Nintendo Account registration is online

Account registration is now open for the Nintendo Account System, the digital service that is likely tied to upcoming Nintendo NX and mobile platforms.

If somewhere in Nintendo’s main office there is a table listing the areas of their main platforms that need work, online services are probably high, if not top of the list. Both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS made great strides for Nintendo online, providing reliable online multiplayer services and even account-based services for online shopping, but they lacked features. Ask anyone who’s ever tried to transfer their digital purchases from one 3DS or Wii U to another and they’ll answer you with a haunting story of desperation.

With Nintendo set to launch a whole new platform, currently codenamed Nintendo NX, in 2016 or 2017 and their mobile platform as well, expectations for a reliable cross-platform online account system are in order. Today may be the first proof that Nintendo is meeting those expectations, as registration began for the Nintendo Account service, which was previously live for Japan at the end of 2015.

So far, the Nintendo Account has no functionality; Users can simply create their account and reserve a nickname. From there, users will be able to link various online services to their account, including Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.

The question then remains as to what Nintendo plans to do with Nintendo Accounts. The most likely culprit for such early registration is the March launch of the My Nintendo rewards program, which, like Club Nintendo, rewards users for their Nintendo purchases and in-game achievements. Coupons and virtual goods are just a few of the things Nintendo teased, implying service that may be on par (or at least close) with Xbox Live or PSN.

From the concept of players linking their Nintendo purchases through Nintendo Accounts, it’s not far off to speculate that all Nintendo digital purchases will be made through a Nintendo Account. And not too far from it to assume that Nintendo game purchases will potentially be cross-platform. One could even go further and speculate that the NX will allow gamers to stream games from a console to mobile platforms, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

The only guess we can make is that Nintendo has plans for its new online service and no one can guess what the limits of that service will be. Assuming that Nintendo will aspire to structure their competitors’ online services has been proven wrong in the past, and it is likely that it will also prove wrong here. However, Nintendo probably linking their mobile versions to their account system is a perfect example of how unconventional all this service will be.

It is best for fans to register a Nintendo Account today, so that their nicknames will be reserved for the future. Then everyone will be bracing for all the surprises Nintendo has to come.