Nintendo Switch eShop Purchases Will Be Tied To Your Nintendo Account

Does this mean, owners of VC and digital games on WiiU, and possibly 3DS, can download the games on the Switch with no additional cost? Granted that the games are supported on Switch.

This is exactly the same as on the 3DS and Wii U though. There's no suggestion here you can redownload to a different device.

Great news...but if it's true, wouldn't hiphoptherobot (the "first unboxer") have some games to download and play?

@DBailey Nope. There's nothing to suggest that. It would technically be possible, but then it's already technically possible to allow you to get VC purchases on the 3DS if you have the same game on the Wii U - it's just Nintendo haven't done it.

@deKay "By re-linking your Nintendo Account after initializing the console, it will be possible to redownload any software or DLC purchased using that account."

No Suggestion?

Note to self : You really must learn what your Nintendo Account password is, instead of just letting Chrome auto-fill it..

@deKay
It isn't the same. It says that by registering your Nintendo account to the console, you can download your stuff. Wii U and 3DS made it explicit that data was tied to the console, so if you lost the system, you couldn't simply redownload software and call it a day.

I doubt, though, they are referring to VC games - those probably will include an extra fee, or force you to pay the total again.

@SaKo No, no suggestion. "By re-linking your Nintendo Account after initializing the console" actually suggests the SAME console. The wording is almost the same as it is on the 3DS right now.

@bluedogrulez No, because the said content first needs to be available on the eShop.

@Luna_110 The wording here is ambiguous, but it reads more like it's the same as the current situation - that the account is tied to the hardware.

Anyway, current Wii U and 3DS purchases are tied to your Nintendo account as it is. They're just tied to your hardware as well.

Explain this to me then: how come when I bought a New 3DS to replace an one I had last owned 12 months prior, upon registering my Nintendo Account I could then redownload all my old purchases? It even had some games on there I hadn't bought!

@DBailey Possibly, though the same is true when you transferred from Wii to Wii U, so this doesn't really change anything other than maybe the transfer process.

...why hasn't Nintendo just told us this? It's not like it is a bad thing they dont want to advertise or something

@RadioHedgeFund Because they weren't your purchases? Did you buy it second hand?

@bluedogrulez He would have to link his account, which would possibly flag his system. Also, we don't know if any old games are compatible with Switch.

@Whopper744 Because we haven't reached that part of Nintendo's predetermined announcements schedule.

@deKay To re-link is a phrase attached to the thing you are linking, not what you are linking to. By re-linking your account, which means removing its initial link from your past system, and attaing it (Thus re-link it), you can re-download something to your new system.

Want to know something cool? PS4 and Xbox link to hardware too. But if you get a new system, you just link your account to it, which is what this says. Each downloaded title has a license. The license is for x uses over a period until removal.

The difference here between what you are describing, is that yes, the /account/ is tied to hardware. It has to be, otherwise one person buys a game and can give everyone the login and the whole world has it. This means that like the other systems, the licenses aren't locked to your hardwares serial number. It's locked to your login.

@Whopper744 Who says they haven't? Could be a release of info dressed up as a 'leak'.

@BLP_Software Indeed. PS accounts are also linked to hardware and it's severely limited. The main difference is that the transfer process is much easier than Nintendo's

@BLP_Software I know that. However, there is still NOTHING here to suggest that you can redownload purchased software on another device.

I hope you can, but there's no evidence yet.

I read the article and I'm like "Ah, that's clear". Then I read the comments and now I'm confused all over again about what is and isn't saved to account/hardware between Switch, 3DS and WiiU.
Although I'm pretty sure nothing about this user interface statement says that you can download 3DS/WiiU games to Switch, so I don't know where people are getting that idea from.

@deKay
Timeline:

2013: RHF (me) buys 3DS. I tie my NNID to the console.

2014: RHF sells 3DS forgetting to unlink NNID. New owner spends £60 on eshop games under my account with their credit card.

2015: RHF gets password reset emails from Nintendo. Contacts HQ to unlink NNID from old 3DS. New owner presumably furious.

2016: RHF buys New 3DS. Links NNID to find old games still available to download including streetpass purchases.

I'm guessing purchases are tied to NNID?

that's mean if I bought shovel knight on my 3ds, I won't have to buy it again on switch, Am I right? That's a very good news, but why it took so long?

as of right now, i have pretty much zero interest in buying a switch... BUT, if nintendo intend to make a change to their policy and let me install my 3ds/WiiU games onto the switch... well i might very well reconsider!! (bth, i' don't have much hope tho) ;D

@Traveller Not necessarily. The systems are different and not even the competition really offers this.

@TheLZdragon I don't think you can get much better than the PSN transfer process for new hardware redownloads without removing the hardware lock which just...piracy central.

One thing I hope Nintendo doesn't do from their most successful competitor, is that bassackwards insanely stupid returns policy. Only get returns before starting a download, and if you ask Customer Service for it, your account is locked from that software.

@deKay Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Initialisation implies a new unit to be set up, like in the videos from yesterday. That's what I'm taking it as, due to the language used.

@bluedogrulez No eShop yet.

I'm still worried about all of my Wii U downloads, though ...Especially VC.

This is nice, although it's not that big a deal because it only confirms that if your system tanks you won't have to call Nintendo.

@RadioHedgeFund Blimey. That's exactly what you'd hope would happen, but was never the case for anyone else! You could only recover from one 3DS to another by having access to both devices, or contacting Nintendo.

I can only assume the new owner of your old 3DS contacted them, they unlinked the hardware, and they never relinked it allowing you to. It's certainly not a "standard" thing!

@BLP_Software no, but absence of evidence does mean that we can't be sure. The news report is misleading as we don't yet know if what is being implied is going to happen.

@Deadstanley @Jayenkai Or just look at your saved passwords in the settings.

@deKay It IS a standard thing. eShop purchases have been linked to your NNID for ages. It's as simple as unlinking your device, and then popping your NNID on another, and voila, all your purchases can be redownloaded on the new device. You don't need anything like a transfer. That's just to keep your save files and media intact. The games themselves are linked to your NNID, and as long as you unlink your NNID from the console, you can link it to another easily and get all your purchases (without saves).

The only benefit of a transfer is keeping savefiles and not having to redownload games separately, and that is the only thing.

Source: Me, with my 9 3DS/New 3DS devices.

So what stands out to me is the part that says "software that has been discontinued may NOT be available to re download in some cases" which is exactly why digital purchases are STILL risky business. If the game is discontinued you're screwed!!

Yeah, this doesn't confirm linking to another console will be possible without a kind of System Transfer like with 3DS and Wii U.

We can't know until it's out. I hope this is the case, but it's been years since Nintendo can recover your games by calling them so they remove the NNID from the old console.

These aren't news to me.

@joey302 Exactly. Also, to elaborate, the exact meaning of "discontinued" means if the publishers distribution license runs out. Typically companies acquire these licenses for a set amount of years, then they can be renewed or discontinued. If they are discontinued, the game is no longer legally sellable, and has to be removed from the eShop too, including Nintendo's database, and thus cannot be redownloaded.

@Blizzia So, what do you think will happen if you didn't unlink from the old device because it was stolen or lost?

You would have to call Nintendo again. Where's the news? Yeah, no System Transfer, but having to unlink and then re-link is still something restrictive.

And again, the wording in the sentences is very ambigous to know for sure right now if they are talking about the same device or a new device. We'll have to wait until the actual release for someone to test it out.

@Olmectron Of course you'd have to call Nintendo again. If you forget to remove your playstation account on a PS4, you cannot play the game while whoever now has it is playing it. Works the same way really. Only difference is Nintendo live in the past and make things difficult. Unlinking and relinking is fair game imo, and prevents account sharing, which is ALWAYS a good thing. I cannot see any reason for allowing account sharing, because it's basically screwing yourself over financially. Less money for Nintendo, less profit, worse financial situation, less games, dead company in the end. I actually prefer this restrictive system simply because it succesfully prevents sharing accounts so well.

This is great because a club Nintendo or Nintendo employee when I called to get assistance hinted at this nearly a year to 2 years ago. Glad to see it take "shape" my body is ready!

@Blizzia Really? Blimey. I had no idea.

I assumed all the constant complaints about Nintendo "not having a proper account system" and worries about no "proper account system" on the Switch stemming from this, were based in reality. Seems not!

So what you're saying is, I can unlink my 3DS, bin it, buy a new one, and relink, then download everything again?

If that's the case, why so many people complaining about not being able to do this? It's even a FAQ on Nintendo's site: http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1056

So....will my Wii U and 3DS account linked on Switch ?

What I'd like to know is can games you previously downloaded on other Nintendo platforms, can they be transferred to the Switch?

Not just that, but you should be able to login to the Switch using your NNID, it know the VC games you've bought previously and you can leave them where they are and redownload them to the Switch. There's no reason why not and there should be no cumbersome transfer like from Wii to Wii U.

Hoping this means you can delete and re download games and dlc on a whim. It would be nice for people worried about storage for instance.

@deKay Correct, you can unlink and relink easily. At least that's what I've been able to do. Been a while so I don't remember if you've gotta format it for that to happen, but still, it's literally just pressing format dat shiz and then link on same or different system.

The people complaining about not being able to do this most likely didn't bother trying everything xD Nintendo's FAQs are useless and in most cases downright wrong. They told me the same thing when I asked if I could use a SDXC SD card, or if their software was compatible with performance improvements caused by faster SD cards then class 8, to which they replied no. What happened? Well, I'm using an SDXC card in two of my New 3DS units with 64GB space each, and they're class 10. Loading speed improved approximately 10%. Not much, but it's still an improvement.

Either way, I can only really talk about what I've personally been able to do, and 3 months ago I formatted a New 3DS, then just added my NNID to another one. It worked just fine, and I've redownloaded all software succesfully, including limited special demos I had available on the previous unit.

@Blizzia which is why as popular as digital purchases are becoming, retail will ALWAYS be king! To be able to pop in Batman returns, turtles in time, or Aladdin carts on my snes is case in point!

@aaronsullivan Well, seeing as you can do that on a 3DS, I'd be surprised if it turned out otherwise

@Blizzia I can second what @deKay says.

3DS and Wii U both require a System Transfer for changing the linked console. You can't simply remove the NNID from a 3DS and put it into another if you don't use the System Transfer method.

The only way to do this without a System Transfer is calling Nintendo.

Believe me, I have my experiences with this thing, and with calling Nintendo from a non-supported country.

I just had to call them last week (yeah, February 10th) for them to remove the NNID from my old 3DS which was destroyed, to my just acquired N3DS. They asked for the serials of both consoles, and after 2 days, they told me via e-mail I was able to link my NNID to my new console. This is how it works if you don't do a System Transfer.

If you're sure you can do this, well, you are 1 case of 1,000,000,000 (I'm exaggerating the big number right here, there aren't that many 3DS owners).

Excellent! Now just make sure there's a way to transfer my Wii U purchases to my Switch, and we're in business.

@RadioHedgeFund that's awesome!! Sucks for the other guy, but you made out like a bandit lol.

@joey302 I agree! I'm also always for physical, though I do like to go digital every now and then. The main barrier has always been storage, coz SD cards are super expensive when you pass the 128GB mark.

I am reading this as i f you RE-link something, to me that says its been linked before and you removed it from the same console (although idk why any would just up and unlink an account from a console)

@Olmectron I've done what you just said can't be done plenty of times xD In fact I've only ever called Nintendo once, to have a game transferred from one of my NNIDs to another, which they happily agreed to let me do.

Also, your case differs because you did NOT unlink your NNID. Your 3DS was destroyed, and unless you unlinked your NNID prior to this, it was still linked to your device. Had you unlinked it from the device, you'd be free to pop it on another one.

EDIT: Basically, if you unlink the NNID, you're free to pop it on another device. If you don't unlink it, you cannot link it to another device.

VC news! VC news! VC news!
Makes it clear, it would be about damn time.
Allow owners of VC games who bought games on the Wii U, 3DS, maybe even on the Wii, to redownload them on the Switch for free, or for a small fee...when these games become available on the Switch eshop

Yey

@Blizzia My 3DS was destroyed after I formatted my 3DS so I could gift it to one of my cousins. I never cared about my NNID to begin with, since it didn't have that many purchases.

He is young and didn't take care of it. Broke the 3DS by the half.

Anyway, I had my NNID unlinked since I formatted the console. I should have given this much detail.

And it's not the first time. I also had to do this around 2 years ago. I had a 3DS from the first ones, but had to sell it because of financial issues. I formatted the console before I sold it. After some months I got an Old 3DS XL, and I wasn't able to re-link my NNID until I called them.

Really, you are the EXCEPTION from all the 3DS user base.

"Confirmation", you say? Confirmed by who? Not Nintendo!

It's a photo of a screen that could easily be manipulated. You throw away the confirmation-word too easily!!!

@Olmectron That's odd though. I've been able to do it easily with several NNIDs and devices. I've actually only done a system transfer once, because I had a digital game I was in the middle of playing, and I didn't want to lose my savefile.

@BornInNorway81 Manipulated by the world's first Switch owner, yeah, sounds plausible. Nintendo never confirms anything until it is confirmed anyway.

@Blizzia http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13996/~/what-you-need-to-know-before-performing-a-new-nintendo-3ds-or-new-nintendo-3ds

Please notice this part:

"You must have both systems on hand to perform a transfer. For a step by step guide to performing a system transfer to your New Nintendo 3DS, click here.

In situations where the original system is no longer available, or is no longer in working order, please contact us for support once you have the New Nintendo 3DS."

And I'm sure they aren't talking about supporting for retrieving saves or settings, since those aren't saved online.

It's support for actually getting back the NNID if you don't have the original System anymore. Because otherwise you couldn't recover the NNID becasue you had to do a System Transfer.

While it isnt fully integrated now, checking certain games on nintendo.com while logged in shows me the button "re-download" rather than "purchase". So the system has been in place for a while, but it looks like NS finally adopts it completely.

that and region-free gaming makes me extremely happy.

You actually can already do this. You just have to call Nintendo and wait a few days and they connect to the other console. Then you can download all your stuff.

It's nonsense though and desperately needs to go.

@BertoFlyingFox What games are you talking about? Could you give some examples?

@Olmectron That part is talking about a system transfer, not just unlinking it and relinking it. The part you told me to notice also talks about a case where your old 3DS is linked but you don't have it. AKA not unlinked.

@aaronsullivan You can do that now.

@Blizzia It's not specified whether the old console was unlinked or linked because it doesn't matter. In any of those cases you'd need a System Transfer.

Anyway, it's the only official Nintendo page I found that talks on the matter, so I have nothing else to show you.

But again, you're the only exception right here, good to know it works for you, but it doesn't for thousands of people, including me.

And I'm not a casual gamer who just got a 3DS, I've had many gaming companies' support experiences since the N64 days, like many people here. So I know I've done my research I tested many things with my NNIDs. What you are able to do, is simply not possible for the average user. I think you're exceptional here.

Have a nice day.

Though it doesn't down-right rule it out completely (it is a quote from the UI for crap's sake), I would assume only Switch software can be redownloaded. Not Wii U and 3DS. I doubt that'll be a thing.

I have a feeling it'll be like the wii U VC upgrade where you'll pay a fee (£1.50) to redownload with the new features (on wii u save states, Switch online gaming). But this is of course us hoping that the Switch virtual console is at least as large as the wii u one at launch.

@Olmectron You too! Never trust Nintendo's FAQs. Most of them are arbitrary and tell one half of the truth They also told me I couldn't use SDXC SD cards. Turned out that was wrong too.

@Blizzia I'm not trusting Nintendo FAQs but my own experiences.

I agree with the SDXC cards, I've got a 128GB one myself just two months ago, but I just formatted it to FAT32 last week when I got my N3DS.

@Blizzia on playstation you can deactivate the stolen console by using the playstation account website though

Are you sure?

As many others said, this is the same situation as before and, on its own, doesn't change anything.
For starters, we don't know if this refers to every purchase made with said account, or just the ones on that system.
Are the licenses system ID bound again ?
Will the account be system and platform independent ?
Will previously purchased licenses on other systems be cleared of their system ID lock once compatible wit the switch ?

Again, two weeks to go and the most essential stuff is still not cleared up...

I wonder if this includes games for have attached to your NNID from the eshop. Probably not. Gotta get them news sales!

@deKay as someone who has gone through 3 3ds's in the past month (2nd 3ds had black screen of death after a month, had to get in contact with Nintendo which took them 2 weeks to sort it out which is ridiculous in this day and age TBH), believe me.
Games are assigned to the console. I tried to add my nnid/username to a brand new 3ds before I did the transfer and it said ' this nnid is already attached to another 3ds system'. So yeah, one system at a time and as of now you HAVE to transfer your nnid from one system to another. Total pain! Hope this is different with the Switch now and it's not just worded to look like they will be using the Cloud.

Luckily I had a 128gb memory card in my 3ds so I could just swap out the cards after I transferred over my nnid and didn't have to re-download a billion games again.

@HeroOfTime32 He/She had bought me Kid Icarus and MK7 too!

Two...More...Weeks... I think time has nearly stopped. Can't wait for March 3.

@bluedogrulez No, cause the eShop is currently disabled. He wouldn't have access to them until launch, when they enable the eShop.

@Blizzia @deKay
Another remote transfer experienced user, from usupported country. Long story short: we got faulty N3DS which broke after the guarantee expired. And we wanted get the purchases back. And here's how it looked like.
First, we contacted our local distributor. We were told that we should go the shop which sold that 3DS instead. Yeah, surely calling a shop, with no guarantee, will help.
Next step was Nintendo. A call (another country) obviously would cost money (at the time we were short of it), so we chose to use the support email. They never responded to our email in the past, but what else we could do?
After few days, we got the reply, which stated that we should contact the local distributor because they don't support our country.
So we emailed the distributor (again!) and waited about a week with no reply. After that time, I wrote a message via Facebook (!). And FINALLY someone responded... The Facebook guy told us, that they didn't get the email (great job guys), and asked to send it again.
So we did. And then, the distributor called Nintendo, to ask for the remote NNID transfer. And THEN, we could get the account back. All of this, it took about 3 weeks.
The cherry on the top was getting another reply to our initial email from Nintendo support, few days after the hassle. They asked for the account details. Because they somehow changed their mind and decided to help us, despite what they said in their first reply. Thanks, guys, but you are 3 weeks late.

I'm telling you, it was the most customer unfriendly experience I have ever had. 3 weeks of waiting and nerves, for what should take 5 days at max. And what I found even more insulting, is that USA Nintendo webpage has a survey where you can type the details for the remote NNID transfer. It's hidden and criptic, but it was there. Meanwhile, Europe doesn't get that privilege. Not to mention the countries where Nintendo isn't popular - there is no adequate support webpage at all.
Seriously, the reason why there aren't many complaints from those countries (aside from tiny Nintendo base), is that it's much easier and simplier to buy another system and forget about the broken one.

And yeah, all saves are gone too (obviously), so be aware if you have a big retail/rpg game downloaded.
Streetpass Plaza (keep in mind that getting a streetpass here is a miracle) with every puzzle and Mii, Badges from Badge Arcade (not only you wasted money on a low jpg quality badge, but now you lost it), Friend List, and various software that you cannot download anymore - all gone.

@gcunit That's entirely possible. If it were dressed up as a "leak" it would probably generate more publicity for them rather than them mentioning it as a side note in one of their presentations (they'd still mention it of course as a "confirmation" but they can simply gloss over it).

My BIGGEST question goes back to the same one I've asked a probably 10 times and usually gets tons of backlash from is "If I download Zelda Breath of the Wild on the Wii U eShop now can I download later at a discounted price or possibly even free on the Switch". I really wish Nintendo would clear this up. They have clearly stated that the game content is identical and that there isn't a difference in the Wii U and Switch version except the pixels depending on how it is being played.

I own last of us, uncharted 1,2,3, beyond two souls on my PS3, and were they free when I got a PS4, no. Why do people expect Nintendo to be different. Steam has it figured out when it comes to this topic. Nintendo offering huge discount to upgrade Vc games from wii to u is a start. I think switch is going to be a steam like platform for gaming consoles. At least that is what Nintendo needs to do.

@Dr_Corndog I wouldn't bet on it. VC games are possible (if Nintendo decides not to gouge its customers again), but as far as original Wii U games, there are not only vast architecture differences, but the bulk of Wii U titles were designed with two screens in mind, which the Switch lacks.

Thanks Nintendo! Finally I can buy Virtual Console games again.

@remlapgamer you can download breath of the wild for the Wii u but if you want it on the switch you have to buy it.
I had games on my PS3 digitally doesn't mean they are free or discounted on the PS4

Welcome to 2007!

I'm hoping it's more like Microsoft's download system. My wife is an attorney and read through the terms and conditions and we figured out that you could download the same software on multiple x box 360s and Xbox Ones. The way we've done it is my wife and i have two Xbox Ones. Hers is listed as my primary console as well as hers. Mine has my account as a secondary. I log into hers, buy the game, download it, and download it again on mine afterwards. We've then even played the game together online afterwards with only 1 purchase.

@deKay We already knew you can link your Nintendo account to user profiles on different consoles at will, due to a big leak of developer information:

http://dystify.com/Overview/contents/Pages/Page_95699326.html

@joey302 turtles in time was great fun!!

@deKay Reggie made it clear in an interview that your downloaded software would no longer be tied to your hardware. You could look it up, but I don't know the title of the interview. 👍

So just for the sake of clarification, is there some place with a definite answer if purchases are linked to your ID or your console? There has to be an answer out there somewhere and not one way for some, but another for others.

@UmbreonsPapa Reggie said he'd say something to wiiu owners regarding but no one at Nintendo confirmed yet whatever it is they're thinking of doing

The Nintendo Switch eShop you say?? What is that? Apparently, nobody knows: https://twitter.com/Doctor_Cupcakes/status/832616883996262400

@huxxny "as of right now, i have pretty much zero interest in buying a switch... BUT, if nintendo intend to make a change to their policy and let me install my 3ds/WiiU games onto the switch... well i might very well reconsider!! (bth, i' don't have much hope tho) ;D"

Wait, what? You're...? 🤔 But, that would be like skipping the PS4 due to its lack of backwards compatibility. It may seemingly make sense in certain contexts, but would kind of defeat the purpose of buying next gen hardware. Plus, you can always keep your old systems to play their games on them.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I would agree that the Switch's lack of backwards compatibility is a bummer. But, it shouldn't be a deal breaker, and for me it isn't, because when I buy a new console, the most important thing to me is what's coming, not what has been.

I'm frustrated with gamers like you, man, because, it's just...these are exciting times for Nintendo gamers and fans alike. The Switch will be the culmination of Nintendo's accomplishments since the NES. That should be exciting for anyone who's enjoyed gaming on the company's systems over the years. Yes, it may be off to a slow start in terms of software, but that's the way launches are. I understand that and that's why it doesn't phase me.

There are so many people ready to criticize Nintendo, these days as if they all expect perfection from the company, and expecting perfection from any company is unfair, because no company is perfect or will ever be. And, when it comes to Sony and Microsoft, we've learned to take what we get. It should be no different with Nintendo.

Lastly, the success of the switch is important to Nintendo, so it should be important to us. We're still here, because we enjoy gaming on unique Hardware like the 3DS and Wiiu, and so the success of unique hardware like the switch should be important to us. Don't fight Nintendo's progress, bro; support it.

Wii U and 3DS games are NOT tied to the hardware but to the NNID. It is possible to detach a NNID from Wii U while on 3DS one "just" need to contact Nintendo (a matter of minutes/hours). After that one can attach the NNID to a new system and re-download the games.

I still don't know if vc games will roll over, or if this will just apply to new downloads. Nintendo, please have a direct and answer the dang question.

I really hope they let you transfer past purchases on the 3DS and/or Wii U to the Switch. I don't want to pay full price for those things again.

Hell I'll be happy if they charge 1 dollar/euro for the transfer of each game, but not full price. Also damn it Nintendo release all the pertinent info right now, we are two weeks from launch with a lot of questions and barely any answers.

This was long overdue for the Wii U actually... kinda sad that the Switch gets this, but the Wii U won't.

@Kmno Don't count on it. Based on what we've seen so far, they want you to pay as much as possible...

@UK-Nintendo
That's honestly refreshing to hear that because I was actually unsure about the other systems policies and allowances pertaining to software purchases. I'm so close to purchasing a physical copy of Zelda for Wii U and I'm anxious to wait and get it with Switch if and when I get one. That's been my hold up on preordering Zelda because of the eShop results and being able to purchase again for Switch with a discount. Thank you

I don't understand this logic, you can't own a Nintendo Account if you're under 13.

@remlapgamer best to go with the Wii u copy and you can't go wrong and who knows it might eventually go up in value.

@shani I kinda know, I'm just hopelessly hopping.

@DBailey I don't know about that. It would be a very Nintendo thing of them to do to not tie anything to the previous devices and start anew. Hopefully they have "something" planned.

@ThisGuy215 3DS got everything from DSi and Wii U got everything from Wii. How is that "very Nintendo"? It's actually more Sony and Microsoft

@Gaeus Wrong. Games are attached to the hardware. contacting Nintendo is only in case of theft or if the console is broken beyond repair after given to a Nintendo repair center and it will cost you $$$. You don't even have a avatar pic so you are probably a troll. have some scrums and starve. You can only redownload the games from your Nintendo account on the same system. No where in the fine print of a wiiu or 3ds does it say you can relink and redownload

@Traveller
No that's not what it means.

This has nothing to do with 3DS or Wii U, and has nothing to do with games you bought on those systems.

Any games purchased on 3DS or Wii U will stay on 3DS or Wii U. It's a completely separate platform here, meaning games will have to be ported meaning sold separately.

What this does mean is that your Switch purchases are not tied to a single Switch. If you damage your system and hard drive fails, you're not SOL for $2000 of Switch purchases.

What this means, is that you can sign in to ANY Switch, and redownload your Switch purchases. Sell your system and buy another 5 years later? Just sign in and redownload all your Switch games.

@ThisGuy215
Ya I think you have it backwards. Nintendo is better than anyone for allowing past purchases to transfer. But, that was on BC consoles.

Nobody allows transfers on non-BC consoles cause the games aren't BC. They have to be redeveloped or ported one by one, and that costs money.

@UmbreonsPapa
So just for the sake of clarification, is there some place with a definite answer if purchases are linked to your ID or your console? There has to be an answer out there somewhere and not one way for some, but another for others

This is clarification.

The console itself specifically states when initializing the system that if you sign in with your Nintendo Account you'll have access to all your purchases tied to that account.

And this comes after Reggie specifically stating this not a few weeks ago.

So... ya. It's clarified.

It does state you need to initialize the system to do it though, which wipes any data on the system, meaning you won't want to go switching back and forth willy nilly since you'll have to redownload your games every time.

I wouldn't call this confirmation: Its only official when it comes straight from Nintendo's mouth!

@thesilverbrick Yeah, I mainly had VC titles in mind when I wrote that. I'm sure you're right about most other titles, though.

So yes, this works exactly like a modern account system. Games are tied to your Nintendo Account. Sign-in, and you have the ability to redownload everything. This was in the formatting info when you initialize the console.

@Henmii This comes straight from the Switch itself. Don't think you can get more official than that.

Brilliant news but is this starting afresh or will it be all of your existing downloads too? (3ds,wiiu) i sure hope so as ive purchased little inferno and fast racing on my old wiiu and i miss them.

Homebrew now allows 3DS save data to be freely imported by another device. I wonder why is it so hard to implement such features officially.

Nintendo needs to do another Direct....or press release....or something to confirm somethings and elaborate more on the Switch.

This is awesome! But I bet that this will only be for games moving forward on the Switch. I doubt that by signing in to the same Nintendo Account from Wii U/3DS (which can be linked to a NNID on those devices) that the games could be redownloaded on Switch for free (once they're available). But still, moving forward this is very promising. Especially if limited edition Switch consoles get released and people want to trade-in.

@TheLZdragon Because Nintendo has been known to make bad business decisions. I love their games to death but they are very well known for making poor and unpredictable business decisions. So yes it would be very Nintendo if they left the previous systems behind and started anew. I didn't say it would happen, I only said I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I hope i'm wrong and some incredible system comes out that makes new and previous purchasers of their VC games happy. We will see in two weeks.

It only took 10 years...

But how long do we have to wait for those games to be released on the Switch?

They answer one question and ignore the rest.

Sad that it's two weeks until launch and Nintendo haven't officially told us any of this. We're relying on early pre-orders shipping to get more info on the console! Sort it out Nintendo!

Now to see if they allow us to transfer over or re-buy things for any discount, or free, that we've already purchased previously.... not holding my breath though

@ThisGuy215 Most likely an upgrade fee for VC games. Indies will be up to the developer most likely (Shovel Knight does not transfer over for example). As Sony has proven with PS2 games on PS4, a proper account system doesn't mean squat when it comes to transferring games from previous gen systems.

@IceClimbers I see Shovel Knight getting a master like collection on the Switch. The main game, and the two DLC campaigns. Maybe a Nintendo exclusive boss like Sony and MS have. I hope it comes out soon on Switch because I want to play the new DLC campaign on that.

This is great but I'm not entirely sure I should congratulate Nintendo for doing something that they should have done a very long time ago.

It's kind of like how Nintendo "revealed" they weren't region locking anymore.

Really hoping this is true and not a mockup or misinformation. As much as I like Nintendo, they've been way behind in this department.

YES!!!!! About ******* time

Thank you Lord.

@IceClimbers,

Its leaked. Could be photoshop.

It's because of things like this why I refused to pre order a Switch. We're 3 weeks away from launch and Nintendo won't just lay the cards on the table with regards to the account setup and online functionality.

@Henmii
There is an actual video of the Switch's UI in action. This is completely real.

Beyoncegodisreal.gif

Maybe this can help clear things up.

https://youtu.be/mLAu113idcs?t=2m25s

@deKay can't believe how many other people don't realise this is not breaking news and most certainly not the news we want to hear at this point.

@Gregory123 The games are linked to your NNID with 3DS and Wii U already. However, the NNID is trapped withn a console.

The main difference between what's said here, and the actual 3DS system is that you won't need to call Nintendo to un-link the NNID from the old console. After they do this server-side, you can link it again on a new 3DS without any kind of problem.

@GoatWrench
Likely because they know that there will be a backlash, not necessarily by Nintendo die-hards that were going to buy the Switch no matter what, but by the more neutral gamers that might be evaluating a purchase.

As others have said, it's almost certain that the digital games will remain tied to the platform on which they're purchased, save for possible (but I think highly unlikely) cross-buy titles. If you bought a bunch of VC titles on the Wii-U or 3DS and they release those titles on the Switch VC I'm 99% certain you will be required to buy them again. I also doubt you'll be able to use the Nintendo Account with more than one Switch at a time.

Nintendo has always been ridiculously stingy with its digital purchase policies and I don't expect them to change. Ever.

But we'll still have to rebuy all the Virtual Console and eShop games we purchased on Wii U, right?

@yuwarite They are not stating anything about Cross buy...

I don't Get why people are thinking they can redownload their Wii U/3ds stuff on Switch, this doesn't confirm It.

Anyway, this also doesn't confirm account aren't tied to one console... I don't know why people are hyped for this.

OH MY GOD FINALLY!!
This has been LONG LONG overdue

@RaphaBoss I hope the Switch is the start of cross-platform and true backwards compatibility going forward for Nintendo. Iwata once described project NX as basically the first in a family of systems that ran on the same architecture (ARM based).

So hopefully from here onward all future systems will be able to play the previous generation's games, and the previous generation can play some of the less graphically demanding current system's games.

Likewise, I think that's the plan for Sony and Microsoft, who have adopted x86 (PC style) architecture for their systems and will probably stick with it for the foreseeable future.

YES! Best news I have heard ^_^.

But will it be possible to get cross buy discounts for VC and eShop titles purchased on Wii-U or 3DS consoles tied to the same NNID? I must know this...

@scamander Holy crap dude. The entire Developer's handbook posted online. Thanks a billion for sharing. I read the whole thing and it answered a few questions I had.

@westman98 NNID accounts were started in 2012 with the launch of the Wii U. This is not new info just a confirmation that Switch has the same thing

@GoatWrench There IS no difference between the Switch and Wii U. There is nothing to announce. They will talk about the online system closer to the Beta in spring. The Switch is NOT backward compatible. There will be NO FREE GAMES for your Switch.

I'm not expecting free VC games for the Switch. In fact what I am expecting is what they did between the Wii and Wii U and just offer a steep discount. What I do want to know is if my Nintendo account will function the same my account for Apple, Steam, Google, Microsoft and PlayStation or every other company in 2017. If it doesn't that sucks but honestly I'm still going to be buying a Switch come Christmas because I'm a diehard Mario fan.

@CircuitWrangler3 I don't think you really understand what i was saying... i was not, and i'm still not interested by the switch, for many, many reasons... BUT if i could install my virtual library on it, i would reconsider...

Besides, my lack of enthusiasm for the next gen of nintendo's console should not affect you nor anyone, and the same way you feel the need to white knighted on their behalf, i also have the right to be dissapointed by them and share my opinion with ppl who are also passionnate about nintendo... and being passionnate doesn't mean we have to like everything they do or release!!