You Can Buy Cheaper Nintendo Switch Games From Another Country
Given the strength of the dollar these days, many US shoppers are turning to overseas retailers for better product deals , and one of the best places to save money is at Nintendo eShop. We’ve already covered how to buy games from other regional online stores so you can access games, demos, and other content not released in North America, or even play new games sooner.
Since the Nintendo Switch is not region-locked, it’s an easy process, and depending on which games you buy, you can save quite a bit of money since the exchange rates are so great for US customers.
How much can you save on Nintendo games?
So what savings can you expect? Well, it depends on the current exchange rate and the game. As such, you can find third-party and indie titles at a very low price, but Nintendo rarely puts its first releases up for sale, especially on the eShop. Luckily, you can get them cheaper if you buy in another country.
Let’s take a look at a few popular Nintendo Switch games. Considering the exchange rate at the time of writing, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild usually costs $60 from the US online store, but the total purchase price from the Japanese online store is only 7,678 yen ($53), while the Brazilian the version is 231.89 reais ($55.63).
Kirby and the Forgotten Land also costs $60 on the US online store, but only AU$79.95 ($51.37) in Australia, £50 ($53.56) in the UK and 6500 yen (44 .87 USD) in Japan.
Super Mario Odyssey , $60 again on the North American online store, only 6,578 yen ($45.51) in Japan, AU$79.95 ($51.37) in Australia, and £49.99 ($53.56) in the UK.
You can check the current prices for these and other games at eshop-prices.com , which is a great resource for finding the lowest regional online store game prices.
Is there a catch?
You can save a few dollars by buying games from another country’s online store right now, but there are some caveats to keep in mind before you do so. Most importantly, there will be regional differences in localization depending on where you buy the game. Differences in localization can be as innocuous as using British English instead of American if you buy a game from a UK online store (e.g. “color” instead of “color”), or you may encounter games that can only be played on certain languages such as Japanese or Portuguese. This may be fine for simple games, but anything with a lot of dialogue or text will be unplayable. Just because your Switch can technically play games from any country doesn’t mean you can.
Likewise, some online features may only work if your IP address matches the game’s original region, and may not work even if you’re using a proxy connection or VPN. Before you buy these games, be sure to research them to make sure you can actually play them the right way.
Another issue is actually buying games. Because you usually can’t use US bank-issued payment cards to purchase content from online stores outside of the US, you need a workaround. The easiest solution is to buy credit in an online store in the currency of another country. Websites such as Play Asia , eShop-Prices , and the Nintendo Life Code Store are great resources, and our guide provides complete instructions on how to create a regional eShop account, purchase digital credits, and purchase games.
[ Nintendo Life ]