Time to sit down for another YvoCaro Plays. As always, these blurbs are mostly about the video games I’m currently playing. Unedited thoughts that spring up in my mind, mostly game related. And sometimes a random train of thoughts starting with the game and ending somewhere completely different.
It’s only fair to warn you that spoilers might sometimes be included. If you like these bits of gaming thoughts you can find the previous ones here
Keeping an eye on the Japanese Switch eShop
A while back I wrote a piece here reminding people how easy it is to add another account to your Switch in another region. Over here at LadiesGamers it’s kinda of a must. The review codes we get aren’t always in the preferred region so we have to be flexible. For the European, Australian and American eShop it’s easiest, as they all come in English. The Japanese eShop can be a challenge though, as the setting, of course, is in Japanese. Lucky for us, we seldom have a code for a Japanese game, as it would pose quite a challenge for most of us. (If you want to add another region account, find the info here)
Putting funds on such a foreign account can be a challenge though.You see, you can’t use a foreign credit card: it can only be used in your own region. Really weird, don’t you agree? If I was Nintendo I’d take all the revenues I could get. Also, you can only link your PayPal to the region where you live.
You can only resort to buying eShop cards online. Companies like PlayAsia and Amazon. I always use the CardCloset, but I’m sure there are many good ones out there, who will send you the code for the eShop card through email. You do have to pay a fee of course, but in a matter of hours you would be good to go.
Now I do see not everyone wants to painstakingly translate the game they are playing. I’ve pretty much given up on it to due to a lack of time. But ever since the Switch, there’s a nice surprise: some games have various language settings and come in English too! Checking out a game in the eShop, you will find the languages under the game’s detail. Look for the first bar that has this: 日本語.
If behind that there’s 英語 than you are in luck: the game is in English too. Perfectly Nintendo has put up a list of those games, which you can find here.
Hardly any differences in release dates anymore
This brings me to the next thing I wanted to discuss with you. I’ve bought the Japanese game Happy Birthdays last year because it was released months earlier in the Land of the Rising Sun. And I have my eye on Little Friends: Cats and Dogs, for all you Nintendogs fans out there. It’s said to have an english setting too, but I heard a couple of weeks ago that it just might hit the Western eShop this Spring too.
What I wanted to say is: the Switch isn’t region locked as the 3DS was. But somehow, release dates don’t vary as much as they used to anymore. My Japanese account stems from the time that I imported a Japanese 3DS with the specific goal of trying my hand at games in that language. My motivation at the time was that Japan had games that never came to the West.
I played Fantasy Life on it, Okaeri Chibi Robo , the first YoKai Watch and Ni no Kuni. And of course the fourth game of Tongari Boushi, as here in the West we only every got the first one, Magician’s Quest. Some eventually made it to Europe or America, but not all: Tongari Boushi never did despite massive fan support, neither did Okaeri Chibi Robo. 
Nowadays almost all games get released in all regions. And fairly close together too, in release date. I wonder why that is? As most games are in English I never understood why there would sometimes be such a gap between a European and American release date anyway.
Is it because the video games market is booming? Is it more profitable now to release world wide, or is the distribution network with digital releases no confining factor anymore? What do you think, and do you ever go for a game in another region?
With that I’m letting you go. Thanks for reading, and Happy Gaming!