Topic: Visiting the UK, can I buy Switch games there to play on an NA Switch?

For decades the answer to this was simple. You could import GBA titles from Britain because aside from the voltage the systems were identical, but console games were a no-go because of PAL vs. NTSC, and DS/3DS had region locking.

Now, I'm confused. Switch has no region locking, and games should in theory work exactly the same in handheld mode. But will they work in TV mode when I get back to NTSC-Land? Or is PAL/NTSC still a limiting factor?

I've got my eye on Fate/Extella which is not out in NA retail until the 25th, might be nice to pick it up on my trip, especially if there is any difference in packaging (I haven't looked that up, not terribly bothered either way).

While we're on the topic, are there any other Switch games that are out in physical form in the UK and not in NA?

@JasmineDragon Don't worry. If you're getting a retail copy then you can definitely use it on any console regardless of TV mode or Handheld mode. So you can go ahead and buy any retail copy of a game and use it in your Switch without worry. It's a bit different for buying from the eShop though, but it isn't relevant to this discussion as you're buying physical I presume.

To answer your next question NLife just posted an article that says 'Nintendo Download' where both the NA and European games are detailed. So you can compare from there.

@Yasaal Thanks for the info!

@JasmineDragon To answer your second question, I don't think we have any physical releases in the UK that you don't have in the US - it's very much the other way around. Europe is usually at the back of the queue for localisations - apart from back in the day when we got special treatment as Japan's PAL, especially from Sega. We're still waiting on BoI and Cave Story+ over here.