Nintendo Switch EShop Makes It Easier To Buy Games From Japan And Elsewhere

Nintendo Switch owners now have a new way to pay for games on the Eshop. According to Nintendo Everything, the Japanese Switch eShop now supports PayPal as a payment option, and the functionality has since arrived in other regions.

The support for PayPal in Japan specifically is relevant to international Switch owners. Thanks to the system being region free, it's easy to create a Japanese Eshop account to purchase Japan-only games--that's how you can grab the recent Monster Hunter XX demo. With PayPal support added, the process for purchasing Japanese games becomes even easier.

As Nintendo Everything reminds us, PayPal was already a supported payment option when buying games through Nintendo's website. Nintendo has since confirmed with GameSpot that Switch's PayPal support will also be available in the UK, and it looks to be coming online around the world.

In other news about the Switch's eShop, Nintendo announced this week that a free demo for Pokken Tournament DX will be released into the store "soon." While the Switch may be getting PayPal support soon, the hybrid console is still without streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. These services, along with others and further functionality of all kinds, may be rolled out at a later date.

Currently, online multiplayer is free for Switch. However, in 2018 Nintendo will launch its online membership programming, charging $4/month or $20/year for a subscription. This is substantially below the rates that Microsoft and Sony charge for their services, though it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.