Switch 2's Game Chat requires registering a real Phone Number (2FA)

adamsapple

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?




Implications that this might stop it from working in countries where NSO is natively supported unless those people use number spoofing to get different regional numbers.

 
Why is it news that setting up an account or service requires a text message verification? Literally everything does. Also this has been known for weeks. How else would you be able to verify it's your account? Such as if you lost access. And needed to contact Nintendo to prove it's your account.

Good Lord stop stirring up controversy/drama where none exists. Must be a slow news day.
 
Last edited:
This is just a rumor for right now, so don't bust out the pitchforks just yet. If true, it's as ridiculous as Sony's PSN requirement for Steam games.

It is not a rumor. From Nintendo's website:

As an additional security measure, text message verification is required to set up GameChat. It uses the phone number registered to your Nintendo Account.
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/switch-2/features/gamechat/
 
Last edited:
Dr. Wilkinson said:
Why is it news that setting up an account or service requires a text message verification? Literally everything does. Also this has been known for weeks. How else would you be able to verify it's your account? Such as if you lost access.

Good Lord stop stirring up controversy/drama where none exists. Must be a slow news day.
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point that Nintendo Switch Online isn't available in all countries, so this negatively impacts people in those unsupported countries.

Dr. Wilkinson said:
No, it's definitely not. It's literally just MFA.
Click to expand...

What do you think "allegedly" means?
 
Last edited:
i4FOTK0.jpeg
 
Nintendo implementing additional security measures to help better secure our accounts and keep our kids safe online? Pretty scummy of Nintendo if you ask me.
 
Last edited:
Dr. Wilkinson said:
Why is it news that setting up an account or service requires a text message verification? Literally everything does. Also this has been known for weeks. How else would you be able to verify it's your account? Such as if you lost access. And needed to contact Nintendo to prove it's your account.

Good Lord stop stirring up controversy/drama where none exists. Must be a slow news day.
Click to expand...
They invented solutions that allow 2FA without using SMS… iOS and Android both have a built in solution, we have Google Authenticator, MS Authenticator, we have passkeys, etc…
 
LOL why they made a communication feature for Switch 2 was beyond my imagination, actually I'd prefer they don't add any to their consoles for children safety, now they are making the feature a hassle to use for many people just to prevent children safety to be compromised? They should have not even tried it if the limitations are so many...
 
Panajev2001a said:
They invented solutions that allow 2FA without using SMS… iOS and Android both have a built in solution, we have Google Authenticator, MS Authenticator, we have passkeys, etc…
Click to expand...
That's true, but it's hardly the point. And all of that is far more complicated than it needs to be for the non-tech savvy among us. So what is the problem? The most mainstream, logical way to do 2FA is text message.
 
IFireflyl said:
I think you're missing the point that Nintendo Switch Online isn't available in all countries, so this negatively impacts people in those unsupported countries.



What do you think "allegedly" means?
Click to expand...
What's the negative impact? They don't have a phone number? No one in a country where you're buying a video game console for several hundred dollars is living in a place with no infrastructure in place for internet and cell phone signal coverage. If they were, consoles wouldn't be sold in that market because there wouldn't be a viable market for it.
 
Last edited:
It is immensely fun watching Nintendo wrestle with how to best insulate itself from toxic or malevolent internet culture.

In many respects I agree with the initiative. There are legions of minors prime for those of malintention.
 
Dr. Wilkinson said:
What's the negative impact? They don't have a phone number? No one in a country where you're buying a video game console for several hundred dollars is living in a place with no infrastructure in place for internet and cell phone signal coverage. If they were, consoles wouldn't be sold in that market because there wouldn't be a viable market for it.
Click to expand...
No, what they are saying is that if you do not have NSO offered in the country you cannot use the service.
 
Dr. Wilkinson said:
What's the negative impact? They don't have a phone number? No one in a country where you're buying a video game console for several hundred dollars is living in a place with no infrastructure in place for internet and cell phone signal coverage. If they were, consoles wouldn't be sold in that market because there wouldn't be a viable market for it.
Click to expand...

The negative impact is that countries that NSO is not available in cannot use the game chat feature as they cannot link their phone numbers. They have phone numbers, but phone numbers differ by region. If person A registers their NSO account as United States and then they try to enter their Philippines phone number, they will get an error because the phone number they are trying to use doesn't correspond to the region that they said they are in. Is this your first time hearing that phone numbers are region-specific?
 
Last edited:
IFireflyl said:
The negative impact is that countries that NSO is not available in cannot use the game chat feature as they cannot link their phone numbers. They have phone numbers, but phone numbers differ by region. If person A registers their NSO account as United States and then they try to enter their Philippines phone number, they will get an error because the phone number they are trying to use doesn't correspond to the region that they said they are in. Is this your first time hearing that phone numbers are region-specific?
Click to expand...

I'm legitimately curious if there's any regions where Nintendo Switch is sold (legally, at retail) where Nintendo Switch Online is not available. I feel like there probably is not.
 
Panajev2001a said:
No, what they are saying is that if you do not have NSO offered in the country you cannot use the service.
Click to expand...

IFireflyl said:
The negative impact is that countries that NSO is not available in cannot use the game chat feature as they cannot link their phone numbers. They have phone numbers, but phone numbers differ by region. If person A registers their NSO account as United States and then they try to enter their Philippines phone number, they will get an error because the phone number they are trying to use doesn't correspond to the region that they said they are in. Is this your first time hearing that phone numbers are region-specific?
Click to expand...

How would you use the service anyway, then? It's a feature included with NSO. It's not standalone. If you can't have NSO because of your region, then you'll continue to not have it. GameChat is a built-in feature of an NSO subscription.

There are regions where Nintendo sells Switch consoles but there is no feasible way to have NSO? Seems like something that would be super rare. But even if it is a thing in a couple tiny regions, it doesn't matter anyway because you can't have GameChat without NSO. You can't pay separately for GameChat. It's simply one of the included features along with Classic games, Cloud saves, online play, etc.
 
Last edited:
touchfuzzy said:
I'm legitimately curious if there's any regions where Nintendo Switch is sold (legally, at retail) where Nintendo Switch Online is not available. I feel like there probably is not.
Click to expand...
This. What regions of the world does Nintendo sells Switch consoles and distribute its consoles and software and accessories, but paying users are prohibited from having an NSO subscription? That's gotta be rare. Like, super duper rare. Like, probably near being statistically insignificant.
 
Last edited:
A payment button function that records you, requires you to enter your phone number, and on top of that, the quality is pathetic. What more could you want, Nintendo?
 
Last edited:
Like seriously, are people not aware that GameChat is included with NSO? You can't get it without being a paid NSO subscriber. It's not standalone. The C button won't do anything if you don't pay for NSO. Except maybe take you to a screen where you can sign up for and pay for an NSO subscription.
 
Last edited:
  • In a world where data leaks are common, this is certainly a concern
  • SMS is probably the worst option for 2FA...
  • If this is only for 2FA they should give other options like registering via QR code and an authentication app

The reality is that they want this so its easier to ban people, which I'm not exactly against, but they should probably be more transparent about it.
 
Dr. Wilkinson said:
How would you use the service anyway, then? It's a feature included with NSO. It's not standalone. If you can't have NSO because of your region, then you'll continue to not have it. GameChat is a built-in feature of an NSO subscription.

There are regions where Nintendo sells Switch consoles but there is no feasible way to have NSO? Seems like something that would be super rare. But even if it is a thing in a couple tiny regions, it doesn't matter anyway because you can't have GameChat without NSO. You can't pay separately for GameChat. It's simply one of the included features along with Classic games.
Click to expand...

I can't tell if you're trolling or stupid. You can register a NSO account using whatever region you want. People in countries that NSO isn't supported still have NSO accounts. Just like people in countries where PSN wasn't supported still had PSN accounts. The issue isn't with the account itself. The only issue is the forced phone number integration that is making it so these people cannot use the Game Chat functionality for no reason.

touchfuzzy said:
I'm legitimately curious if there's any regions where Nintendo Switch is sold (legally, at retail) where Nintendo Switch Online is not available. I feel like there probably is not.
Click to expand...

Here are the countries it is available:
  • Americas
    • United States
    • Canada
    • Mexico
    • Argentina
    • Brazil
    • Chile
    • Colombia
    • Peru
  • Europe, Middle East & Africa
    • Austria
    • Belgium
    • Bulgaria
    • Croatia
    • Cyprus
    • Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • Estonia
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Latvia
    • Lithuania
    • Luxembourg
    • Malta
    • Netherlands
    • Norway
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • United Kingdom
  • Asia-Pacific
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • Hong Kong
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Philippines
    • Thailand
    • Taiwan
That leaves a lot of countries out. This includes India and Indonesia which have pretty large markets. People in these markets purchase the Nintendo Switch online as they are not sold directly by Nintendo in these regions. That doesn't make it illegal for them to purchase the consoles, mind you. Also, four of these countries are newly added and not quite supported just yet. Per Nintendo:

The new game system, Nintendo Switch 2, will be released in July-September 2025 in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. We are working to launch online services, including Nintendo Switch Online and the Nintendo eShop in these four countries.
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.nintendo.com/sg/switch2/index.html
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Locked
Asking Chat GPT to Compare the Switch 2 to the Xbox Series S
5
81
Steve Holt replied
[VGC] Nintendo explains why Switch 2 Game Chat screen sharing has a low frame rate
2 3
110
4K
Drell replied
A List of Every GameCube Game Coming To Switch 2's Switch Online Library Featured in the Direct
News Platform 
24
957
Labadal replied
  • Poll
Switch 2…a true next gen Switch or a Switch Pro?
4 5 6 7 8
379
10K
Hyet replied
Update: Nintendo confirms no DL required for physical Switch 2 Edition Games (the OG Switch game and the upgrade pack are on the same cart)
2 3
137
7K
sn0man replied
Top Bottom