Nintendo Switch eShop (Finally) Saves Your Credit Card Info
A new update makes the days of entering your name and credit card number every time you want to buy a game a thing of the past.
Nintendo rolled out an update for the Switch this week that lets you save your credit card information in the eShop, facilitating smoother digital shopping (via Polygon). Before this week's update, you had to enter your name, credit card info, and billing address every time you made a purchase in the eShop, even during the same shopping session.
That this feature, considered the norm in virtually every other digital storefront, took this long too implement shows just how many corners Nintendo had to cut to get the Switch onto store shelves before the end of March, the end of their 2017 fiscal year. Wii, Wii U, and 3DS consoles have been able to hold on to your your credit card info for years.
You shouldn't have to download an update to roll this feature into your Switch. Switch's eShop functions like a web browser, which means updates go live more or less instantly. Incidentally, my total lack of impulse control when buying video games just became a bigger problem.
As a Switch owner, I've had a blast with Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I've divided my gaming time between titles such as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove Edition and Snipperclips. So, just to be clear, I'm a satisfied customer.
With that said, I've been feeling the absence of staple features such as stored credit card information (no longer a problem) and, in particular, the lack of Virtual Console support. When Nintendo ran its "Mar10" sale on Super Mario games on Virtual Console for Wii U and 3DS two months ago, I couldn't help thinking that adding Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3 to my Switch would be perfect for occasions when I want to play a game but only have one level's worth of time.
More to the point, I'm hesitant to spend any more money Virtual Console games for Wii U and 3DS. Why would I invest in those ecosystems when we still don't know whether eShop purchases on last-gen hardware will carry over to Switch, the Nintendo console I plan on playing most often for the next four or five years?
E3 is right around the corner, so Nintendo could be sitting on an announcement until then. Regardless, the Switch's feature set—which Nintendo has done a terrible job of explaining—has felt threadbare since launch despite a steadily growing and solid library. While I don't regret being an early adopter, I understand those consumers who opted to wait on pulling the trigger until this summer or fall, by which time the Switch should be more of a complete package and less like a toy with pieces missing from the box.
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replyDavid Craddock posted a new article, Nintendo Switch eShop (Finally) Saves Your Credit Card Info
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Well that's nice to know. I still don't put my card number into these things because that way I don't impulse purchase as much and it's less likely to be stolen.
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