Were festive 3DS and Wii U sales that good? Ninty eShop falls over under strain
New console owners struggling with network outages
Given Nintendo's recent struggles, it'll probably be quite heartened that the rush to activate new Wii U and 3DS consoles over Christmas has seen the online eShop portal fall over under the strain.
The company has announced it'll take the store offline for 12 hours on Friday afternoon / evening in order to sort out issues as new console owners struggle to register Nintendo IDs and buy content from the store.
"To improve your experience, we are temporarily taking the Nintendo eShop services offline between the hours of 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. GMT [4pm ET, 1pm PST]," the company tweeted from the @NintendoUK account.
The company has also delayed the release of Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter for the 3DS until the matter is resolved.
Inconvenience
"Due to the high traffic, players are having trouble setting up Nintendo Network IDs and downloading content in the Nintendo eShop on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS," the Japanese giant added.
"We truly regret the inconvenience, and wish to reassure everyone that providing a solution is our top priority."
We'd hope, for Nintendo's sake that the problems have arisen due to the unforeseen level of traffic extra sales over the festive season have brought, rather than the eShop just being a bit crap.
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It's a frustration for new console owners, but it may be that the Christmas period has offered a much needed sales boost for Nintendo as it seeks to tackle Sony and Microsoft's new consoles.
A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.