Buying video games from the Japanese eShop as a foreigner with no Japanese checking account is about to get so much tougher. Today, Nintendo announced it would now not settle for “bank cards issued abroad” and “PayPal accounts opened abroad” from January 25, 2025. Nintendo mentioned it took the choice to curb “fraudulent use.”
Western Nintendo Switch house owners have for years now created regional Nintendo accounts to capitalize on cheaper costs or wider availability of titles that aren’t of their house area. This change creates a bigger barrier for anybody residing outdoors of Japan to purchase video games on the retailer.
There are a number of Japan-only Switch titles that gamers overseas will now not have the ability to entry, together with Tactics title Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence, Mecha mashup titles Super Robot Wars T and V, a Yo-Kai Watch remake, and most notably Mother 3, which stays a Japan unique for Nintendo Switch Online.
What is curious is that this alteration solely impacts the Japanese eShop, so customers of the American and European eShop will nonetheless have the ability to make purchases throughout these respective areas.
You’ll nonetheless have the ability to use bodily Nintendo Switch cartridges from Japan because the system is just not region-locked. So, except you want to purchase an eShop title that’s download-only, you may nonetheless play Japanese video games in your Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo is in fact about to concentrate on the upcoming Switch 2, which will likely be detailed in an April Direct.
Sayem is a freelancer primarily based within the UK, masking tech & {hardware}. You can get in contact with him at @sayem.zone on Bluesky.