Posted 13 February 2021
Guide to buying Nintendo Switch games from other regions (including USA, Russia, South Africa, Japan etc)
Since the Nintendo Switch is region free, it is possible to buy games from other regions to save more money. This post should hopefully guide you through the process and will be updated should anything change or when other regions become accessible. I'll attempt to support the thread with answers to questions and will welcome corrections and suggestions.
This is not against Nintendo's terms of service and is referred to in their support pages.
Generally speaking, Nintendo Switch games are cheaper in other regions, this can be seen when viewing eShop-prices.com.
Unfortunately, South American regions are usually cheaper by far but due to the complex nature of some of these stores, buying from Argentina, Brazil and (probably) Mexico won't be covered here.
Currently,Russia and South Africa are usually cheaper than the UK for most games, sometimes Norway or Poland too. The process for buying from these regions is the same and is detailed below.
Bear in mind that some stores accept PayPal and others not.
Please read the complete guide before proceeding.
Buying from EU regions (including South Africa andRussia):
1.On a browser, select your game
2.Sign in with the same account as is on your console
3.Click profile picture
4.Click User Information
5.Click Profile
6.Change region
7.Buy game with Credit card or PayPal (depending on region)
*Check that English language support is present
8.Game will download automatically
9.Switch region back to UK
*It's advisable to use a translator such as the one built into Google Chrome on foreign sites
NB.
If you have credit on your eShop account you may lose it or be unable to change regions, spend the balance before switching.
If you have a Nintendo network id linked to your account, unlink it to change regions (can be linked back after).
Also, if you have an active NSO membership set to auto renew, you will need to cancel auto renew. Same applies to Pokémon home.
Gold Coins will stay in the region you gained them, so if you purchase from a foreign store you will gain coins to be used at that specific region. These will not be lost by switching.
Note* If the account is registered to a child, it may not be possible to change back to UK after switching. Please consider this prior to changing region.
Payments by PayPal and credit cards will be charged a conversion fee, it is preferable to use a fee free card such as Revolut or Monzo.
PayPal conversation rates.
Buying from the US eShop
For buying from the US eShop it is advisable to create a US account and buy US eShop credit (it is technically possible to change regions as for EU shops, but due to the payment method you'll very likely be 'stuck' in the US until you spend all of your bought credit).
1.Create a US account here
2.Register this US account on your console, using the same email address you used to create the account.
3. UK payment methods won't work on the US eShop, you'll need to buy US eShop credit, eg:
pcgamesupply
CDKeys
BestBuy
Offgamers
Playasia
When buying from these retailers, you'll likely need a US address. Use an address with an Oregon or Alaska zip code for tax free purchases.
4.Add the credit to your US eShop account: How to Add Funds to Nintendo Switch US eShop account.
5.Buy the game from Nintendo eShop USA
6.You should now have a US account on your console, the games from this account can be accessed in the same way as your UK account by selecting your new profile.
Buying from Japanese eShop
1.Create a Japanese Nintendo account.
2.Register the account on your console with the same email address.
3. UK payment methods won't work on the Japanese eShop, you'll need to buy eShop Yen credit eg:
Offgamers
Playasia
4.Add the credit to your new Japanese account.
5.Buy the game from Japanese eshop
6.You should now have a Japanese account on your console, the games from this account can be accessed in the same way as your UK account by selecting your new profile.
*It's advisable to use a translator such as the one built into Google Chrome on foreign sites
Always check that the game you are buying from Japan has English Language support.
Links:
Nintendo eShop South Africa
Nintendo eShop Poland
Nintendo eShop Switzerland
Nintendo eShop UK
Nintendo eShop USA
Nintendo eShop Norway
Nintendo eShop Japan
Nintendo eShop region select page
Revolut
Monzo
pcgamesupply
CDKeys
BestBuy
Offgamers
Playasia
Japanese eShop games with English language support
Nintendo Switch US Tax Free Zip Code for Nintendo eShop
Currency Converter
eShop-prices.com
This is not against Nintendo's terms of service and is referred to in their support pages.
Generally speaking, Nintendo Switch games are cheaper in other regions, this can be seen when viewing eShop-prices.com.
Unfortunately, South American regions are usually cheaper by far but due to the complex nature of some of these stores, buying from Argentina, Brazil and (probably) Mexico won't be covered here.
Currently,
Bear in mind that some stores accept PayPal and others not.
Please read the complete guide before proceeding.
Buying from EU regions (including South Africa and
1.On a browser, select your game
2.Sign in with the same account as is on your console
3.Click profile picture
4.Click User Information
5.Click Profile
6.Change region
7.Buy game with Credit card or PayPal (depending on region)
*Check that English language support is present
8.Game will download automatically
9.Switch region back to UK
*It's advisable to use a translator such as the one built into Google Chrome on foreign sites
NB.
If you have credit on your eShop account you may lose it or be unable to change regions, spend the balance before switching.
If you have a Nintendo network id linked to your account, unlink it to change regions (can be linked back after).
Also, if you have an active NSO membership set to auto renew, you will need to cancel auto renew. Same applies to Pokémon home.
Gold Coins will stay in the region you gained them, so if you purchase from a foreign store you will gain coins to be used at that specific region. These will not be lost by switching.
Note* If the account is registered to a child, it may not be possible to change back to UK after switching. Please consider this prior to changing region.
Payments by PayPal and credit cards will be charged a conversion fee, it is preferable to use a fee free card such as Revolut or Monzo.
PayPal conversation rates.
Buying from the US eShop
For buying from the US eShop it is advisable to create a US account and buy US eShop credit (it is technically possible to change regions as for EU shops, but due to the payment method you'll very likely be 'stuck' in the US until you spend all of your bought credit).
1.Create a US account here
2.Register this US account on your console, using the same email address you used to create the account.
3. UK payment methods won't work on the US eShop, you'll need to buy US eShop credit, eg:
pcgamesupply
CDKeys
BestBuy
Offgamers
Playasia
When buying from these retailers, you'll likely need a US address. Use an address with an Oregon or Alaska zip code for tax free purchases.
4.Add the credit to your US eShop account: How to Add Funds to Nintendo Switch US eShop account.
5.Buy the game from Nintendo eShop USA
6.You should now have a US account on your console, the games from this account can be accessed in the same way as your UK account by selecting your new profile.
Buying from Japanese eShop
1.Create a Japanese Nintendo account.
2.Register the account on your console with the same email address.
3. UK payment methods won't work on the Japanese eShop, you'll need to buy eShop Yen credit eg:
Offgamers
Playasia
4.Add the credit to your new Japanese account.
5.Buy the game from Japanese eshop
6.You should now have a Japanese account on your console, the games from this account can be accessed in the same way as your UK account by selecting your new profile.
*It's advisable to use a translator such as the one built into Google Chrome on foreign sites
Always check that the game you are buying from Japan has English Language support.
Links:
Nintendo eShop South Africa
Nintendo eShop Poland
Nintendo eShop Switzerland
Nintendo eShop UK
Nintendo eShop USA
Nintendo eShop Norway
Nintendo eShop Japan
Nintendo eShop region select page
Revolut
Monzo
pcgamesupply
CDKeys
BestBuy
Offgamers
Playasia
Japanese eShop games with English language support
Nintendo Switch US Tax Free Zip Code for Nintendo eShop
Currency Converter
eShop-prices.com
Community Updates
190 Comments
sorted byeneba.com/nin…ico
Hope this helps some
nintendo.co.uk/Sup…tml
I'd just turn off auto renewal completely tbh, the price you'd be paying direct from Nintendo is way higher than CDKeys or Shopto.
If you really want to leave it on, the best way to get the Russian price is to open a Russian Nintendo account
Hi mate. 30 is decent for digital I reckon, an eShop UK sale would likely be £33.29 but there's no guarantee when that will happen. Last time I used offgamers I'm pretty sure I paid in GBP but will have to check back. I'm also pretty sure the Japanese eShop won't accept any cards with a UK address but it might be worth trying just in case
Edit.
Here's the option to pay in GBP
Hi
Glad you got it sorted, I was going to suggest the Hong Kong eShop or maybe a physical copy but sounds like you've already purchased. The other thing I was looking at just now was Amazon US were selling $50 eShop credit for $45 so maybe look into that for future purchases.
Cheers for the heads up on the password manager, I could definitely do with one of those
Edit:
Here's the eShop Amazon credit
amazon.com/50-eShop-Gift-Card/dp/B01M1VX5UJ?tag=dekudeals-20&pldnSite=1&dplnkId=bccad718-bc4d-4163-94a2-78e116beca07
Edit 2:
The DLC may not be region locked, it's dependent on the game. I've not bought cross region DLC so am looking into it and will get back to you
Edit 3: I knew I'd seen it somewhere, have a read of this :
'Got a copy of a Switch game from a different region and want to know if DLC from your region's eShop works or not? Or if English will be supported? Here's how you check.
Most Switch games are compatible with DLC from every region, but some games are only compatible with DLC from the regions they're made for. This is valuable information, because often people will buy a game online and get a copy from another region than they live in or have their console set to, and in some places with no official Nintendo support, games from many regions are available for sale.
For example, if you buy a copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you can buy the DLC for it on any region's eShop.
However, if you buy a copy of Splatoon 2, you can only buy the DLC for it from the region of the cartridge.
How do I check if DLC works?
The way to check if it will work is very simple:
Highlight the software on the main menu.
Select Software Information, and then select Nintendo eShop.
Select your account for the eShop.
If it is compatible with DLC from your region, you will be taken to the eShop page for the game. If it is not compatible with DLC from your region, you will get Error Code: 2811-6003 with the message "Software currently unavailable." (edited)
You should be able to use Revolut, I have previously, but I think you need a US address for Amazon purchases. I'll just double check myself
Yeah, you need a US address in your Amazon address book. I've managed this previously but I know some people have had issues buying this way
Edit:
On your UK account go to manage your content and devices, then preferences. Change content region to the US. Also use a tax free US state address (edited)
3rd party games do drop in price considerably, and some can be got from other regions for a fraction of the UK prices
eshop-prices.com/?cu…GBP is a good site to get an idea of some price differences.
Switch games do look expensive on the surface compared to other platforms, but the fact is that if you buy wisely you can often sell on the game for not much less than you bought it for a few years down the line (1st party that is).
As for digital, wait for a sale, and then check for the cheapest region that will accept your payment method (edited)
There's no problem with having an extra account on your console (it just appears as another profile), you can have up to 8 and all accounts can play all games (edited)
That's regardless of how much you paid for it, it's full RRP if it's bought from outside of the eShop
Unless I'm missing something all I can see is that you have to buy it alongside a membership
Cheers mate, let me know if you see any errors
True, if you buy lots from a certain region it can be worth having an account there. Thing is, I've got about 5 Nintendo accounts and keeping up with the email addresses and passwords is a bit if a pain so I usually just region swap for EU.
How did you get payment accepted in Mexico btw?
Yeah, it's still yours on your account. It's just the region has been changed for the purchase and it stays linked to your account (if you change regions, it's the same account as before). When you change back to the UK, there's no difference to the download to one having been bought from the UK.
With a separate account (eg US), the game is linked to that account but can still be played by all accounts on that console.
Edit. If you were to delete the game from your console, games purchased from your other accounts (eg US) would need to be downloaded using the same account as the purchase.
If you delete a game that you have bought from an EU region (including Russia and SA) you can re download as usual. However, if you've switched region to buy or redeem a code from a non EU region (eg US), you'd need to switch regions to re-download.
It sounds complicated, or I'm explaining it badly, but it's quite straightforward in reality. (edited)
As I said in the other thread, EU accept UK cards and some accept PayPal.
You don't need a separate account for those you can just change regions.
The stores it's worth having a separate account in are US and Japan
I eventually got it to work with a US PayPal account I setup but it took a number of attempts!
Hi Pirate1 and thanks for the guide!
Maybe a stupid question but can I ask you if you need a different email for each account? (edited)
You do, yeah. What I've done is use the Gmail dot thing (yourusual.email@gmail.com) and that works fine
Yes, that's correct.
Just to clarify, it doesn't matter which method you use, either works fine, it's more about which suits your usage.
For me, I already have 2 UK accounts, a US account and a Japanese account and it gets complicated at times managing all of the log in details just for those. Therefore, for EU regions I switch regions (as I never keep credit in my account).
For someone who keeps credit in their account(s), the only feasible method is to create an account for each region. (edited)
Hi.
There's a few answers to this. Firstly, if you switch regions you are still using the same account, even after switching back to UK the game will be playable as before (any user on that console, or any user on a console with that account).
If you're opening a new account to buy from another region, the games downloaded on that account can be played by all users on that console also, and on any console with that account logged in.
I'm not sure if that's answered your questions or not, let me know if that's not clear.
Edit.
Maybe give an example of what you want to buy, and what you hope to be able to do once bought (edited)
Have you followed the guide correctly ?
If so, when you go to this page nintendo.ru/-/Nintendo-Switch/Mario-Rabbids--1233954.html?nsuid=70010000000818
you should be able to buy the game
Edit. You may need to refresh the page (edited)
Good job too, Switch games hold there value for sure!
The coins don't get lost, they stay in the region you gained them and can be used in the region you gained them. (edited)
Could try Play Asia, they sell US credit. As do CDkeys
cdkeys.com/nintendo/eshop-topup-cards/nintendo-eshop-card-10-usd
Edit.
According to the Japanese site, it does have English language support:
store-jp.nintendo.com/lis…tml (edited)
Ah, I've just got it via playasia.
Never mind, thanks so much for the support!
There was some stuff online about the Japanese version having characters named differently. I'm willing to pay a few extra quid for a dive in familiar street fighter nostalgia (edited)
Hi. I've not seen it that cheap from CD Keys, physical you can sometimes get it for around that but it's never had an eShop sale yet. I'll keep my eyes open for you as sometimes US retailers have it on sale
HI @pirate1 today i bite the bullet today and purchased using US eshop.
Bought gift cards from offgamers and used your tutorial to download it, used a new account rather using my main UK account.
Costed me 48£ and i think its the best price i can get
Thanks for your help.
Can I download any DLC (fighter pass) on this or should DLC must be US ones too.
Thanks again.
one more thing i want to add, if you are struggling to remember all your passwords then you can use bitwarden to store all your passwords. I have been using that too for password management (free of cost and cloud based). (edited)
amazon.com/Sup…8-2 (edited)
Hi. For new 1st party games I almost always get physical, often Currys will have a code taking it down to £34.99. Hopefully that will be the case with those too, Argos sometimes get in on it too on release day. What usually happens is a retailer drops price to £39.99, then Currys match that but add a £5 off code too.
Wasn't the easiest with it being in Japanese but the guide is excellent and it's being downloaded as we speak
Can't say I've learnt any Japanese but maybe next time.
Thank you ,shame I can't give you any Heat but this would be at the top.