Nintendo has officially announced a Japan-exclusive, cheaper version of the Switch 2 — priced at around $338 / £259 / €310 — but with a major catch: it’s region-locked and only supports the Japanese language. According to Nintendo, this model is meant specifically for domestic use, and it won’t support accounts or games from outside Japan.
At a glance, this feels like a smart move from a business perspective. With the yen still weak compared to other currencies, it’s clear Nintendo wants to avoid mass exportation and scalping — problems that plagued launches of the PlayStation 5 and even the original Switch. By locking the cheaper Switch 2 to Japanese accounts and menus, Nintendo hopes to keep these affordable units within Japan’s borders. It’s a move to prioritize the domestic market, ensuring Japanese players can actually get their hands on the system without competing with global scalpers.
But reading through the community thread, it’s clear that feelings are very mixed.
Some users are praising the decision, seeing it as a necessary evil to protect local buyers. Piichan, for example, bluntly celebrated the move, saying, “get fucked scalpers.” Others, like TuitionScriptBarrel and Aleh, view it as a practical solution to an ugly reality: Japan’s lower prices (thanks to exchange rates) were inviting massive arbitrage opportunities.
Yet, frustration is just as loud — if not louder. Many foreigners living in Japan, like Valkerion and Cheesecakebobby, feel blindsided. For them, this isn’t just a matter of navigating a Japanese menu; it’s about being forced to pay a “gaijin tax” just to have the system operate in their native language. In fact, a big point of anger is that even if a game supports multiple languages, the system itself forces everything into Japanese. Users like Kida and ZeroDS expressed anger that their daily lives in Japan are bilingual — but Nintendo is now making them choose between affordability and accessibility.
Personally? I think Nintendo’s strategy makes sense on paper, but its execution feels unnecessarily harsh. I get the need to protect the Japanese market. But locking language settings and user accounts behind a paywall creates a real divide for expats, bilinguals, and even international couples living in Japan. It’s a textbook case of a one-size-fits-all solution leaving real people behind. Surely there could have been a middle ground — like verifying residency without cutting off access to language options?
Ultimately, this decision highlights how global companies can struggle to balance protecting local markets while serving an increasingly international customer base. And with a poll already open asking if people find this “fair” or not (spoiler: it’s hotly contested), it’s clear that this conversation is just getting started.
