Nintendo Launches Switch Repair Subscription Service in Japan
Posted on July 04 2022 by Alexis S. Anderson
Nintendo Japan has launched “Wide Care,” a subscription service that will cover up to six repairs on Switch-related hardware per year. This hardware includes the console itself (all Switch models), the Joy-Con controllers, the dock, and the AC adapter. Common issues like Joy-Con drift are covered, of course, but so is accidental damage and water damage. The service can be subscribed to at any time and is priced at 200 yen per month ($1.50/£1.20) or 2,000 yen per year ($15/£12).
The subscription price covers shipping costs to send the hardware in need of repair to Nintendo and back to its owner. Of the six repairs, two can consist of replacement of the console. And if the total cost of the six repairs exceeds 100,000 yen ($735/£704), the console owner will bear the extra costs.
Joy-Con grips, Joy-Con straps, HDMI cables and the like are not covered by the warranty. Neither are equipment repaired or modified by the owner after purchase, those intentionally damaged or out of order before subscribing, equipment lost or stolen, and batteries in need of replacement. A smartphone or tablet with a camera function is required to subscribe to the Wide Care service. And as of now, there is no information regarding whether Nintendo intends to bring the service to regions outside of Japan.
Are you glad to see Nintendo implement a resource of this kind? Do you expect the company to extend Wide Care protection to regions beyond Japan? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Nintendo Sales Co. (via Nintendo Life)
Alexis S. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon who joined the writing team in November, 2014. She has a JD from the UCLA School of Law and is pursuing a career in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She grew up in the New Jersey suburbs with her parents, twin brother, and family shih-tzu.
