Can I Download Games On My 3ds

Nintendo 3ds Download Games
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Can I Download Games On My 3ds Games
Can I Download My 3ds Games On Switch

My 3DS bit the dust a few months back. Rather than pay for Nintendo to fix it, I waited for the New 3DS. Unfortunately, most of my games were purchased digitally, and you can't just insert an old SD card into a New 3DS. On Nintendo platforms, games are tied to the hardware. Dumb? Yes. Reality? Also yes! So I got on the phone with Nintendo to find out what my options were.

Well, I've figured out that you can get into the 3DS SD card and you'll find your eshop games. You should be able to download them free online and put them in that. I cant find the answer anywhere else, though i think I may have messed up big time. On my original 3DS I had several downloaded games as well all my games. Eventually you'll have the game. There's nothing we can do for you to make it faster, the eShop is just like that. My Smash took less than 1 hour, but it's not a big file. My Donkey Kong download took 16 hours. The full SSB4 game might take 24 hours in a worst case scenario, but it's all you can do. Can I transfer my Nintendo DSiWare software from my Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL to my Nintendo 3DS? Where do I find the electronic manuals for games that only came with a printed Quick Guide? Can I play Nintendo DS games on my Nintendo 3DS? Can I play Game Boy Advance games on my Nintendo 3DS? Yes, this is possible through Nintendo eShop. For more information about Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS, click here.

The short version is I was able to get my games back pretty quickly. The longer version? Well...

See, the handheld refused to hold a charge. I swapped the battery for a new one, plugged in a different cable, and tried every other trick around the Internet, but nothing worked. It was dead.

Honestly, I'd been looking for a reason to purchase another 3DS for a while. I'd been jealous of the larger screen on the 3DS XL, but that didn't seem worth spending a few hundred dollars. When my 3DS went kaput, however, and a new-and-improved model was on the horizon, the stars had aligned. The question was how my digital games were going to make the journey.

On just about any other device these days, handheld or not, it's simple. You connect an existing store account to a new device, download the old software, and move on with your life. On most platforms, even your save files are stored in the cloud, so you won't lose progress on your games.

The 3DS does not work that way.

For anyone with a working 3DS, the process is annoying but ultimately straightforward. By flipping on on both 3DS machines and initiating a system transfer, the content will slowly but surely move from one device to another. Since my 3DS won't turn on, that's not a possibility.

I was prepared for the worst. Could my games be lost forever? Would Nintendo force me to fix my old 3DS? Fortunately, I'm happy to report the process was quick, easy, and painless. Yep!

It began after my New 3DS showed up. Nintendo's phone lines were swamped, so I dropped into their web chat. After an hour of endlessly queueing up, I gave up and submitted a support ticket. Nintendo promised to get back to me quickly, and this showed up just a few days later:

I responded and said this didn't solve my issue. Impatient, I called Nintendo in the meantime.

The whole call lasted less than 10 minutes. I barely had to explain my situation to the Nintendo representative that picked up before he was taking down my information. Clearly, I was not the first person to call about this problem. He asked me for my Nintendo Network ID, quizzed me about a few purchases made to the account, and asked for the serial number for my New 3DS.

Nintendo 3ds Download Games

And that was it.

The rep told me it'd be two business days before the ID was transferred to the new device, and an email from Nintendo would show up when the process was complete. Sure enough, two days later, an email from Nintendo popped up and told me to log in on my New 3DS.

After punching in all my information, I headed over the ye ol' eShop. Drum roll please…

Ta-da!

While I have to re-download my games, all of the purchases are on my New 3DS. It feels good to have Pushmo back in my life. (If you haven't played Pushmo, what're you doing? Go fix that.)

Nintendo 3ds Download Games Free

There's a catch, of course: my save data didn't move over. Nintendo doesn't store saves in the cloud. The New 3DS uses Micro SD cards and I don't have a way of reading them on my computer, so there's no way to drag the data from my old 3DS SD card to my New 3DS SD card.

Nintendo has published a support document for transferring data, which a Kotaku reader, who recently emailed us, tried out. Unfortunately, it didn't work for him, and the 3DS wouldn't recognize his save data. Like me, Nintendo moved his Nintendo Network ID from an old 3DS to a New 3DS, rather than going through the formal system transfer process. Maybe that's it.

Nothing with Nintendo is without a few bumps in the road, but it was mostly a pleasant experience. Please tell me if you've had a difference one, though, and I'd be happy to listen!

I'm mostly upset about losing all of the StreetPass data. My dang puzzle pieces! Sigh...

You can reach the author of this post at patrick.klepek@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @patrickklepek.

Earlier this week, my launch Nintendo 3DS was stolen — including its 32GB SD card full of save data and downloaded games. Losing the actual handheld stings, but it’s replaceable. What was worrisome, though, was that my Nintendo Network ID was tied to that system, which is where all of my Nintendo eShop information is stored. As we all know, Nintendo is a stickler with using the Network ID on multiple consoles, and also can’t quite get the whole “online account” thing perfected. So, there’s only one option to secure your data and get your account back: instead of doing it yourself through a standard password recovery feature, you have to call Nintendo support.

To get your account back, you’ll need the serial numbers of both your lost Nintendo 3DS and your new Nintendo 3DS. If you can’t find the boxes or instruction manuals that either came with, but have a Club Nintendo account, the serial numbers will be listed there so long as you registered the products once upon a time. You’ll also need a bunch of verification information, such as your name, date of birth, Nintendo Network ID name, Club Nintendo ID, email address linked to either accounts, downloads and purchases you’ve made with the account, and so on. If you’re you, it should be easy enough to verify whatever they ask, no matter how tedious.

The process isn’t just tedious, but the 3DS will question your maturity.

Can I Download Games On My 3ds Games

I called at 4PM EST, and was on hold for about five minutes. Rather than easy listening elevator music, the on-hold music was, amusingly, themes from popular Nintendo games, such as the overworld theme from Ocarina of Time. My customer service rep, Joshua, spoke perfect English and was easy to hear — a nice change for a customer service call. After answering what seemed like an avalanche of verification questions, Joshua informed me that I am indeed me, and Nintendo can help with my dilemma.

He sent my request to what he called the “Nintendo back end,” and I was to await an email with instructions. Around 4PM the following day — just shy of 24 hours later — I received the instructional email, which had me following simple login procedures on the new 3DS. Like the cavalcade of Joshua’s verification questions, I spent about 20 minutes poking account info onto the touchscreen. A stylus is not an efficient tool for entering text on a virtual keyboard. After entering my Nintendo Network ID, Club Nintendo ID, emails, verification codes, and dealing with the slow operating system of the 3DS between each and every screen, my account was once again secure.

Once the process is complete, your new 3DS will act like the old one — you can see your past eShop activity, and download all of your software again. You can also hop into the 3DS Data Management menu and restore your saves from the cloud. If you’re like me, though, and hadn’t used the 3DS in a while — and wasn’t aware that feature was added in a recent system software update — you’re boned on that front, and need the SD card in your lost or stolen 3DS to retrieve the save data.

Can I Download My 3ds Games On Switch

So, while the process is tedious, takes about 24 hours longer than it should, and you can’t do it without Nintendo’s help, at least there’s recourse to prevent sensitive info from being stolen and to restore your past purchases.