Nintendo Switch 2 To Be Partially Region Locked With Japanese Version And Global Version

UPDATE: The article has been corrected to state that Japanese accounts and Japanese language are supported on the global SKU, and added clarifications on Game Card support

During the April 2nd Nintendo Direct – Nintendo Switch 2 presentation in Japan, multiple SKUs were announced for Nintendo Switch 2 in the Japanese market.

According to Nintendo, a SKU specially made for the Japanese market will be released on June 5, 2025. This SKU will allow Nintendo Account users with their country set to Japan to purchase and play online games, and the only system language that can be used is Japanese. The Japanese SKU will retail for 49,980 yen (inclusive sales tax), or USD334 at the time of writing.

A multi-language global SKU will also be released on the Japanese My Nintendo Store on June 5, and is the same SKU that the rest of the world is using. It supports up to 16 languages including Japanese, and all Nintendo Accounts, regardless of region, can be linked to the global SKU. The global SKU will retail for 69,980 yen (inclusive sales tax), or USD467.

What this means is that it will be possible for users playing on the global SKU to access the Japanese region Nintendo eShop, but it will be impossible for users playing on the Japanese SKU to access the Nintendo eShop in other regions such as the United States.

In practice, this means that the system is partially region locked in a similar fashion to the Tencent Nintendo Switch released in mainland China.

As to whether or not the Japanese SKU and the global SKU will be able to play Game Cards from each other’s regions, Nintendo did not outright say that Game Cards purchased outside Japan cannot work on the Japanese SKU, and worded it in the following way:

“We cannot guarantee that Game Cards purchased outside (Japan) will work on the Nintendo Switch 2 Japan-Only model.”

This wording is similar to the wording used by Nintendo Co Ltd (Japan) and Nintendo of America’s FAQs for Game Card compatibility on Nintendo Switch, which uses a single, global SKU worldwide in all countries excluding mainland China; it basically means that they should work, but they cannot guarantee that it will work because it isn’t something that is tested at lotcheck.

It’s also important to note that even though digital services on the Tencent Nintendo Switch sold in mainland China are region locked, it still allows players to play Game Cards sold outside China.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.