Earlier this week, several DSiware titles were removed from the Nintendo eShop, including games like Shantae: Risky’s Revenge and Powerful Flip Champs. It seems, however, that most of the missing games have now returned to the digital store. According to Delisted Games, more than 250 games have been removed in total, and now only five of them have yet to return: 5 in 1 Lonely, Digger Dan and Kaboom, Face Pilot: Fly with your Nintendo DSi camera!, Match Up!and Word Searcher 3. The returned games have been added in batches, so it is possible that those last lost titles may eventually return as well.
The news should be a relief to fans of DSi software, as well as those interested in preserving video games. Although digital markets, such as the eShop, have provided developers and publishers with a cheaper alternative to physical releases, this may also mean that the game can be lost in time after it has been removed from the platform; many players prefer physical video game releases for exactly that reason. Before Shantae: Risky’s RevengeUpon returning from the eShop, Limited Run Games shared the news of the game’s removal on Twitter, highlighting the fact that the publisher has made the game available on Switch and PS4 in the past.
For a long time, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game it represented a cautionary tale about the preservation of video games The game was removed from digital stores in 2014, and many fans feared that it would end up lost in time as a result. Fortunately, the game will be back on current generation consoles on January 14, and a physical release is on its way to Limited Run Games.
It seems unlikely that publishers like Limited Run Games will offer similar physical versions of any of the DSiware games that are now back, so fans who want to buy these titles will have to do so digitally. With the 3DS line no longer in production, Nintendo’s focus remains solely on the Switch platform, and it is likely that these games may be deleted again in the future. Fortunately, fans now have a second chance to check out these games before that happens.
Do you still play on the 3DS or DSi? Are you happy that these games have been added back to the eShop? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about games!