Hardware Importing questions/clarifying my understanding

[digipokemaster]

Ok I'm going to be buy a Japanese 3ds LL soon ( in a day or so) and I had some question mostly to get a better understand.

1. Can I use my credit card in the eshop?
2. What is the differences between USA eshop and the Japanese eshop?
3. Can I get special spot passes that I can't get in the USA ?
4. Is there anything different that the USA 3ds doesn't have?
5. Is it going to be difficult to use ( I have a USA 3ds but just wondering if it going to be hard to play with I'm trying to learn japanese while using got some knowledge of Japanese )?
6. Can my USA ds games (not the 3ds ones ) play on it as we'll?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

1. yes from what others have said.
2. There are some region specific games that are only in Japanese that can can't be found on a USA eshop.
3. yes, but you likely will never be able to use them.
4. see post 2. Some games only have a Japanese release only.
5. If you memorized the buttons layouts (not refering to the abxylr buttons) on a USA 3DS, it is pretty much the same layout for many games and the eShop. Learning Japanese can help.
6. DS games are not region locked.


You can set the language to english on a Japanese 3DS, it doesn't change the region lock or anything, which makes only learning Japanese good if you don't want to look up what it is in the game.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

My dad couldn't use his norwegian credit card in the US eShop. So I'm expecting the same thing goes for the JP one.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

I had that same issue on my import 3DS, it wouldn't take my CC information I put in. Seems it only works for some CCs.

 

[Septimo]

Just elaborating on what how_do_i_do_that said:

1. For the Japanese eShop, it depends on the issuer, but you can definitely use foreign credit cards. I can confirm this.
2. As far as the interface, I believe the general layout is the same. Although it's true that Japan has many exclusive eShop games, it's also missing out on some. (Colors! 3D)
3. You can get Spot Passes including stationaries/notes from Swap Note/Letterbox and notifications from Nintendo.
4. A Japanese 3DS doesn't have Netflix. Nintendo Video and related video services are region locked. Apparently you can use a proxy to access them, but I haven't confirmed this myself. The eShop trailers and Nintendo Direct's are not region locked, though. Japan has a e-book/manga and music service.
5. If you don't know Japanese, or are just learning, I honestly don't recommend a Japanese 3DS just yet. Although there are a few import-friendly games, most are not as far as story is concerned. You will miss out on so much. (Fantasy Life, Professor Layton, E.X. Troopers, Senran Kagura, Dragon Quest, Inazuma Eleven, New LovePlus, etc.)
6. DS games are not region locked on a 3DS.

You cannot set the language to English on a Japanese 3DS. Japanese only.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

I haven't touched anything in over 2 years since I picked up the US one.

 

[digipokemaster]

Ok thanks for answering my questions oh what exactly is the music ebook/man

Could someone tell me how to join to japanese club Nintendo I want to sign up mainly for the eshop codes and redeem codes for the system/games

 

[Septimo]

Sorry for the late reply.

The ebook/manga service app is called Dokodemo Honya-san which is a digital bookstore offering books and manga. I haven't personally tried it, but the main focus when it launched late last year was manga. There are over 100 series(I'm sure there are many more now) to choose from which include popular series like One Piece. Novels and regular books are planned, too. It comes with a virtual bookshelf to store and manage your purchases.

The music service app is called Recochoku which is a music market place. You can purchase music from major labels which include popular groups like AKB48. It comes with a music player.

I tried loading both apps so I could give you more information, but it seems that I have to update the apps to use the services, and I can't access the eShop unless I update my firmware. I'm not willing to update, sorry.

As for the Club Nintendo registration, you need a Japanese address to register an account. If you have a friend or relative in Japan, maybe they could help you with the registration. Keep in mind that they don't ship overseas. Here's the link to register if you want to look into it:

https://club.nintendo.jp/member/exec/entranceNaviEntry

 

[digipokemaster]

Sorry for the late reply.

The ebook/manga service app is called Dokodemo Honya-san which is a digital bookstore offering books and manga. I haven't personally tried it, but the main focus when it launched late last year was manga. There are over 100 series(I'm sure there are many more now) to choose from which include popular series like One Piece. Novels and regular books are planned, too. It comes with a virtual bookshelf to store and manage your purchases.

The music service app is called Recochoku which is a music market place. You can purchase music from major labels which include popular groups like AKB48. It comes with a music player.

I tried loading both apps so I could give you more information, but it seems that I have to update the apps to use the services, and I can't access the eShop unless I update my firmware. I'm not willing to update, sorry.

As for the Club Nintendo registration, you need a Japanese address to register an account. If you have a friend or relative in Japan, maybe they could help you with the registration. Keep in mind that they don't ship overseas. Here's the link to register if you want to look into it:

https://club.nintendo.jp/member/exec/entrancePassword

Ok thanks for the info I have some friends who I think knows someone in Japan ill ask them if they could help with it if they do maybe they could ship the stuff to them if I redeem anything physical.

 

[djricekcn]

some international cards (basing it from Japan) do work on JP eshop WiiU or 3DS (and Wii / DSi) but some don't.

PSN and Xbox don't work at all with international.