Earlier this week, a number of DSiware titles were removed from the Nintendo eShop, including games such as Shantae: Risky’s revenge and Mighty Flip Champs. It seems, however, that most of the missing games have now returned to the digital showcase. According to Delisted Games, more than 250 games have been removed in total, and now only five of them have not returned: 5 in 1 solitaire, Digger Dan & Kaboom, Face Pilot: Fly with your Nintendo DSi camera!, Match it!, and Word finder 3. The returned games have been added back in batches, so it is possible that these last missing titles may eventually return.
The news should be a relief for fans of DSi software, as well as for those interested in preserving video games. While digital markets, such as eShop, have offered developers and publishers a cheaper alternative to physical launches, it can also mean that the game can be lost in time after it is removed from the platform; a number of players prefer the release of physical video games for this very reason. Before Shantae: Risky’s revengeReturning to the eShop, Limited Run Games shared news about the elimination of the game on Twitter, pointing out that the publisher has made the game available on Switch and PS4 in the past.
For the longest time, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The world: The game was a warning story about the preservation of video games. The game was removed from digital showcases in 2014, and many fans feared it would get lost in time as a result. Fortunately, the game returns to current-generation consoles on January 14, and a physical release is on its way to the Limited Games.
It seems unlikely that publishers like Limited Run Games will offer similar physical versions of any DSiware game that is back now, so fans who want to purchase these titles will have to do so digitally. Since the 3DS line is no longer in production, Nintendo’s focus remains exclusively on the Switch platform and it is likely that these games will be eliminated again in the future. Fortunately, fans now have a second chance to check out these games before this happens.
Do you still play games on 3DS or DSi? Are you happy that these games have been added back to the eShop? Tell us in the comments or send directly on Twitter to @Marcdachamp let’s talk about all the games!