Nintendo Switch eShop Purchases Will Be Tied To Your Nintendo Account

Any purchase you make on your Nintendo Switch will be tied to the Nintendo Account you create to use with the console. 

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In addition to the recent Nintendo Switch unboxing that just came out, we're getting more information about the Nintendo Account and the Nintendo Switch eShop in terms of how they will work in tandem. It seems eagle-eyed viewers who got a chance to take a look at the recent Nintendo Switch menus via NeoGAF scouted out important information about the service, namely the fact that your Nintendo eShop purchases will in fact be tied to your Nintendo Account.

Language during the Nintendo Switch setup mentions that "your Nintendo Account contains your Nintendo eShop purchase history and current balance," among additional details. Here's the full verbiage:

"Your Nintendo Account contains your Nintendo eShop purchase history and current balance. By re-linking your Nintendo Account after initializing the console, it will be possible to redownload any software or DLC purchased using that account. (Software that has been discontinued may not be available for redownload in some cases.)"

This is great news and is in no doubt a response to one of the most requested features of the new Nintendo Switch, as previously games purchased via the eShop were instead tied to the hardware you purchased it on. For instance, you could buy a game for your 3DS and you would only be able to download the game on that system going forward. You could not simply recover your purchases if your 3DS were stolen or otherwise rendered useless for any reason.

If you're planning on utilizing your Nintendo Switch to purchase games via the Nintendo eShop, this should come as a pleasant surprise. You can pick up a Nintendo Switch on March 3, when it will finally make its official debut.

Contributing Editor
From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 17, 2017 6:45 AM

    Jason Faulkner posted a new article, Nintendo Switch eShop Purchases Will Be Tied To Your Nintendo Account

    • reply
      February 17, 2017 7:26 AM

      Hallelujah!

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      February 17, 2017 7:31 AM

      Good

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      February 17, 2017 8:12 AM

      Thank god.

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      February 17, 2017 8:14 AM

      It's a miracle!

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      February 17, 2017 8:38 AM

      [deleted]

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        February 17, 2017 8:40 AM

        yeah like how the fuck did it work before? tied to an amiibo?

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          February 17, 2017 8:56 AM

          Tied to hardware. (I sense you were being sarcastic, but just in case...)

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            February 17, 2017 8:58 AM

            Wow that's fucking stupid

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            February 17, 2017 9:17 AM

            Actually, games are not tied to the hardware.
            They have been tied to NNID for a long time, the misconception has been arising because the NNID cannot be unlinked from the system.

            I have gotten a new Wii U, asked Nintendo to unlink my old one, linked my NNID to the new system, and could download everything i bought fine.

            So this is not new.

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              February 17, 2017 9:26 AM

              Infact, it can be done in a roundabout way currently without contacting Nintendo support.

              Wii U, games are tied to NNID
              3ds I do not know, but i heard NNID also

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                February 17, 2017 9:39 AM

                I get what you're saying, but that sounds like a roundabout way of linking games to hardware. Whether you have to go through Nintendo's support or not, right now you can't just log in to your Nintendo account on a new Wii U console and grab your games. You've got to move them from one piece of hardware to another.

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      February 17, 2017 8:58 AM

      I'm hoping there will be a way to transfer purchases from an older console to the Switch so I don't have to buy titles again just to link them to my Nintendo Account. Like how when you got a Wii U, you could perform a Wii-to-Wii-U system transfers that moved over your eShop and Virtual Console purchases.

      Granted, I have no idea how moving purchases over to Switch would work since there are three prospective sources in play: Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. It just sucks that I'll probably wind up buying Super Mario World ONE MORE TIME on Switch just so it's linked, rather than being able to pass it over from my Wii U.

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      February 17, 2017 9:27 AM

      Finally, holy crap.

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      February 19, 2017 5:19 AM

      P.S - Your Nintendo Account is now tied to your Nintendo Switch. That all!

      :)

    • reply
      February 20, 2017 2:51 PM

      [deleted]

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