Nintendo seems to have some issues with it comes to their online component in the past. The biggest issue that I believe most gamers would agree with me on is the fact that Nintendo doesn’t attach eShop downloads to accounts.
Instead, future downloads would be connected to an account rather than a console. This news was discovered by Eurogamer who notes that Nintendo unveiled the new terms for eShop downloads within a YouTuber unboxing video.
In the past, gamers who owned a console such as a Nintendo Wii U, was faced to download games and store them on the console itself. This means that if the console was damaged or lost, gamers were forced to jump through hoops to get these video games back when on a new console.
Now gamers can upgrade their Nintendo Switch or purchase a secondary device and simply log into their account to download their video game purchases.
“Your Nintendo Account contains your Nintendo eShop purchase history and current balance. By re-linking your Nintendo Account after initializing the console, it will be possible to redownload any software or DLC purchased using that account. (Software that has been discontinued may not be available to redownload in some cases.)”
It’s worth noting that if a video game is taken off the eShop marketplace then you may not have the option to download that particular game. This is nothing new as other platforms have similar terms so if you’re a game collector, it’s probably worth picking up the physical copy of the game when possible.