Posted 3 April 2018

Buying Nintendo Switch Games from a Foreign Nintendo eShop!

So, this may be obvious to many of you; but I have only very recently have become aware of this method, in the last couple of hours, and so others may not be aware also.
So please don't just beat on me for being late to the party, just trying to make sure nobody else is missing out on taking advantage of these great deals!

So I'll just go over everything I've learned and if I miss anything, please cover this in the below comments!

The Nintendo eShop has different prices for different regions.
Some places it costs more for the same game than others, this could be for various reasons including but not limited to, different wages for poorer countries.
To view the prices for each game across all regions you can use a site such as (eshop-prices.com).

Once you have found a game in the region you want, you can change your Nintendo account to that region in just a few clicks by going over to (accounts.nintendo.com) clicking on 'Profile' selecting the region you wish to be under and save those changes.
[NOTE / WARNING: SOME eShop stores will not work with this method, Mexico is definitely one of them. Might be worth checking before putting money into Revolut.]

Once you are on the region of your chosing, open the eShop on your Switch and you will be prompted to relog into the device following a change to your account.
Once logged on, navigate to the game you wish to buy, and there you will see it at the lower price point requested.
Then you can just purchase said game at the discount.
Now, if you purchase using paypal be aware there WILL be additional fees displayed here (paypal.com/uk/…ees)

If you wish to get around those fees, one of the most popular methods is by using 'Revolut'
Revolut is an app you can get for your phone which does not charge currency conversion fees just exchanges at the rate in which those currencies are now worth.
To download Revolut go to (Revolut.com/get) on your smart device.

Once all set up with a payment method, purchase the game and then change your region back to where you live (Presumably the UK due to you reading this.) [The UK is listed directly under 'Gabon' in the list]
JOB DONE
Questions I had - "Are my games tied to X eShop OR are they tied to my account?" - My account, you can download them from the eShop using your account, no matter which region and you wont need to re-swap back to redownload

ANOTHER IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE - All 'Gold coins' you earn from your purchases ARE locked to the eShop they were gained at. (i.e. I buy a game from the Italian store, then change to my UK store again, those coins will not show up as existing for use UNLESS used on another purchase in the Italian store)

Thanks to the HUKD members who pointed this out to me, teaching me something I never knew to make great savings, so I'm just sharing incase others don't know either.
Again, if I have missed anything, feel free to comment below, as it may help another user out!

Community Updates

6th Apr 2020

If you change regions your Nintendo eShop balance will be lost when you return to your region

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93 Comments

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16th Jan 2022
Jp223416/01/2022 12:16
Omg you're amazing. The downloadable context for 49c worked in the end. …Omg you're amazing. The downloadable context for 49c worked in the end. Thank you so much! Sorry to have driven you mad. First thing I'm doing is making a separate account haha

It's all good, glad it got sorted
Author
3rd Apr 2018
Wow that was a bloody huge post, but my mind is blown how people always got these deals, I always thought people made multiple accounts for each region, and they paid huge conversion fees!
This just shows how great this is, and how wrong I was!
Author
5th Apr 2018
jco8305/04/2018 13:12
Let us know how it turns out

It's a Nintendo thing..
If you make a purchase using a card, Nintendo take payment even before you press the agree button.
If you end up not agreeing and accepting the terms, Nintendo issue a standard refund back to you (usually 3 days to re-credit into the account)
6th Apr 2018
FriendlyFyre05/04/2018 17:44
It's a Nintendo thing.. If you make a purchase using a card, Nintendo take …It's a Nintendo thing.. If you make a purchase using a card, Nintendo take payment even before you press the agree button.If you end up not agreeing and accepting the terms, Nintendo issue a standard refund back to you (usually 3 days to re-credit into the account)

This is exactly what happened, as I clicked ‘purchase’ I instantly received a notification on my Revolut app that the money had been debited but I must have failed to complete the process so the game didn’t download. I bought it again after topping up my card AGAIN but am pleased to say I’ve now been refunded. I bought both Owlboy & The Mummy Demastered via the Norwegian eshop 🏽 Thanks for your help OP!
Author
6th Apr 2018
crispylimbs26 m ago
This is exactly what happened, as I clicked ‘purchase’ I instantly rec …This is exactly what happened, as I clicked ‘purchase’ I instantly received a notification on my Revolut app that the money had been debited but I must have failed to complete the process so the game didn’t download. I bought it again after topping up my card AGAIN but am pleased to say I’ve now been refunded. I bought both Owlboy & The Mummy Demastered via the Norwegian eshop 🏽 Thanks for your help OP!

No problem
Enjoy those games... Theyre both great!
Author
3rd Apr 2018
Kell77403/04/2018 20:48
@FriendlyFyre Thanks for taking the time to create this post. I've moved …@FriendlyFyre Thanks for taking the time to create this post. I've moved to misc as it's more info based than a specific deal

Ah okay, I am going to post some more specific region deals soon and then link them to this post then
3rd Apr 2018
Does this work on Canadian shop?
Author
3rd Apr 2018
I can confirm it works on Norwiegan and on Russian
Author
3rd Apr 2018
marra03/04/2018 21:52
Great post and thanks for all the info. Can you tell me if I switch my …Great post and thanks for all the info. Can you tell me if I switch my main account to US to buy a game will I loose my gold coins I earned from the UK estore? If I'm right, if I have currency currently on my UK account and switch regions I will loose that and I was wondering if it was the same with coins. Thanks again.

When I switched back to the UK I still had all my coins that I had earned through UK eShop purchases....so you should be keeping those.
I *PRESUME* you keep your UK Balance/currency also when you switch back to the UK, but I have never tested that; so don't quote me on it
EDIT: unfortunately, no... If you do transfer eshop you do lose your wallet balance
Even when you transfer back its gone
But the coins do still stay on the eshop you earned them via (edited)
3rd Apr 2018
Guessing Monzo would also be a viable alternative since it just uses the MasterCard exchange rate? Anyone tried the Japan store? (I'm also guessing the games are still English?)
3rd Apr 2018
StolenDiagram37 m ago
I'm confused by how this works. My revolut card has the same account …I'm confused by how this works. My revolut card has the same account details as my debit card as that' what it wanted when I created the virtual card. How do I make the e shop take the payment from the revolut card and not my debit card?Edit: Think I figured out where I went wrong, I created an account and not a virtual card (although I have since now managed to set up a virtual card I think). Quite a costly error too, as I accidentally ended up transferring 50 quid to it to the account. I think I've managed to transfer the money back to my bank, but how do I send the money to the virtual card?
Top-up your virtual card from your debit card
3rd Apr 2018
you can also purchase games on the website as well as on the console
4th Apr 2018
crispylimbs03/04/2018 23:45
Did you have to upload your passport/driving license pic to verify your …Did you have to upload your passport/driving license pic to verify your account? It says my virtual card needs activating.
Top-up from a debit card (may need to do it 2 times - I did) to verify yourself. Can send it back after if want
4th Apr 2018
jco8304/04/2018 18:35
You sure you completed the purchase ? I've heard similar where people …You sure you completed the purchase ? I've heard similar where people have thought they completed but turned out they didn't press the final button. You're buying from the console itself I presume

Yes buying on the Norwegian eshop on the console itself. The money was taken instantly but something went wrong and the game never downloaded. I can’t ‘redownload’ either so I’ve contacted Revolut before I purchase again...
5th Apr 2018
silvercondor04/04/2018 23:23
Question! When I go to Cards, my virtual card has no details; everything …Question! When I go to Cards, my virtual card has no details; everything is starred out. For info, I’ve topped up £20 and verified my ID.

Log out then log back in again 🏽 same thing happened to me
5th Apr 2018
hass1232 h, 29 m ago
Damn, I got like £25 on my account ready to be used on good deals …Damn, I got like £25 on my account ready to be used on good deals (particularly waiting for games like Doom to get lower, probably around sub £20 so I have some left over for another game. Rocket League is like £12 atm but I clocked the hell out of the game and Platinumed it on PS4) and was hoping to be able to use that on foreign eshops (with the credit possibly being converted to the foreign currency. Oh well...

This can be avoided by creating different user accounts with their own unique Nintendo ID that way you avoid having to ‘switch’ regions and risk losing your gold coins OR eshop balance 👌🏽 just make sure you use a different email account for each user 🏽 (edited)
1st Jun 2019
jco8301/06/2019 01:49
Doing that and having any credit remaining stops you being able to change …Doing that and having any credit remaining stops you being able to change region back, need to ask Nintendo to remove it. Apparently

ah ok, game is probably $39.99 so the last cent might be an issue thanks
6th Jul 2019
CommanderKeen06/07/2019 11:33
Anyone reading this thread - DO NOT CREATE NEW ACCOUNTS FOR DIFFERENT …Anyone reading this thread - DO NOT CREATE NEW ACCOUNTS FOR DIFFERENT REGIONS. It is a huge mistake which I was wrongly recommended to do. I got virtua racing on the Japanese store under the impression that when it hit the UK eshop I could just remove it and get the English one. No. You can't. It just says 'purchased' with no option to download. So not only am I stuck with the japanese version, I can't even rebuy it from the UK.NEVER create a new account to grab a game from another region, terrible misinformed advice.

Have you deleted the Japanese version from your console ? (edited)
3rd Apr 2020
HotUKDealSeeker03/04/2020 10:06
so the only way to do this now is to buy us credit and spend it all?

Yes you have to. I ended up buying 1cent games as well as using up the gold coins. vey tedious task if you ask me.

My advice (if using a gift voucher) is to make sure you can spend every penny before attempting this
11th Apr 2020
Dowgle06/04/2020 19:45
Question, if anyone can help. I have used a US gift card to buy a couple …Question, if anyone can help. I have used a US gift card to buy a couple of games from the US store as my revolut card no longer works on it. However it wont let me change me region back to UK because I have $0.32 left over.There is nothing I can see on the store that costs exactly $0.32, and I can't use it towards a ore expensive purchase due to revolut no longer working as mentioned before.Does anyone know a way around this so I can get back to the UK store? Thanks

Buy multiple very cheap discounted games, there are some just $0.01. Else see if it will let you change country to Canada, if so this will remove your balance thus allowing you to change back to UK (edited)
16th Jan 2022
pirate116/01/2022 12:11
Have you tried to change your region to UK? If so, make sure the region in …Have you tried to change your region to UK? If so, make sure the region in profile settings is set to US for this purchase. When your balance is empty, change it back to UK

Omg you're amazing. The downloadable context for 49c worked in the end. Thank you so much! Sorry to have driven you mad. First thing I'm doing is making a separate account haha
3rd Apr 2018
Thanks for taking the time to create this post. I've moved to misc as it's more info based than a specific deal
3rd Apr 2018
Can anyone explain a bit more about this Revolut card? Do you have to pay for the card or can you just use the virtual option?
Author
3rd Apr 2018
crispylimbs03/04/2018 21:27
Can anyone explain a bit more about this Revolut card? Do you have to pay …Can anyone explain a bit more about this Revolut card? Do you have to pay for the card or can you just use the virtual option?

Physical cards cost you real money, and extra features like 'Disposable Virtual' are 'Premium feature' (A card that becomes unusable after one purchase) but the default Virtual one doesn't cost anything
HOWEVER, you do have to pay a minimum of £10 deposit into your Revolut card
3rd Apr 2018
FriendlyFyre03/04/2018 21:32
Physical cards cost you real money, and extra features like 'Disposable …Physical cards cost you real money, and extra features like 'Disposable Virtual' are 'Premium feature' (A card that becomes unusable after one purchase) but the default Virtual one doesn't cost anythingHOWEVER, you do have to pay a minimum of £10 deposit into your Revolut card

Thank you for explaining and forgive me if I’m not getting it but once I’ve set the Revolut card up and credited it with money how would i go about choosing it as a payment method on the Eshop? I have bought games from foreign eshops recently but used PayPal..
3rd Apr 2018
Great post and thanks for all the info. Can you tell me if I switch my main account to US to buy a game will I loose my gold coins I earned from the UK estore? If I'm right, if I have currency currently on my UK account and switch regions I will loose that and I was wondering if it was the same with coins. Thanks again. (edited)
Author
3rd Apr 2018
crispylimbs03/04/2018 21:48
Thank you for explaining and forgive me if I’m not getting it but once I …Thank you for explaining and forgive me if I’m not getting it but once I’ve set the Revolut card up and credited it with money how would i go about choosing it as a payment method on the Eshop? I have bought games from foreign eshops recently but used PayPal..

Go onto the app, select the tab that says 'Cards' make sure you have created a Revolut card
When on the eshop, go to pay for an item and input the details for the card held on the Revolut app into the eShop 'Credit card' payment method
3rd Apr 2018
FriendlyFyre03/04/2018 22:01
Go onto the app, select the tab that says 'Cards' make sure you have …Go onto the app, select the tab that says 'Cards' make sure you have created a Revolut cardWhen on the eshop, go to pay for an item and input the details for the card held on the Revolut app into the eShop 'Credit card' payment method

I'm confused by how this works. My revolut card has the same account details as my debit card as that' what it wanted when I created the virtual card. How do I make the e shop take the payment from the revolut card and not my debit card?

Edit: Think I figured out where I went wrong, I created an account and not a virtual card (although I have since now managed to set up a virtual card I think). Quite a costly error too, as I accidentally ended up transferring 50 quid to it to the account. I think I've managed to transfer the money back to my bank, but how do I send the money to the virtual card? (edited)
3rd Apr 2018
Great post. Just bought Super Bomberman R from Russia eshop!
3rd Apr 2018
StolenDiagram03/04/2018 22:41
I'm confused by how this works. My revolut card has the same account …I'm confused by how this works. My revolut card has the same account details as my debit card as that' what it wanted when I created the virtual card. How do I make the e shop take the payment from the revolut card and not my debit card?Edit: Think I figured out where I went wrong, I created an account and not a virtual card (although I have since now managed to set up a virtual card I think). Quite a costly error too, as I accidentally ended up transferring 50 quid to it to the account. I think I've managed to transfer the money back to my bank, but how do I send the money to the virtual card?

Did you have to upload your passport/driving license pic to verify your account? It says my virtual card needs activating.
4th Apr 2018
I tried to switch my account to Canada and got a 'you will lose your wallet balance if you switch location' warning...can anyone confirm that? I just bought a cheap £50 eshop card...Sigh
Author
4th Apr 2018
benfresh761 h, 16 m ago
I tried to switch my account to Canada and got a 'you will lose your …I tried to switch my account to Canada and got a 'you will lose your wallet balance if you switch location' warning...can anyone confirm that? I just bought a cheap £50 eshop card...Sigh

Yeah I looked into that.. You would lose it, yes... Unfortunately
Coins are fine as when you transfer back you would still keep those, but your wallet is lost permanently unfortunately (from what I've found)
4th Apr 2018
jco8304/04/2018 09:15
Top-up from a debit card (may need to do it 2 times - I did) to verify your …Top-up from a debit card (may need to do it 2 times - I did) to verify yourself. Can send it back after if want

It’s not giving me an option to top up again. It says I’ve topped up £15 but the money hasn’t been debited from my account yet and it’s still asking me to activate. Is it safe to upload a personal document? I’m definitely not sending a passport photo!
Author
4th Apr 2018
crispylimbs59 m ago
It’s not giving me an option to top up again. It says I’ve topped up £15 bu …It’s not giving me an option to top up again. It says I’ve topped up £15 but the money hasn’t been debited from my account yet and it’s still asking me to activate. Is it safe to upload a personal document? I’m definitely not sending a passport photo! @FriendlyFyre

I know after a while of using it, it asked me to send a picture of my driving licence and a selfie? But it's all activated for me now :')
4th Apr 2018
ty bepis
4th Apr 2018
crispylimbs04/04/2018 12:05
It’s not giving me an option to top up again. It says I’ve topped up £15 bu …It’s not giving me an option to top up again. It says I’ve topped up £15 but the money hasn’t been debited from my account yet and it’s still asking me to activate. Is it safe to upload a personal document? I’m definitely not sending a passport photo! @FriendlyFyre
When I was first setting mine up, I got the same as you where it was asking me to upload id, so I went on support chat and they told me to top up from my debit card and I might need to do that twice. I did and then I was verified If you're still having issue just go to the support chat in the app
4th Apr 2018
jco8304/04/2018 17:35
When I was first setting mine up, I got the same as you where it was …When I was first setting mine up, I got the same as you where it was asking me to upload id, so I went on support chat and they told me to top up from my debit card and I might need to do that twice. I did and then I was verified If you're still having issue just go to the support chat in the app

Managed to get my card verified but then hit another road block! I ‘purchased’ The Mummy:Demastered and the money was debited from my Revolut card but the download didn’t start and now it shows I still have to buy the game!! Waiting for a response from Revolut. Owlboy worked fine and I got an actual email receipt for that so there must have been a glitch on the other purchase..?
4th Apr 2018
crispylimbs04/04/2018 18:30
Managed to get my card verified but then hit another road block! I …Managed to get my card verified but then hit another road block! I ‘purchased’ The Mummy:Demastered and the money was debited from my Revolut card but the download didn’t start and now it shows I still have to buy the game!! Waiting for a response from Revolut. Owlboy worked fine and I got an actual email receipt for that so there must have been a glitch on the other purchase..?
You sure you completed the purchase ? I've heard similar where people have thought they completed but turned out they didn't press the final button. You're buying from the console itself I presume
4th Apr 2018
FriendlyFyre03/04/2018 22:00
unfortunately, no... If you do transfer eshop you do lose your wallet …unfortunately, no... If you do transfer eshop you do lose your wallet balance. Even when you transfer back its gone

Damn, I got like £25 on my account ready to be used on good deals (particularly waiting for games like Doom to get lower, probably around sub £20 so I have some left over for another game. Rocket League is like £12 atm but I clocked the hell out of the game and Platinumed it on PS4) and was hoping to be able to use that on foreign eshops (with the credit possibly being converted to the foreign currency. Oh well...
4th Apr 2018
FriendlyFyre03/04/2018 22:01
Go onto the app, select the tab that says 'Cards' make sure you have …Go onto the app, select the tab that says 'Cards' make sure you have created a Revolut cardWhen on the eshop, go to pay for an item and input the details for the card held on the Revolut app into the eShop 'Credit card' payment method

Question! When I go to Cards, my virtual card has no details; everything is starred out. For info, I’ve topped up £20 and verified my ID.