3DS, Wii U eShop to be temporarily taken down later today

In an effort to "manage the high volume of traffic and ultimately improve your experience," Nintendo will be temporarily taking the Wii U and 3DS eShop services offline later today. Between the hours of 4:00pm through 4:00am ET, the eShop services will be unavailable. Below is the official statement from Nintendo.

We sincerely apologize for the connection problems in the Nintendo eShop. We understand this is taking longer than expected, but we can assure you that providing a solution is our top priority. We are determined to make sure everyone can enjoy all that Wii U and Nintendo 3DS have to offer. In an effort to manage the high volume of traffic and ultimately improve your experience, we are temporarily taking the Nintendo eShop services offline between the hours of 4 p.m. – 4 a.m. ET. Thank you so much for your continued patience. We will keep you updated.

Earlier this week, high traffic caused many of Nintendo's online services — including the eShop as well as the ability to create a Nintendo Network ID — to experience "technical difficulties." Nintendo originally blamed the release of the Japan release of the Pokémon Bank app for the surge in traffic, eventually removing it from the eShop entirely. Today, they announced that the western launch of the Pokémon Bank would be delayed.

Nintendo Wii U and 3DS owners can track the status of Nintendo's online network here, but not much has changed over the past few days. Of course, we will continue to monitor the situation and update you should anything change.