Going digital...

[Ley]

Hello everyone, so because of the virus, apparently Amazon won't be able to ship ACNH at the day of its release.
So I was thinking about refunding it and buying it through the eShop.

I really wanted to own this game's box and cartridge, but I have no choice but to do it this way
I was wondering... if the Switch online services go offline (like Wii's), will I still be able to download and play the games I bought on the eShop, in this case ACNH?

Thanks.

 

[Tao]

Hello everyone, so because of the virus, apparently Amazon won't be able to ship ACNH at the day of its release.
So I was thinking about refunding it and buying it through the eShop.

I really wanted to own this game's box and cartridge, but I have no choice but to do it this way
I was wondering... if the Switch online services go offline (like Wii's), will I still be able to download and play the games I bought on the eShop, in this case ACNH?

Thanks.

You'll still be able to play it if it's currently downloaded onto your Switch, but if you need to download it after the servers are down then unfortunately not. This obviously goes for all updates, patches and DLC too.

I buy digitally most of the time with Switch, but this is why I also tend to buy a physical copy of the Switch exclusives as well at some point, as well as be choosy when it comes to digital only releases...Well, at least the ones that are pricey.

 

[Ley]

You'll still be able to play it if it's currently downloaded onto your Switch, but if you need to download it after the servers are down then unfortunately not. This obviously goes for all updates, patches and DLC too.

I buy digitally most of the time with Switch, but this is why I also tend to buy a physical copy of the Switch exclusives as well at some point, as well as be choosy when it comes to digital only releases...Well, at least the ones that are pricey.

thanks for your reply. I decided to buy it digitally, and in the future I'll purchase it again physically. or just the box, just for showcasing.

 

[bittermeat]

thanks for your reply. I decided to buy it digitally, and in the future I'll purchase it again physically. or just the box, just for showcasing.

That's exactly what I'm doing. Plus, I'll be playing AC more than any other Switch game, so it'll be nice not to have to constantly take it out.

 

[Khaelis]

I was in the same boat, though I never pre-ordered it. Was going to pick it up at Walmart tomorrow morning... Honestly, I still want the box case but the positives of digital benefit ACNH a bit more, so I'm fine with just owning ONE digital game. I don't really regret caving in and going digital now.

- You can play at 12AM EST.
- You can load the game at any time, without having to switch out the cartridge and you can keep playing your other games as well.
- Faster load times, albeit not much faster. But faster nonetheless.

 

[Ley]

I was in the same boat, though I never pre-ordered it. Was going to pick it up at Walmart tomorrow morning... Honestly, I still want the box case but the positives of digital benefit ACNH a bit more, so I'm fine with just owning ONE digital game. I don't really regret caving in and going digital now.

- You can play at 12AM EST.
- You can load the game at any time, without having to switch out the cartridge and you can keep playing your other games as well.
- Faster load times, albeit not much faster. But faster nonetheless.

you're right. being able to play at midnight is great, and I've been waiting long enough!

That's exactly what I'm doing. Plus, I'll be playing AC more than any other Switch game, so it'll be nice not to have to constantly take it out.

exactly, same here. since I bought the Switch mainly for AC, it's probably the only game I'll play for a while.

 

[Tao]

That's exactly what I'm doing. Plus, I'll be playing AC more than any other Switch game, so it'll be nice not to have to constantly take it out.

This is another reason I buy certain games digitally on the Switch.

Animal Crossing, Monster Hunter, Splatoon, Mario Kart and Smash Bros, these are all multiplayer games or games I'll want to just jump onto for 20 minutes every now and again on the spur of the moment. It's convenient to just have them 'ready to go' since I could go for months without playing them and suddenly I'm in the middle of nowhere and think "wouldn't mind cleaning up my town" or "might hunt a few monsters"

Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Fire Emblem or Luigi's Mansion though, I don't really see much convenience in getting those digitally since the cartridge will stay in until I've finished them then go on the shelf for the foreseeable future. I don't get the same sense of randomly deciding out of nowhere "I'll jump on to Xenoblade for a bit", they're not "jump in, jump out" games in my eyes.

 

[Micah]

This is a game you'll definitely want digital. The convenience of always having it ready can't be understated.

 

[Alienfish]

Have it physical and tbf it loads as fast? I don't have any other game yet so for me it doesn't matter. I can agree the lid is a bit meh but I'm glad they have it, the new 3ds xl cartridge kept popping off.

 

[dragonair]

I was wondering... if the Switch online services go offline (like Wii's), will I still be able to download and play the games I bought on the eShop, in this case ACNH?

If you're referring to the Wii Shop Channel it was literally up for 13 years so that's not really something you have to worry about anytime soon lol. You can still re-download games that you purchased from the Wii Shop Channel as well. Nintendo was planning on disabling the ability to do that at some point but hasn't yet if I remember correctly.

 

[alv4]

Well...
I had to buy it online.
Here in my country is very hard to get the physical games at good price, and with the Covid-19 thing... worst.