Nintendo Switch: Nintendo on eShop & accounts, Mii, streaming services
Yesterday, Kotaku published a rather lenghty Q&A about the Nintendo Switch, with answers provided by Nintendo. The company didn’t say anything for many of them, but they did provide some really interesting answers for the rest.
For example, they reveal that support for controllers from previous consoles could come at a later date, via an update, but that nothing could be announced at the moment. Nintendo also confirmed that nothing is written on the game cards themselves: all the save data files go to the internal memory, even if you use a microSD Card. External storage is only used for downloadable content (games, DLC, etc.).
The most interesting answer is most definitely the one about accounts and the Nintendo eShop:
The Nintendo Switch system is not region locked, but we recommend that players buy games within their region to ensure full service and support. The user will access the Nintendo eShop that corresponds to the country identified in their Nintendo Account. (Up to eight user accounts can be created on a single Nintendo Switch system.)
In other words, and in theory, you will be able to use your current Nintendo Account by switching its region in the settings. If not, it looks like you will be able to simply create another account in the desired region, and access everything available on its dedicated Nintendo eShop.
Regarding Mii, there is a Mii Maker app, but it’s been relegated to the System Settings for some strange reason (though you can also create one from the Profile screen). An interesting change is that a Mii is no longer required for your user profile (unlike on Wii U), and instead, you can chose an avatar from among a selection of official avatars (we can imagine there will also be a store with paid avatars later down the line…).
To transfer Mii characters, you can do so via local wireless between two Nintendo Switch consoles, or use an amiibo. As for the Mii characters themselves, they will be slightly different than before:
- there will be more facial components and colors for hair and skin
- the following attributes have been removed: creator’s name, favorites, birthday, copying, and “public.”
Regarding streaming services (such as Netflix), there will not be any at launch. It looks like Nintendo chose to focus on the video game aspect of the Nintendo Switch, so those services will have to come at a later date.
The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3rd worldwide.
Source: Kotaku