{"id":93616,"date":"2019-05-16T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/05\/talking_point_does_the_nintendo_switch_game_voucher_programme_offer_value_for_money"},"modified":"2019-05-16T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T19:00:00","slug":"talking-point-does-the-nintendo-switch-game-voucher-programme-offer-value-for-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/05\/16\/talking-point-does-the-nintendo-switch-game-voucher-programme-offer-value-for-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Point: Does The Nintendo Switch Game Voucher Programme Offer Value For Money?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n
\"GAME<\/a><\/figure>\n

The announcement during yesterday\u2019s Super Mario Maker 2<\/a><\/strong> Direct presentation<\/a> that Nintendo is offering a new digital deal to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers has met with mixed opinion and a little confusion. Some fans have reacted with dismay that it\u2019s a digital-only promotion and the savings tend to vary wildly depending on the games you choose and the region you\u2019re in. On the other hand it\u2019s something of a first for Nintendo. Discounts on games that have yet to be released? For a company that traditionally reduces its software prices only very<\/em> rarely – and usually was part of a budget ‘Player’s Choice’ line – this is big news.<\/p>\n

If you missed the announcement, here\u2019s a quick recap: Switch owners with a paid membership to the console’s online service \u2013 the snappily titled Nintendo Switch Online \u2013 are now able to buy a pair of ‘Game Vouchers’ which can be redeemed for a selection of Nintendo-published games both old and new (or even unreleased). Prices vary according to region, with a pair of vouchers costing \u00a384.00 \/ \u20ac99.00 \/ $99.99. Vouchers can be redeemed separately and expire 12 months after purchase, so you can wait for up to a year if there\u2019s nothing you fancy (or don\u2019t already own) in the current line-up.<\/p>\n

There are some caveats to bear in mind, though. You will need to have an active subscription to redeem the vouchers, and users of the 7-day free trial also can\u2019t buy them (you must be a fully-fledged NSO subscriber). Of course, you\u2019re out of luck if you prefer physical carts, too; this promotion is digital-only.<\/p>\n

Using this scheme, UK gamers could end up making some significant savings, especially if they\u2019re new to the console and choose their games cannily. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/a><\/strong> is \u00a359.99 at the time of writing, as is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate<\/a><\/strong>. That makes a combined total of \u00a3119.98, meaning that purchasing them using Game Vouchers nets you a saving of \u00a335.98. You also earn Gold Points as you do with any other eShop purchase, giving you 5% (or \u00a34.20) to spend on the next thing you buy from Nintendo’s digital store.<\/p>\n

\"There's<\/a>
There’s no denying the quality on offer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Those games are the two most expensive currently in the ‘programme’ (as it’s called in the UK), and therefore inflate the savings. If you want to get the very best value for money, you\u2019d be wise to avoid \u00a339.99 titles such as Fitness Boxing<\/a><\/strong>, The World Ends With You: Final Remix<\/a><\/strong> and 1-2-Switch<\/a><\/strong>. However, even with games that cost \u00a349.99, you\u2019re making a saving of \u00a37.99 on each title\u2019s RRP, and that includes Mario Maker 2. A launch discount for a first-party Nintendo title? That’s unheard of.<\/p>\n

The savings in the US are a little less impressive, with price variations also reducing discounts somewhat in comparison to other territories. While Smash Bros. costs $59.99 and \u00a359.99 in those respective territories, Mario Maker 2 is $59.99 in the US but \u00a349.99 in the UK. There are still savings to be had, though. There\u2019s also some confusion as to how much of a going concern this will be, with the Nintendo of America website<\/a> highlighting that it’s a limited time offer:<\/p>\n

\n

Fans with a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership can purchase a pair of Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers for just $99.99 through July 31, 2019.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Confusingly, it also states that \u2018the selection of eligible software will continue to grow over time<\/a>\u2019, mirroring the UK website\u2019s sentence that \u2018more software will be added to the list of available titles as it is released<\/a>\u2019. Neither of those small print statements sound<\/em> like it\u2019s a time-limited deal, but that\u2019s certainly the case in the US.<\/p>\n

We contacted Nintendo UK who confirmed that there are no plans to end this offer and that the July limit applies specifically to the US; as suggested by the \u2018Game Voucher Programme\u2019 name on these shores, this looks to be continuing indefinitely. Presumably Nintendo of America’s differing approach is down to the company being keen to avoid upsetting retailers in any way. As noted in the Nintendo Life office, there sadly aren’t many retailers left in the UK to upset.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, for gamers it\u2019s a discount on first-party Nintendo games \u2013 including ones that are yet to release \u2013 so anybody who\u2019s gone digital this generation will want to look carefully at the list for any titles they might have missed over Switch\u2019s first two years. Couple the first-party output with some select third-party developed games like the upcoming Astral Chain<\/a><\/strong> and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order<\/a><\/strong>, and we imagine most readers would be able to pick out at least<\/em> two games that would make the promotion worthwhile, especially in the long run.<\/p>\n

When viewed alongside the current \u2018Go Digital\u2019 sale on eShop<\/a>, this makes it absolutely crystal clear that Nintendo is keen to double down on the benefits and cost-saving that digital distribution offers. We\u2019re still a long way from physical carts going away \u2013 Nintendo\u2019s audience perhaps more than any other video game company’s skews younger and the ability to trade in games and give physical gifts is especially important to that demographic, not to mention vast swathes of gamers for whom internet connectivity is an ongoing, persistent issue or who simply prefer to have physical media on the shelf. The company won’t be leaving those gamers behind any time soon.<\/p>\n

\"Warning:<\/a>
Warning: don’t lick it… You licked it, didn’t you. Stop that.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, it does highlight how Nintendo is keen to push users who are able<\/em> to go digital in that direction. More and more young players are now thoroughly accustomed to digital-only games – many of them have grown up with apps and a total lack of physical media. The nostalgia and attachment some of us have to ripping the wrapping paper from a fresh cartridge on our birthday doesn\u2019t necessarily transfer to kids these days \u2013 arguably most would prefer<\/em> a card with eShop credit that they can spend how they like.<\/p>\n

So, while these savings might not be earth-shatteringly generous, especially when compared to deals on other platforms, this is a significant step for Nintendo given its history of fiercely protecting prices of its first-party games and avoiding sales for so long. Arguably, it brings a version of the ‘Player’s Choice’ or ‘Selects’ line to the digital store, but includes a much larger range of games.<\/p>\n

We’d still expect a cheaper line of boxed games to come along at some point, although the beauty of going digital only means you don’t have to worry about shelves with a handful of ill-fitting budget-line boxes – hands up if you’ve got a couple of irritating<\/em> silver spines spoiling your GameCube shelf. Anybody?<\/p>\n

\"EShop\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

For Nintendo, this Game Vouchers programme displays characteristically slow progress, although it’s a step in the right direction that digital-only gamers will want to investigate. We doubt it’ll tempt any die-hard physical players to cross over to the ‘dark side’, but these aren’t insignificant savings, especially on brand new releases. We’ll have to wait to see if Nintendo of America bring the promotion back periodically, but it’ll be tough to avoid grabbing at least one pair of these Vouchers over the coming months.<\/p>\n

Feel free to share your opinion on the Game Voucher promotion in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The announcement during yesterday\u2019s Super Mario Maker 2 Direct presentation that Nintendo is offering a new digital deal to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers has met with mixed opinion and a little confusion. Some fans have reacted with dismay that it\u2019s a digital-only promotion and the savings tend to vary wildly depending on the games you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93616\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}