I never would have expected Nintendo to outdo the competition when it comes to something connected with its online services. But it turns out that's very much the case with gift cards.

I am a digital game enthusiast. I recognize the downsides of digital "ownership," be it the potential for companies to cut off your access on a whim, change the text of your books, outright refuse your money, or otherwise demonstrate the ephemeral, you're-actually-only-licensing it nature of the medium. But when it comes to playing games, I am lazy and impulsive: I oftentimes want to switch between a bunch of different games in rapid succession, and, well, my back hurts, and I don't want to get up each and every time and switch a new disc in, as much as my cat loves to see those get sucked into or pop out of a console. And I especially don't want to be in a different room from my game collection if I'm carrying my Switch around my house. The very thought gives me chills.

As such, I've switched almost exclusively to buying digital games. Digital storefronts on consoles, and especially the Switch eShop, are far less likely to offer the same quality of deals as you find on physical games, so I'm forced to make my own deals. That primarily involves buying gift cards when they go on sale--the best offers usually knock the price down by 20%, which means getting 20% off of whatever I ultimately buy (and that stacks on top of any sales these digital stores might offer). It's the best way to save money without sacrificing that digital convenience I so desperately crave.