Nintendo won't say if Virtual Console purchases will transfer to Switch, but its new account system could help

Nintendo Switch's new online account service will keep your downloadable games all in one place - one place that isn't the serial number on the back of that 3DS you lost two years ago. Instead of going through a convoluted transfer process or calling the customer support line, your digital Nintendo Switch purchases can be automatically linked to your Nintendo Account for easy retrieval down the line (y'know, like every other modern video game console).

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed this detail in an interview with GameSpot. The question was initially about whether owners of Virtual Console games on current systems will be able to transfer over their Virtual Console purchases to Switch.

"We have not shared a lot of information regarding Virtual Console," Fils-Aime said. "We will be sharing more information at a later date. What I can tell you is that, with the introduction of Nintendo Account, we now have the capability to tie consumers' purchases to their particular account. So that opens up a range of executions for us to address that consumer desire, that consumer need. So we hear it, we're working on it, more information to come."

Add that to the list of infrastructure improvements the company is looking to make alongside Nintendo Switch's new paid online service.

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I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.