In a new Nintendo Switch unboxing video, a small paragraph of text on the console’s start-up screen seems to suggest that a big change will be coming to the way Nintendo Accounts work with Nintendo eShop purchases.
Nintendo eShop purchases will now be tied to a user’s singular Nintendo Account, allowing them to re-download their software as needed. Nintendo has previously been criticized for their lack of a unified account system, and their tendency to tie digital purchases to consoles themselves.
One quick-fingered twitter user managed to catch a screenshot of the information, which comes up at about the 3-minute mark in the video above. If you can’t view the tweet, the text in its entirety reads as follows:
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 to redownload in some cases.)
Nintendo has not yet officially confirmed this new service, but if it’s true, it will be a major move forward for them catching up with the competition. Many modern digital games retailers, such as Valve’s Steam or Ubisoft’s Uplay, already have this kind of functionality, linking their users’ accounts with a single permanent games library that lets the user install their games onto new consoles or PC’s they may buy.
With the launch of Nintendo Accounts and the new My Nintendo service last spring, it looked like Nintendo was headed this direction with their online shop, and this new information seems to confirm it.