted on Twitter.
Although there is still bad news for players out there. The Xbox 360 Marketplace update has been, well, updated. Now, it states that certain game titles and add-ons will be removed from the Marketplace in a select set of regions per title. Removals will begin by February 7th.
The games can be purchased before they are taken down. Once you do, you can always redownload them as well as any other games you've purchased from the Xbox 360 Download History, according to Xbox support.
To do that, you have to sign in to Xbox Live on your console with the gamertag you used for the purchase. Go to Settings and under Account, select Downloads. Once you find the game, you can select it and then press Download Again.
Losing Something Else
It may come as good news to hear that the Xbox 360 Marketplace is keeping its door open, but it's the end of the line for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop. It will apply to the following devices listed below:
New Nintendo 3DS
New Nintendo 3DS XL
New Nintendo 2DS XL
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS XL
Nintendo 2DS
Wii U Deluxe
Wii U Basic
Users will no longer be able to make purchases by March 27th of 2023 for any of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems and the Wii U systems. Users also can't use a credit card to add funds to an account in the shops, or use a Nintendo eShop Card to add funds to an account, anymore.
According to Nintendo, the closing of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop is simply part of the natural life cycle for any product, which all comes down to becoming less used by consumers over time as new technologies emerge.
If you have unspent Nintendo eShop Cards with the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS logos, don't worry. You can still use them to add funds to a Nintendo Account balance for Nintendo Switch. The same goes for the unused balance in Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U.
All you have to do is link your Nintendo Network ID to your Nintendo Account, which will merge your wallets. After you've done that, you can use the balance to buy digital download titles, DLC, content passes, and other similar items for Nintendo Switch, so it won't go to waste.
