Nintendo Switch Online subscribers call to change restrictions

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Key foods

  • Some Nintendo Switch Online members would like to see the service loosen its profile icon restrictions.
  • The re-release of NSO profile icons currently comes with some fairly restrictive restrictions, such as requiring players to own the games that purchase their icons.
  • When designing a custom profile picture, icons from different games cannot be combined.



some Nintendo Switch Online Members have recently taken to social media to demand changes to the way the service distributes profile icons, arguing that the current system is unnecessarily restrictive. Their frustration stems in large part from the convoluted way Nintendo Switch Online restricts the availability and use of icons.

Profile icons were originally added to Nintendo Switch Online in March 2022. Since then, subscribers can spend their Platinum Points on a variety of images that can be used to customize their profiles. These digital goods are added to the service monthly and are constantly rotating. In most cases, previously published symbols are not returned to the NSO more than once a year.


Nintendo Switch Online members want profile icon restrictions lifted

But when that happens, their availability will be more limited, as any images offered as part of this iteration will require subscribers to own the games they're based on before purchasing. That's not the only condition for buying them, as recently pointed out by Reddit user WhispyWhirl who was missing some Nintendo Switch Online profile icons. Animal Crossing: New Horizons Because the service insisted that they must first play the game three times in the last 30 days in order to receive them.


NSO Common Labels “Anti-Consumer” Profile Icon Restrictions

As it turns out, this unusual requirement doesn't actually state that they have to boot the game three times, but play it on three separate days over a one-month period. By the time they finally managed to do so, the icons they wanted to purchase with their hard-earned platinum points were out of rotation. “This is one of the worst systems I think the Switch has ever had,” wrote the fan, in addition to labeling it “totally anti-consumer.” WhispyWhirl's complaint garnered hundreds of upvotes and subsequently appeared on the front page of Switch's largest subreddit in early October 2024, indicating that a portion of NSO's subscribers share their displeasure.

Some people who participated in the discussion that followed took it as an opportunity to be more free about how to mix and match individual symbol elements. According to these comments, not being able to combine different game icons when designing a custom profile picture is unnecessarily limiting.


This is one of the worst systems I think the Switch has ever had. This is completely anti-consumer.

The chances of Nintendo directly acting on these complaints are slim at best, as the company has a longstanding reputation for doing its own thing, quirks and all. But that doesn't mean NSO won't see any changes for the foreseeable future, especially since the service could indeed be tweaked to accompany the Switch's successor. According to recent reports, the Nintendo Switch 2 could be announced as early as October 2024.

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