Nintendo can be hot and miss with some of their ideas. Some of their ideas seem to be the product of forward thinking, while others not so much. The company has been slow to adopt newer technology and features that its competitors have already embraced for instance, like the Wii Shop Channel which was the first time that Nintendo embraced the digital game distribution idea.
Now the focus is on the Nintendo Switch, so Nintendo has officially announced that the Wii Shop Channel will be shutting down in 2019.
It will be shutting down on January 31st, 2019. This still gives gamers a little over a year to adjust, but if you still plan to keep using the service, adding funds will only be allowed until the 27th of March, 2018. So after that unless you have any funds remaining in your account, you won’t be able to purchase games for the Wii or the Wii U via the Wii Shop Channel.
Physical purchases will still be possible assuming you can still find copies of the game you want, but the digital distribution method will be coming to an end. Sad news if you used this method, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
Source Ubergizmo