TheCompletionist Just Spent $23K Saving Every Game On Wii U And 3DS

Here's a riddle for you: What is a thing you can do that is costly, time consuming, and absolutely worth it? Well, it's buying every Nintendo Wii U and 3DS Game before the Nintendo eShop closes, of course. This is what YouTuber and content creator Jirard 'The Completionist' Khalil did, and, true to his name, he spent much time and money to complete his quest. But there was a good reason for Khalil to embark on this costly exercise.

From March 27, users on the Wii U and 3DS will be no longer have the option to buy Games from the eShops. As calculated by VGC, this means that up to 1000 digital-only eShop titles will vanish practically for good, sending those Games into gaming oblivion. But The Completionist decided to do something to save these Games (via VGC).

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The YouTuber says he bought what amounts to 866 Wii U Games and 1,547 3DS Games, costing him $22,791 (£18,715) and nearly a year to complete. In terms of storage, the Wii U Games are taking up around 1.2 terabytes while the 3DS Games equates to 267 gigabytes.

Last year, Nintendo said that after March 27, 2023, "and for the foreseeable future", it would still be possible to redownload Games and DLC, receive software updates, and play online on Wii U and the 3DS. However, after the date, no more transactions will occur, including the downloading of free demos and expansions.

To complete his goal, Khalil used eShop credit cards to add funds since there were concerns the bank might raise flags owing to the large number of transactions that would occur, and so 464 eShop cards were purchased and redeemed, with each one having to be added to the system. It was a huge effort just simply adding the funds since a single digital wallet could only hold $250 at once.

But Khalil might have done a vital service, saving Wii U download-only titles like Affordable Space Adventures, Chasing Aurora, Dr Luigi, Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge, Pokemon Rumble U, and Shut the Box. The 3DS has an even larger collection of digital-only exclusives, such as 3D-enhanced re-releases of the likes of Kid Icarus and Kirby's Adventure. Khalil may have preserved many Games before they disappear, since Nintendo seemed to have no system to save them.

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