One of the best things about Nintendo is the music. Whether it’s the classic themes for The Legend of Zelda or the Super Mario series, the company has always managed to turn bleeps and bloops into a meditative, joyful atmosphere.
But one of Nintendo’s greatest musical accomplishments wasn’t in a game—it was in the Wii Shop Channel.
Videos by VICE
The background music for the 2006 console’s portal for in-game purchases was, to put it simply, divine. A chilled-out samba that pre-empted Drake’s 2016 smash “Hotline Bling” by a full decade, the shopping music became a meme in its own right. I say this all in the past tense, because the theme is soon to be no longer. On Friday, Nintendo announced that the Wii Shopping Channel will be closing for good on January 31, 2019.
Presumably, the in-game shop that superseded the Wii Shop Channel in 2011, the Nintendo eShop, will stick around. The eShop’s music is itself a treat, a calming blend of 90s Weather Channel aesthetics and ethereal new age synth tones. But it can never replace the unadulterated charm and unexpected slap of the Wii Shop Channel’s music.
The theme is unlikely to go away, however, even if the shop itself is done for. The Wii Shop Channel theme music will no doubt live on in YouTube videos, cutesy DJ mixes, and most importantly, in our hearts.
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