In order to purchase digital content from the eShop of the Nintendo Switch, 3DS and Wii U, you will need funds in your wallet. One of the ways to add funds to your account is via prepaid cards. So are the Nintendo eShop Prepaid Cards worth buying? Before you decide for yourself, you can take a look at a few factors below.
Available Options
You can purchase eShop Prepaid Cards in various increments on Amazon. When purchased, a 16-character code will be sent to your email. You can then input these codes into your eShop account to add funds to your digital wallet. You can check out the available options for the prepaid cards, as well as the images that represent them, below:
$5 Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card
$10 Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card
$20 Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card
$35 Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card
$45 Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card
$50 Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card
$70 Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card
Multiple Platforms Support
One of the benefits of Nintendo eShop Prepaid Cards is that the funds added to your account can be used across the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii U platforms. So, if you own all three platforms and buy a lot of digital contents, then you might consider getting a prepaid card.
Digital Only Games
Video game publishers, including Nintendo, are increasingly pushing towards digital releases. All retail Switch games, for example, are also available digitally on the eShop. Not to mention that there are countless digital-only titles on the Switch, 3DS and Wii U. If you are exclusively buying physical games on your Nintendo platforms, you are simply missing out on a lot of great digital-only games.
Digital Sales
If you are a long time Nintendo fan, you should know that the company usually wait for a long time to drop the prices of their games, if they do so at all. Fortunately, the company is a lot of lenient when it comes to sales of digital content. This is becuase there is no middleman that will take away a percentage of the transaction. Not to mention that Nintendo don’t have to worry about manufacturing and shipping physical copies, which can often lead to shortages that could end up increasing the prices of physical games.
So, if you want to save money, it may be best to opt for digital contents as opposed to physical releases as the former are more likely to be discounted.
Importing Nintendo Switch digital games
The aforementioned prepaid cards are used for U.S. accounts. For the uninformed, the Switch is Nintendo’s first ever region-free system, meaning that you can play games from different regions without having to modify your hardware. Thus, even if you live outside the United States, you can still use the U.S. eShop.
This is important because some games will come out in North America before other regions. Not to mention that it may sometimes be easier and cheaper to import digital games as opposed to buying them in a non-US region.
So, if you are planning to use the U.S. eShop a lot even if you are not living in the country, one of the most convenient ways to add funds to your wallet is through prepaid cards.
Gifting
Currently, there is no way to gift games directly on the eShops of the Switch, 3DS and Wii U. So, if you want to give something that is only available in digital form as a present to a loved one, the only real way to do so is by purchasing a prepaid card.
With that said, Amazon has been adding digital games and DLC for the Switch, 3DS and Wii U on their storefront, which make gifting these select titles somewhat easier.
Drawback
The only real drawback to using prepaid cards is that you can’t buy the exact amount you need. If you are a little short of funds to purchase a game in the eShop, for example, you have to either use a credit card to add the remaining amounts or purchase another prepaid card in the aforementioned increments.
How to redeem the Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card on the Switch
In order to redeem the eShop Prepaid Card codes on the Nintendo Switch, you can take the following steps:
- From the main menu of the system, head to the orange shopping bag logo to access the eShop.
- Afterwards, choose the primary account holder of the system.
- On the left side, scroll all the way down and select “Enter Code.”
- Enter the 16-character code you got from Amazon and press A to confirm in order to add funds to the digital wallet of your eShop account.
How to redeem the Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card on the 3DS
To redeem digital eShop codes to your account on the Nintendo 3DS, follow these steps:
- Go to the orange shopping bag logo from the main menu.
- Once you are in the digital store, you can scroll the top half options to the left until you can select “Add Funds” and then pick the “Redeem a Nintendo eShop Card” option.
- Enter your 16-character code and then select “OK” to add the funds to your digital wallet.
How to redeem the Nintendo eShop Prepaid Card on the Wii U
To add the eShop Prepaid Card funds on your Nintendo Wii U, take the following steps:
- From the main menu of the system, go to the orange shopping bag symbol to go the eShop.
- On the front page of the digital store, press the + button on your Wii U Gamepad controller to add to your current balance.
- On the next screen, select the “Nintendo eShop Card” option.
- Enter your 16-character code and then select OK to add the funds to your digital wallet.
Recap
Aside from a minor drawback, the Nintendo eShop Prepaid Cards are worth buying. This is especially true if you live outside of the United States but still want to use the U.S. eShop for the region-free Nintendo Switch. The cards should also make great gifts as many digital games and content can only be found on the eShop.
