Nintendo Switch Update: eShop Gets A Handy New Feature

The Nintendo Switch eShop has apparently been updated, but you'd be forgiven if you didn't notice. Nintendo seems to have delivered this new feature in secret, not pushing it out as a system update, but rather adding functionality automatically through a round of maintenance. While this certainly isn't the most groundbreaking update you'll see for the Switch, it does add a feature that fans have been requesting since launch.

As spotted by Nintendo Everything, the Nintendo Switch eShop will now allow you to save your credit card information for future purchases. This is in fairly stark contrast to the state of the eShop at launch, which required that you enter your card information every time you wanted to buy something.

While that's certainly the safest way to go about it – security experts would tell you that keeping card information on a company's servers is generally a no-no if you want to reduce your risk – it definitely wasn't the most convenient. If, then, convenience trumps that extra layer of security for you, then this is indeed a good addition.

Nintendo, for its part, hasn't done anything to promote this new feature, which is evidence that it probably doesn't consider it to be significant. Instead, it seems like Nintendo is piecing together its online systems. It's true that the Switch eShop isn't as fully featured as the eShop that appears on the 3DS and Wii U, so this new update is bringing it one step closer.

We'll likely see Nintendo deliver more piecemeal updates to its online system in the coming months. Though online play is currently free for Switch owners, that's set to change later this year, as Nintendo plans to implement an Xbox Live or PSN-esque fee to play games online. In any case, the option to save credit card info is appearing for us as well, so it should be widely available for folks in the US now.

SOURCE: Nintendo Everything