Switch gamers, your prayers have been answered: the Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Switch Online services are finally going live in the Philippines. Starting November 10th, Filipino Switch and Switch 2 gamers can finally enjoy proper online gaming support and convenient game shopping.
Prior to this, Filipino gamers had to rely on workarounds to enjoy online play and eShop offers. The most common tactic was to register a Nintendo account set to a different region (like Japan, Hong Kong, or the US). It was hardly an ideal experience, with plenty of downsides ranging from unfavorable exchange rates and conversions to the outright inability to make purchases due to being flagged by Nintendo’s internal system.
PHOTO BY Nintendo
Details have been light so far beyond the initial announcement. Nintendo has yet to share how account transfers will work or which payment channels will be available at launch. While Nintendo will likely share more information ahead of time, Filipino gamers should watch out now if they have any remaining eShop balance from a different region.
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Per Nintendo’s support articles, a Nintendo Account can’t change regions or countries if it still has balance left. Gamers will need to spend that remaining balance entirely before the system will let them change regions. Still, we’d suggest holding off on spending until Nintendo shares more about the PH launch.
PHOTO BY TopGear.com
Besides the eShop, Nintendo Switch Online services will finally be available for Filipino gamers soon. The subscription enables online play for first-party Nintendo games, save data cloud backups, and access to official classic game emulation. That last bit in particular should be interesting to gamers fond of retro titles like the Pokémon games on GameBoy Advance.
As with the eShop, details on Nintendo Switch Online services in the Philippines are minimal at the moment. Based on other regions, gamers can expect two tiers to be available: Standard and Expansion Pack. Pricing for a Standard membership should be around P1,250 yearly, while the Expansion Pack is at P2,750. Actual pricing will likely be affected by things like taxes and currency exchange rates, so stay tuned for official word from Nintendo.
PHOTO BY Nintendo
Of course, for gamers who prefer to buy their games physically or stick with single player titles, it’ll be business as usual before and after November 10. Existing Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 functionality shouldn’t be affected, but at least the above services mentioned will be available to check out.