Nintendo Switch Still Uses Friend Codes, But Not Exclusively

Get out those notepads: Nintendo Switch will still use the dreaded Friend Code system to add friends online.

With the console’s day-one update launching for the console’s Australian launch, members of the press have noticed that Nintendo Switch’s friends list features the “glorious” return of this much-maligned ID system from the Wii and 3DS.


However, this isn’t the only way to add friends. Options are also available to add people nearby, people you’ve played online with, and your friends on Miitomo and Super Mario Run. If you want to just add an online friend, however, you must share friend codes.

This development contradicts something Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Amie said about the Switch not using friend codes. Back in January, Reggie said this to CNET about Nintendo’s previous iterations of its online service:

People have taken shots at us for that. The reality is, the way that online experiences have progressed, it’s an expensive proposition. The amount of servers we need to support Smash Brothers or Mario Kart — these big multiplayer games — is not a small investment. There are no friend codes within what we’re doing.

The Nintendo Switch launches tomorrow. If you need a little bit more info before purchasing Nintendo’s new hybrid console, be sure to check out our review-in-progress here.

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