You Can Now Save Credit Card Information on the Switch eShop

Talk about slow and bare bones. I'm not sure about day one, but that feature has been there for yonks on Wii U. Nintendo continuing this piecemeal beta update of Switch. At this rate they might have Virtual Console ready by Christmas and a web browser by 2020. Don't even ask about apps. Or themes, which they so clearly are going to try and milk at some point.

Well done Nintendo. Welcome to 2017

Eagerly awaiting E3 for any announcements regarding missing features and improvements.

And then they have a data breach and your out in the streets!

It's crazy that something simple like this is news for Nintendo.

Are they ever going to implement a shopping cart system ?, so i don't have to go through the tedious process of making single purchases each time.

Good. Now they need to add more browsing categories so titles aren't being buried. That needs to be priority #1 with the eShop, as titles being buried can affect publisher/developer relations.

@WhirlyWoo How often are you buying multiple games?

@NickOfTime90 It happens quite a lot, especially when sales are on. It's a good point, instead of getting credit card charges for each game, you could get one for a single transaction.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Oddly enough I'd say Microsoft is winning the race on the console updates and features front this gen. PS4 is slowly catching up, 3 years later as well, finally getting folders and external HDD support. I'd say we've got another couple of years before the Switch is at full functionality, seems like a good bet based on what we've seen so far.

I don't have a switch yet so it isn't a big deal for me

@NickOfTime90 During the sales, especially with indie games. Not unusual to pick up several at a time and as @SLIGEACH_EIRE said would limit the credit card charges some people get on each purchase.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE @WhirlyWoo Fair enough, I never used a credit card so i didn't know..

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Literally what do you do besides trying to bring down the Switch? The system hasn't even been out for a half a year yet... give it time. I'm pretty sure most consoles UI were bare bones. Have no idea why you support a dead console...

I would love to see all games in one section because I'm pretty sure there are games on there that I forgot about because it has been lost to searching for it.

Yay, making it even easier to buy games. Who needs money anyway?

I wonder if other features will be added little by little, or if all these stability updates are laying the groundwork for a Big Bang (around E3 would be good)

They also added a "View All" shortcut to the bottom of the recent releases section.

Nope. Eshop cards only, with the added advantage that I can occasionally get them at a discount.

finally! Now if only they'd let us add everything to the wishlist or even view said wishlist...

@ANeonChicken His points are quite valid. Having to do several small purchases instead of a consolidated one is an hassle: my credit card company will call me after the second one just to make sure nothing funny was up.

Also, why the interface on the Switch is so bare bones? The Switch itself is easy to program to, they had plenty of time according to most sources and the fact that nothing major came out for the Wii U. Even when the PS3 came out -like 11 years ago- it was more complete (albeit a bit messy) than the Switch's interface is right now.

I'm shocked that this feature wasn't on the console already.

On the subject of the VC, I reckon this time they'll go for a two tier online play model, the higher of which giving users access to a full, growing library of VC titles; a similar model to Netflix, if you will. That's what I'm hoping, anyway.

I don't buy huge amounts of stuff digitally and I never saved the info on my Wii U. However I know people wanted this so good on Nintendo.

In terms of the eshop storefront, I VASTLY prefer this one of the Wii U's which moved at a snail's pace, was constantly loading and on occasion made me give up on a purchase as I got bored of waiting or had other priorities that couldn't wait.

Plus the Switch allows me to shop whilst rumaging around the house.

Fina-freakingly!
It annoys me because I have bought quite a few games already.
Not that it matters that much, as I know every digit on my card number + security code and expiration date, but then I don't have to write it in manually all the time.

How about support for anything else than CC and eShop cards? Both competitors offer PayPal support and local support would be welcome too (iDeal in the Netherlands for example).

I'm sorry to be a bit jaded but I'm not going to congratulate Nintendo just for adding something that is taken for granted on other systems and should have been there from inception - it's not like the eShop is a new invention or anything...

I suppose I should at least find comfort in the fact that it's not another 'stability update'

About time. I just bought it today. Unsavable info in the morning, savable in the evening. It's good. For what it's worth, the store did prompt me to say that they don't offer saving during maintenance as a part of their security policy, so it makes sense.

I'm actually really happy they aren't hurrying.

The Wii U OS was a mess, even if the store was considerably more slick than what was on the Wii.

The Switch is lightyears beyond that in pleasing simplicity, and they really shouldn't sacrifice that in a race to have all the "mandatory" features.

I never like saving my card details - it makes it easier for the kids to go on a spending spree.

@Equinox nope

A step in the right direction. Personally I don't save payment details on Steam etc. preferring them to self destruct rather than be retained on a server somewhere.

Now we need an A-Z of all games and a shopping cart system as well please.

This was my only complaint, really. This will be so much nicer! Awesome!

@gloom It's only news because NintendoLife chose to make it news. It's not like Nintendo are bragging about it.

I've only bought one game on the eshop (Fast RMX) cause I'm more of a Physical kinda guy so I wasn't aware that this was even an issue

For how often I'll be buying stuff on there it's no big deal for me to enter my card details as & when I need to as I'd rather not have them saved on there if possible

Other than a few Virtual Console games I wont ever download that many titles..... always prefer to buy Physical when possible

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Another day, another silly criticism (and almost always first for the people to be reminded)

The Switch is more bare bones than Street Fighter V. So many missing features that should have been included as standard. I can't even download the daily log on my phone, and I shouldn't have to; it should be right there on the main menu. Huge disappointment in several ways.

Good change I missed this one.

I like the switch UI because it's fast. I don't want a gazillion features, I want it instantly. And just the ones that matter.

This is one of them. Great stuff

@NewAdvent The xbox one UI at launch was terrible and messy. The switch's UI is at least simple and easy to navigate.

And my lack of early Switch adoption keeps paying off.
Not a sentence that I'd ever expected to be writing, much less hoped to.

The Switch OS and infrastructure is vastly inferior to the Wii U!
It's fast, though.

Thanks, NL, for the heads up. Will be sure to save my card info when purchasing NBA Playgrounds later today.

The Wii U OS and network infrastructure was way ahead on launch, compared to the disappointing Switch!

Switch versus Wii U on launch:
1. Can't password-protect user. Wii U can.
2. No readable global identifier for friends or people you play with. Wii U had NNIDs.
3. No sorting or categories in eShop. Wii U had this and more.

@ANeonChicken

"@SLIGEACH_EIRE Literally what do you do besides trying to bring down the Switch? The system hasn't even been out for a half a year yet... give it time. I'm pretty sure most consoles UI were bare bones. Have no idea why you support a dead console..."

Bout damn time.

I think you are all missing the point.

I don't know why this wasn't there at launch, but it might explain why paid online wasn't there at launch if they are going to make it a monthly recurring charge, they need to store your CC info somewhere for that. It could be a 1 time yearly payment, but I think they would want auto renewing even then.

So I'm expecting paid online to be discussed sometime between now and E3. Have they even told us price options yet? I believe both Sony and MS offer, 1, 3 or 12 month subscriptions.

@JamesR you allow that? They don't know that that's a "no no"?

paypal or regional payment variants please.

@BornInNorway81 The disappointing Switch..? I would argue with you about the Wii U except I had no idea it was around until two years after its launch. Plus the switch UI is fine for it's state right now.

@BornInNorway81 Also the switch Eshop technically had categories such as Recent Releases and Coming soon not great but categories none the less. The switch Eshop asked you for your password to access it. Really citing password protection as a feature there buddy? You are stretching a bit there.

@BornInNorway81 My whole point was that he is always looking for something to bring down the switch.

Is no one else missing the nice music and jingles that were there on Wii and Wii U menu and eShop? I just hope those would come back... And of course more browsing options in the eShop a la Wii U.

Good news. It's been a bit of an annoyance since launch.

Finally!

So is this information being saved locally like on 3DS and Wii U or on a server?

I prefer not to save credit card details after what happened with Sony and the hacking issue.

I love my Switch but the E shop is arguably one of the, if not the worst "shop" Nintendo has ever made. I'd rank it even lower than the DSi shop.

@ANeonChicken I agree. Remember when the PS3 would not allow you to access the crossmedia bar while playing a game, but the 360 gave you full access to its dashboard? It takes time build out features on a new product. It would just be nice if Nintendo would share parts of the Switch product roadmap with us.

@Equinox Moreso than Nintendo at this point. Like it or not they have a decent library of games, plus backwards compatibility on a couple hundred games from last gen. That might change if they've learned from all of the WiiU's mistakes, but it's too early to tell.

@JudgeMethos well my 5 year old depleted my balance (propably around £30) on random Pokemon stuff she found on the eShop. She's too small to know that she was spending money.

I purposely never save credit card data, not because of breaches, cause that can and has happened anywhere, but forcing myself to enter my info allows me the time to consider my purchase, which is a very good thing.

@AG_Awesome although its clear that the entire Switch eShop is a website behind the scenes. Hopefully this means they can update it very easily and add new features.

I don't know if it's only me but does anyone else get frustrated that the title of the game isn't written clearly for each game on the eShop? I know generally the thumbnails have the title including the name of the game but it just disorients me so much when I want to scroll through the games that are available and I can't really tell what games I'm looking at more immediately. I kind of hope they update titles of games to be written clearly next to the price even though it's probably not that big of a deal.

I am absolutely saying lacking password protection is a stupid thing on a home console, and an even more humongous and moronic problem on a portable console.

@ANeonChicken

"Also the switch Eshop technically had categories such as Recent Releases and Coming soon not great but categories none the less. The switch Eshop asked you for your password to access it. Really citing password protection as a feature there buddy? You are stretching a bit there."

The Switch is fast. That's it.

But it is lacking in so many areas that Wii U had on launch!

Yup! No title printed under thumbnails in the eShop is another thing showing that Nintendo started inventing and developing the Switch October 20, 2016... the day of the reveal.

@chriiiiiiiiiis

"I don't know if it's only me but does anyone else get frustrated that the title of the game isn't written clearly for each game on the eShop? I know generally the thumbnails have the title including the name of the game but it just disorients me so much when I want to scroll through the games that are available and I can't really tell what games I'm looking at more immediately. I kind of hope they update titles of games to be written clearly next to the price even though it's probably not that big of a deal."

@Cosats except that, his criticism wasn't silly at all. Actually very valid, and shared among many outside of the NDF bubble around this place.

Played with my brother's Switch for multiple hours over the weekend, and I am simply amazed at how much I do not care to own this console.

Mind you, I've purchased every Nintendo home console pre-Switch DAY ONE. This thing is so bare bones and featureless in comparison to not only my XB1 but my Wii U as well, that it's kind of absurd. I have a mounted TV above my fireplace and it'd be cool if I could tuck a Switch neatly behind it as my one stop for anything and everything entertainment related. But no. Not a single streaming app, let alone browser.

But more importantly, still not a single must have game.

Well it certainly took them long enough too actually do it.

Thanks but no thanks. Enough things NEED to store CC information. Not a chance I'd store it in yet another system that will be a major target of attacks without having even the security of a bank (and even those aren't secure enough.) I got tired of hitting the "no" button on WiiU/Switch for having to save CC. Not looking forward to it returning. I'll keep buying eShop cards from GameStop and Amazon I suppose.

@rjejr I imagine they'll not require a CC on file, considering they sell plastic eShop cards in every retailer around the country/world, and they certainly don't want the kids to have to go for their parents CCs when a plastic eShop card could renew. I think when the Japan pricing was discussed they said they wanted an annual payment rather than monthly (too many CC fees to keep collecting in small amounts.)

I'd guess you CAN have it auto-renew if you saved the CC, but like PSN it just expires and emails you if it doesn't/cant. I always laughed when PSN would email me at the end of the year that there was a problem billing my payment. Well of COURSE there is, the last card I had on file with them expired 5 years ago.

Wow, that's revolutionary! The Switch is so innovative!
I wish the Wii U had that option... oh wait, it does.

@NEStalgia If it's only yearly then no, they don't need CC info to auto renew. But how many people are going to sign up for yearly online play for what MK8D and Splatoon2? I was happy to see them get NBA yesterday, but I'm still not sure people - outside of Japan - are going to want to pay a year in advance for that.

So basically, if it's only a yearly option and you can't pay $4.99 per month recurring on a CC, well, they're doing it wrong. Again. As usual.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE yes. Nintendo is so show in feature rollout

The main question I have about the Switch eShop: does it continue the cool and changing jingle of the Wii U eShop? I think it's great, especially at Christmas time

@rjejr It depends on pricing. If they're really going to charge $20 a year, a monthly payment that totals 3x the annual price is going to be ridiculed, and charging LESS than that probably makes zero money by the time you're done with CC fees. Apple et all don't actually run the charge right away, it's a pseudo-credit system, they try to bundle multiple purchases over weeks. So all those $.99 charges are billed as a single $15 charge. The gains outweigh the losses from uses you really only bought one thing.

Remember though the online is still paywalled in general. Want to play MK8D, Splatoon 2, Playgrounds, Pokemon (if it's a thing), Street Fighter II, Puyo Tetris, Setsuna's battle mode, RMX, Bomberman, Xenoblade (maybe it has online the same way X did?), Blaster Master Zero, etc, etc, etc online? You pay up for the year. If the price is low enough it's an impulse buy. $20 definitely (2 months of PSN pays for the whole year of NN? That's an easy sell.) $30 is a harder sell but still half the price of PSN's year and 3 months of PSN get you a year of NN. I could see it sell ok.

Maybe they'll do monthly (which would be disastrously overpriced) but it still wouldn't need CC and would take eShop cards. When you're big enough to sell your own digital currency in every supermarket, drug store, and big box store in the world, you leverage that

@GravyThief No music at all right now. Just a simple screen with a New, Best Sellers, Coming Soon, Browse, and Search button. It's simple, effective, works and loads WAY faster than WiiUs But I miss the elevator music

@NEStalgia thanks. I wish the lifts at my work played the Wii U eShop jingles! 😀

@Cosats You think its silly to expect a modern day UI to allow a basic feature that's existed for years? I love my Switch but come on, it is absolutely ridiculous that the system didn't allow such a basic feature at launch.

@NEStalgia If it's only going to be $20 per year, then they should unlock online play w/ the Slpatoon 2 amiibo. Why even have digital currency when you can unlock things w/ an amiibo purchase?

I know, I know, it won't work in practice, but I don't think it will be only $20 per year anywhere, certainly not Canada or South America or post Brexit UK. Maybe Japan, it's a small country. Of course $29.99 looks like $20 to some people, so $30 wouldn't be terrible.

@rjejr Well considering the Amiibo will cost $90 on eBay, maybe you should get a 3 year subscription re-up with that Amiibo based subscription access.....I could actually see that happening at least promotionally.

It's very possible it's $30 here, yeah. That's still half PSN's price. Yeah PSN comes with "free games" (for those that actually download the free games, it's just $60 down the drain for those that just wanted online + cloud saves.) I think we already know it's $20 in Japan. Still why pay $5/mo versus $30/yr? Then again...SMR...

@NEStalgia Well if they did $2.99 a month thats' $36 per yr vs probably $30 yearly so that's a decent trade-off.

BTW I'm one of those people who signs up for HBO for 2 months to watch GoT and Netflix for a month here a month there when I'm in the mood, so I know I'm not a typical subscriber, most people just sign up for those things and forget about it. Heck I even sign up for Amazon Prime the same way, and Gamefly. I do buy PS+ a year at a time b/c on sale for $40 is so much cheaper than monthly or quarterly. But for Switch I'm not sure what I'd do, I don't play very many games online. I want a Switch for offline stuff like Mario Odyssey and Pikmin 4 and other solo story driven adventures. I'm getting old, I may just let the Switch be my kids system and retire from gaming, they can decide what to do about online.

@rjejr I think you're the kind of subscribers those companies actively try to dispose of

Honestly I'm not much of an online gamer. Splatoon hooked me. Some kart or Puyo online is fun. But I mostly like like single player, so I'm not sure if I'll be subscribing beyond year 1 myself. I probably will though. I dropped PSN last price hike so NN could fit in nicely and cloud saves would benefit me if they actually do it since I love physical and expect I'll have 2 switches to swap games between. If the price is $20 or eve $30 it's a no brainer for me.

Haha, you hang out on NL and PS and subscribe to Gamefly and you think you'll retire from gaming? You think you can get out? You can't get out. Once you're in, you're in for life. You need your fix. There is no out. I once thought I'd get out. That was 15 years ago. Get N or Get Out they told me. I got N. You can't get out.

I'd like to see a user rating system.

@NEStalgia Everybody is always actively trying to dispose of me, I speak my mind and call people on their B.S. and try to game the system as much as big companies try to game me. I'm everyone's worst customer.

Well I can't compeltely get out, but there's a difference between buying games and consoles at launch and just playing what my kids buy and leave lieing around the house. If the kids move away to college and take the Switch w/ them I may be game free. My new hobby is laying in my hammock, but I need global warming to kick it up a few degrees first.

Have you seen the new Echo Look or Show or whatever stupid name they gave it? Maybe I can game on that from my hammock?

@rjejr Yeah I never try to game the system...so I always end up behind

Hah, and what's better for laying in the hammock than a Switch? But yeah, it's been crazy cold...we just have permanent fall/winter forever and ever and ever....

I saw that Echo Look....thought of you instantly....and then didn't bother clicking on it to even find out what it was You're going to become one of those Candy Crush, Game of War, Minecraft addicts aren't you?

@NEStalgia "I saw that Echo Look....thought of you instantly"

I'd be insulted but I thought of me instantly too.

Can't have a Switch on the hammcok, it will block the view of my dome screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x43Zo3gAKSs

Did the Candy Crush thing a few years ago for about 18 months. I was trying to reach the end but they kept going, so I finally stopped around level 900 or so. So I'm done w/ all of those. Couldn't even play Fire Emblem.

@BornInNorway81 I never said it was bad thing you are just putting words in my replies that I never put. Sure the Wii U had more features but look it at now..a dead console. Literally give it time and stop being so critical about a system that has been out since march.

@RandomNerds That would be awesome and if they hurried it up too as well lol.

I can be critical when Switch lacks OS and infrastructure features Wii U had at launch in 2012, and even Xbox had in 2002!

Nintendo is 15, fifteen, years behind!

The Switch uses no global, readable, user identifiers, but the Wii U had NNIDs in 2012, and Xbox had Gamertags in 2002!

It's tragically hilarious, really. Nintendo are so inept at anything but the games themselves.

@ANeonChicken

"I never said it was bad thing you are just putting words in my replies that I never put. Sure the Wii U had more features but look it at now..a dead console. Literally give it time and stop being so critical about a system that has been out since march."

@BornInNorway81 You are way to into this... You can add your friends anytime you want on the switch..you have to use the Switch Friend Code. The original xbox which dashboard was this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf-Hsxgk-6c . Oh yeah way better...

Yes, Xbox in 2002 was better; You could actually identify your friends with the Gamertag! Same as on Wii U with NNIDs.

How do you identify friends on the Switch? Please, tell me! Same with strangers; please tell me! Tell me how you identify "Jack" among three friends named the same or among 10,000 random players, please.

@ANeonChicken

"You are way to into this... You can add your friends anytime you want on the switch..you have to use the Switch Friend Code. The original xbox which dashboard was this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf-Hsxgk-6c . Oh yeah way better..."