How to Change Region in Nintendo Account (Quick Guide + Gotchas)

Changing the **region** on your Nintendo Account is possible, but it comes with a few important conditions: you usually need to clear your eShop balance, cancel auto-renewals, and understand that some purchases and services are region-locked.

Quick Scoop: Basic Steps

1. Change Region on Your Nintendo Account (Web)

This is the official method Nintendo documents for changing your country/region.

  1. Go to the Nintendo Account website and sign in to your account.
  2. Go to User Information (or User Info) in your profile.
  3. In the Profile section, find Country/region and select Change.
  4. Pick your new country/region from the dropdown.
  5. Select Save changes.
  6. Read the information shown about changing country/region, then confirm with I agree to apply the change.

After this, your Nintendo Account will be tied to the new region for eShop and related services.

Important Warnings Before You Switch

Nintendo warns that changing your region isn’t just cosmetic; there are real consequences.

  • You may need to:
    • Spend any unspent Nintendo eShop balance before changing.
* **Cancel automatic renewal** for Nintendo Switch Online, PokĂŠmon HOME Premium, and other recurring passes.

* **Cancel outstanding pre-orders** tied to the old region.
  • Some previously purchased content or services might not be available in the new region’s eShop.
  • Child accounts (around age 15 and under, depending on region) cannot change country/region individually ; they follow the family/parent settings.

Think of it as “moving” your digital identity: your store, currency, and content availability all shift.

How to Change Region on the Switch Console Itself

You can also adjust the console’s region in System Settings, which is slightly different from the account’s country but closely related when you use the eShop.

  1. On your Nintendo Switch HOME Menu, open System Settings.
  2. Scroll down and select System.
  3. Choose Region.
  4. Select your desired region (for example: The Americas, Europe, Japan, Australia/New Zealand, Hong Kong/Taiwan/South Korea).
  1. Agree to the region’s End-User License Agreement (EULA).
  2. Restart the console when prompted to apply the change.

This affects which regional eShop and content you see when combined with your account’s region settings.

Why People Are Changing Regions Lately (Trending Context)

Recently, there’s been ongoing discussion in Nintendo communities about switching regions to:

  • Access games released earlier in another region.
  • Take advantage of regional sales and pricing differences.
  • Download titles that are not officially available in their home country (for example, certain Japanese-only releases).

Forum and Reddit threads also frequently mention confusion about what happens to old purchases when you change your main account region, especially regarding DLC compatibility and re-downloading titles.

Common Issues and Tips

Players often run into these snags when learning how to change region in Nintendo Account:

  • “I can’t change my region at all.”
    • Usually because there’s remaining eShop balance , active subscriptions , or pre-orders on the account.
  • “My previous purchases are acting weird.”
    • Some games and DLC are region-locked , so a game bought in one region might not recognize DLC bought from another region’s eShop.
  • “I just want games from another region without messing up my main account.”
    • A popular workaround is creating a separate Nintendo Account set to the target region, then using that on the same Switch to access that region’s eShop.

If you’re moving countries for real (not just for deals), doing a proper region change on your main account usually makes more long-term sense.

Mini FAQ

Q: Do I need a new account, or can I just change the region on my current one?
You can change the region on your current Nintendo Account via the User Information page, provided you meet the conditions like clearing balance and subscriptions.

Q: What happens to my existing games?
In most cases you can still play games you already downloaded, but availability of re-downloading them or using DLC can depend on regional compatibility rules.

Q: Is this reversible?
You can change again later, but each time you’re subject to the same conditions (no leftover balance, no active subscriptions, etc.), and Nintendo can update policies over time.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.