TheNintendo Switch console officially launches tomorrowand many people are confused as to just how to add friends and send requests. The confusion stems from the recent revelation that theNintendo Switch will use Friend Codes, despite Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime previously saying the Switch wouldn’t. The whole story is that the Nintendo Switch offers multiple ways to add friends, but that the Friend Code system is indeed the core method.
Here are the methods by which the Nintendo Switch currently allows users to add and request friends:
Nintendo has already revealed certain plans for additional ways to add friends, including matching those who follow each other on Twitter or are Facebook friends via Friend Suggestions. That would also require both users have connected their social media accounts to their Nintendo Accounts.
Finally, Wii U or 3DS NNID friends will also be suggested eventually. Again, that requires both users to haveconnected their NNIDs to their Nintendo Accounts. There’s currently no planned release for these features.
The crux of people’s frustration is the absence of a method of searching fora friend’s Nintendo Account User ID. Searching for another user’s gamer tag is the default method of adding a friend on every other non-Nintendo gaming platform – PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, etc. It’s been that way for years.
Yet Nintendo has decided not to implement that system, despite Nintendo Accounts supporting unique User IDs. The accounts aresecure enough for the eShop, but apparently not a friends list? It should be noted that User IDs are not required for Nintendo Accounts, however.
Theories abound for why Nintendo continues to prioritize Friend Codes. In the past, Nintendo described Friend Codes as safer for users, ensuring that Nintendo users don’t end up with strangers in their friends lists.
A more modern viewpoint would be Japan’s mobile gaming being heavily built around the use of friend codes and not gamer tags. Whatever the reason, the structure is in place on the Nintendo Switch to support a variety of way to add friends, some already in place and some possibly added in the future.
