Since the Nintendo Switch System update went live plenty have been digging around the menus, and some have been checking out the Friend List menus. A bit of hysteria is kicking up over the presence of friend codes, as they're typically less popular than a SEGA Mega Drive at a SNES party, so it's slightly understandable.

In any case, rest assured there are other ways to add friends. There are four options:

  • Search for Local Users
  • Search for Users You've Played With
  • Search with Friend Code
  • 'Friend Suggestions' from Miitomo and Super Mario Run

The final one is interesting, as it auto-detected this writer's Miitomo friends with Switch systems; we added each other within minutes, sharing our mutual love for Nintendo's greatest creation - Bowser.

Bowser friends

One option we'd like to see added in a future update is to add friends from Twitter and Facebook, much in the way Miitomo does. With Nintendo embracing those social networks through screenshot sharing hopefully that's on the cards.

[Update: It should be noted that it seems users don't need to literally both input friend codes, but rather you send a request to someone with their friend code (for example), and they accept or decline]

So there you have it, you don't have to use friend codes, so relax.