With the Wii U having just launched in North America and on its way to launching internationally, a whole slew of withheld details have been pouring forth, from how much internal storage the console actually has, to what will break the console beyond repair, to how the whole Nintendo Network IDs work. The latest bit of news concerns the Network Accounts.
Nintendo has finally confirmed that the Network ID accounts are tied to the specific Wii U console they were created on. So no, you cannot go to a friend’s house and play with your account on their system. Nor can you hope to continue using your Network ID on a new Wii U console that you purchase after breaking your old one. Nintendo’s official statement reads:
”A Nintendo Network Account can only be used on the console where it was created. In the future, you will be able to use your Nintendo Network Account with future Nintendo consoles and other devices, such as PC’s.”
Unless “future Nintendo consoles” also includes Wii Us, this means your Network Account is tied to its original console.
And this is why it’s hard for “serious/hardcore” gamers to take you seriously, Nintendo. Sure, you may finally have decent graphics, a pretty decent line up of third party games including Assassin’s Creed 3 and Mass Effect 3, and a “pro controller,” but then you do things like this. Let’s not forget that Xbox gamertags and PS3 PSN accounts can be moved from one system to the other. After all, such a system only makes sense.
This is horrible. My gaming time is spent between two places so it’s great that I can play on any PS3 I want to and still earn trophies. I think the worst part is this means that you may lose all of your Nintendo eShop purchases if your console dies. I have yet to figure out how that all works though.