- Nintendo’s Switch game console is wildly popular, with over 55 million units sold – and it’s been out of stock nearly everywhere for months due to increased demand as millions are forced indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- As more people than ever are using the Switch, Nintendo Switch digital accounts are increasingly being targeted by hackers.
- Nintendo revealed a major breach in April: “About 160,000 accounts” of Nintendo Switch users were impacted, the company said at the time. As it turns out, the actual number was closer to 300,000 impacted users, Nintendo revealed this week.
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Do you have a Nintendo Switch? Did you also have a Nintendo 3DS or Wii U?
If you answered yes to both of those questions, there’s a possibility your Nintendo Switch account was one of approximately 300,000 that was breached by hackers.
Nintendo initially announced the breaches back in April, but doubled the number of affected accounts in an update this week “as a result of continuing the investigation.”
The issue applies specifically to anyone who connected their old Nintendo 3DS and Wii U “Nintendo Network ID” (NNID) to the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo now uses a system called Nintendo Account, but the company allowed people with existing NNIDs to connect those to their new Nintendo Accounts.
Nintendo no longer allows NNID logins on the Nintendo Switch, the company said.
If your account was breached, you'll likely know sooner than later by receiving an email like this:
Beyond just keeping an eye on the email inbox associated with your Nintendo Account, Nintendo is alerting impacted users by forcing a password reset.
"As a further precaution," the company said, "we will soon contact users about resetting passwords for Nintendo Network IDs and Nintendo Accounts that we have reason to believe were accessed without authorization."
Going forward, the company suggests doing two things to make your accounts more secure.
First, Nintendo says users should change the passwords associated with both your Nintendo Account and your Nintendo Network ID. Second, Nintendo suggest all users set up two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security on top of a password.
For more information, check out Nintendo's support page right here.