In July 2022, Nintendo launched a “Wide Care” subscription service in Japan that effectively acted as a paid extended warranty, allowing for up to six repairs a year on a Switch (or Joy-Cons, dock, AC adapter, etc.) for a relatively low cost – 200 yen a month or 2000 a year (about $1.50 and $15, respectively). Well, only a year after announcement, Nintendo is pulling the plug on the program, as it announced on its website.
Nintendo is halting all new subscriptions and renewals after August 31st, 2023, but it will honor subscriptions (monthly or yearly) until individual contracts end. Theoretically, that means if you were to pay for a year’s subscription sometime in the next month or two, it would last well into 2024. Nintendo hasn’t said why they’re ending the service – was it losing them money? Just not widely adopted? We don’t know, and may never learn. Let’s hope nobody has to worry about Drift.
Thanks to Perfectly Nintendo and Nintendo Life
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
