Nintendo Switch Day One Update: eShop, Friend Codes Return

By Edwin Kee
Nintendo Switch day one update
The dreaded Friend Code system makes a return, and an eShop that has pretty empty virtual shelves is a sad thing to look at. Kotaku

Ah, the Nintendo Switch that is all set to be launched officially on March 3, 2017, is already in the hands of reviewers. No doubt the console itself has great potential judging by the kind of hybrid form factor it comes in, letting you play on the move or at home -- but will there be enough titles to keep it going in the long run? Nintendo does not make it easy for developers to port over their games from a different system, or even have a concurrent development timeline. Will this change with the Nintendo Switch? Not even out officially yet, the Day One update has already arrived.

Thankfully, the Day One update is not a large file that will take eons to download, but rather, is quick and fast. With this particular download, it will introduce some more basic functionality to the entire console -- such as setting up the eShop to make it accessible, alongside nine different listed games and the return of friend codes. Oh yes, and how can we forget that this update would open the doors for the Switch to go online? This feature is extremely important, as it allows the console to showcase stories in the news feed that changes dynamically on a frequent basis. And no, it has nothing to do with real-world news, just video game stuff concerning the Switch.

Friend Codes make a return
The first time you would go online, you would need to set up your Nintendo Account username and password. Expect to receive “spam” (for some), or promotional information in the future, but once that is done and over with, it is time to stare down at the friend code segment. Friend codes were introduced on the Nintendo DS, where gamers who wanted to play against or with one another had to enter each other’s friend code before being able to begin playing. It is not as simple as looking for your friend’s handle -- no sir, it is a random and lengthy combination that would make Mary Poppins’ “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” seem to be a walk in the park.

The whole idea behind friend codes? To make it more kid-friendly and safer, but it is certainly a tedious process each time you want to fire up a match with your mate. After all, that meant communicating your friend code to the other player through smoke signals, homing pigeons, the pony express, email, or text message. However, the tedious process is halved this time around -- only one person needs to input the friend code for a multiplayer session to kick off.

Nintendo also claims that there are alternative non-friend-code methods for Switch users to link up, saying, “Several methods can be used to add friends as quickly and easily as possible: By linking Nintendo Switch to your Nintendo Account, your friends from Miitomo and Super Mario Run will appear as friend candidates so you can easily send them a friend request. Also, we are planning it so that friends from social networking services will be listed as candidates, too.”

eShop opens its doors.
There aren’t too many games on the Nintendo eShop at the moment, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild being the only big ticket item, while the rest time fillers are Bomberman, 1-2-Switch, Shovel Knight, Just Dance 2017, I Am Setsumo, Fast RMX, and Snipperclips.

Hopefully things will work out well for the Nintendo Switch in the future. 

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