D4rkDragon
Lemon Dragon
Towns Folk
Hello,
If you're like me, and like not having to carry around lots of cartridges, having the games stored on the Switch's internal storage or a SD Card is great. But as we all know, digital games are awfully priced, even more so on the eShop. But fear not ! As I have found (hopefully) a trick (well, not really) that allows you to get most known games for slightly cheaper. It's called Amazon Japan.
How does it work:
1. Go to amazon.jp, and type the game you want in the search bar.
2. Look for an image of the box art with ダウンロード版 (digital version for those who don't know).
3. Add it to your cart.
4. You may have to make an Amazon Japan account. No, you can't use your region's Amazon account.
5. Use a fake address generator for Japan. Before anybody gets concerned: No, nobody will get a letter saying you purchased "insert game title here". It's just needed, for some reason.
6. Once it's done, and you have your Amazon Account, buy your game.
7. If everything goes smoothly, the specified e-mail address will get a e-mail. Check it.
8. Search for a serial code with ダウンロード番号 (Download Code). That's your download code.
Once you have your code, here comes the tricky part. We'll have to transfer your Nintendo Account to Japan, just for this game. Important note: Reddit users reported on Reddit that the transfer may fail if you have some funds (because of eShop cards) left on your account. Be careful!
How to do it:
1. Go to https://accounts.nintendo.com/
2. Change your region to Japan, and confirm.
3. Confirm, and tada! Your account can now access the Japanese eShop.
Now, time to activate your code. Here's how:
1. Launch the eShop using your transferred account.
2. You'll get an error (probably, only the first time) saying that the eShop can only be displayed in Japanese. Fear not, I'm your guide.
3. Go to ダウンロード番号 in the side bar (seems familiar ?)
4. Input your code, and download your game.
5. Wait for the download to end, and have fun !
A few observations on this:
1. You'll keep the games you've bought when you region transfer. Say you buy Zelda BOTW on Japan because the codes for it are overly expensive at the moment. Well, once you transfer back to Europe/NA, the game will remain unlocked or can be downloaded again from your region's eShop, because, games are tied to your account.
2. Google Translate may help you find your game's name if your search returns no results on Amazon.
3. I know there's Play-Asia, but they don't always have codes (blatant example: Monster Hunter XX)
4. Don't forget to check how much your currency is worth in Japanese Yen before buying ! If you don't, you could end up regretting it or buying the game for more than in your region !
5. Yes, this means that you can get Japan-only games without customs, if you accept having it only digitally.
6. If there's no code in your Amazon mail, check if the transaction occurred on your card. If it didn't, maybe your bank is still working on it, or you did something wrong.
7. No, buying a game on the Japanese eShop doesn't mean it'll be only in Japanese (unless it's JP-only, duh). If you're unsure, search your game in the eShop, and Google Translate your language. Search the result at the bottom of the page (where the game details are). Ex: For French, you'd look for フランス語
That's all, have a merry Christmas !
If you're like me, and like not having to carry around lots of cartridges, having the games stored on the Switch's internal storage or a SD Card is great. But as we all know, digital games are awfully priced, even more so on the eShop. But fear not ! As I have found (hopefully) a trick (well, not really) that allows you to get most known games for slightly cheaper. It's called Amazon Japan.
How does it work:
1. Go to amazon.jp, and type the game you want in the search bar.
2. Look for an image of the box art with ダウンロード版 (digital version for those who don't know).
3. Add it to your cart.
4. You may have to make an Amazon Japan account. No, you can't use your region's Amazon account.
5. Use a fake address generator for Japan. Before anybody gets concerned: No, nobody will get a letter saying you purchased "insert game title here". It's just needed, for some reason.
6. Once it's done, and you have your Amazon Account, buy your game.
7. If everything goes smoothly, the specified e-mail address will get a e-mail. Check it.
8. Search for a serial code with ダウンロード番号 (Download Code). That's your download code.
Once you have your code, here comes the tricky part. We'll have to transfer your Nintendo Account to Japan, just for this game. Important note: Reddit users reported on Reddit that the transfer may fail if you have some funds (because of eShop cards) left on your account. Be careful!
How to do it:
1. Go to https://accounts.nintendo.com/
2. Change your region to Japan, and confirm.
3. Confirm, and tada! Your account can now access the Japanese eShop.
Now, time to activate your code. Here's how:
1. Launch the eShop using your transferred account.
2. You'll get an error (probably, only the first time) saying that the eShop can only be displayed in Japanese. Fear not, I'm your guide.
3. Go to ダウンロード番号 in the side bar (seems familiar ?)
4. Input your code, and download your game.
5. Wait for the download to end, and have fun !
A few observations on this:
1. You'll keep the games you've bought when you region transfer. Say you buy Zelda BOTW on Japan because the codes for it are overly expensive at the moment. Well, once you transfer back to Europe/NA, the game will remain unlocked or can be downloaded again from your region's eShop, because, games are tied to your account.
2. Google Translate may help you find your game's name if your search returns no results on Amazon.
3. I know there's Play-Asia, but they don't always have codes (blatant example: Monster Hunter XX)
4. Don't forget to check how much your currency is worth in Japanese Yen before buying ! If you don't, you could end up regretting it or buying the game for more than in your region !
5. Yes, this means that you can get Japan-only games without customs, if you accept having it only digitally.
6. If there's no code in your Amazon mail, check if the transaction occurred on your card. If it didn't, maybe your bank is still working on it, or you did something wrong.
7. No, buying a game on the Japanese eShop doesn't mean it'll be only in Japanese (unless it's JP-only, duh). If you're unsure, search your game in the eShop, and Google Translate your language. Search the result at the bottom of the page (where the game details are). Ex: For French, you'd look for フランス語
That's all, have a merry Christmas !
