The Nintendo Switch is now available worldwide, but has launched with a rather barren eShop, meaning you’ll have to rely on Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to keep you busy for a while.
However, over on the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop, they’ve got some juicy timed exclusives that you might want to. get on your US or EU Switch right now.
Well, there’s actually a way to do that and because the Switch is region-free, anything you buy on the Japanese eShop will be playable on your non-Japanese console.
Here’s an easy step-by-step guide on how to access the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop:
1. Sign up for another Nintendo Account
On your computer or phone, go to accounts.nintendo.com and sign up for another Nintendo account. You’ll need to fill in all your details including date of birth, nickname, email address and password.
Remember to use a different email address to the one you’ve used for your “main” Nintendo Account that will have all your save games linked to it. You’ll also need access to this email account because you’ll be sent a confirmation code to that address.
2. Set your country of residence to Japan
This is the most important part of this setup process. Remember to set your country of residence to Japan, rather than the US or the UK. This will set your eShop region when you sync it with your Switch, so don’t forget.
3. Check your email
After you’ve clicked submit, you’ll be sent an email to this secondary email account containing a 4-digit passcode to confirm your account. Now you’ve got a Japanese Nintendo Account and will soon be able to get downloading.
4. Create another user account on your Switch
Go to the settings on your Switch by tapping the cog icon on the home screen and then head to “Users”. Then you’ll need to choose to “Add User”.
5. Link the new account with your Japanese Nintendo Account
Once you’ve picked an icon and nickname for your new user, you’ll be given the option to link it with your Japanese Nintendo Account through a screen like the one above. Just sign in with your Japanese account’s email address and password and you’re ready to go.
Whenever you tap the eShop icon you’ll be able to choose which account to access it from. To view your local eShop, choose your main account, or for the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop, choose your new user profile.
Things to bear in mind when using the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop
- The Japanese eShop currently has exclusives including Puyo Puyo Tetris, Dragon Quest Heroes I.II for Nintendo Switch and Disgaea 5 Complete.
- Anything you download from the Japanese game store can only be played with your Japanese account
- Not everything will be playable in English. That’ll depend on whether the game has an English language option available, so be prepared to play some titles totally in Japanese. Both the Japanese version of I Am Setsuna and Disgaea 5 Complete have English text options.
- You’ll probably have to pay a conversion fee when you buy games from the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop.
The Nintendo Switch is available worldwide from March 3 2017 priced at $299.99/£279.99.