We’ve previously noted that with Super Mario Maker, Nintendo seemed to be making progress with online gaming, an area on which its competitors have a much better grasp. Still, Nintendo’s online ecosystem can be tough to understand. So naturally, they’ve decided to add yet another facet to it, as users can now claim their own Nintendo User ID (via The Verge).

It looks like instead of an entirely new type of account, the User ID is the front-facing way players will be identified online, not unlike a Microsoft Gamertag. Nintendo Account users might think this sounds a lot like the Nickname they already have. That’s because it does, but it’s also not the same thing.

We’re sorry if this is confusing, but let us run through the types of user accounts/identifications Nintendo has right now and clear this up for everybody (ourselves included, since we could use a refresher as well). At the top level, you have your Nintendo Account. It’s attached to your email address, and it’s how you access all of Nintendo’s other online services. Then there’s the Nintendo Network ID, which was used with the WiiU and 3DS, providing access to the eShop and Miiverse.

Now, there’s the Nintendo User ID, and at the moment, all we really know about it is that you can claim your own in the “User info” section of your Nintendo Account (here). We don’t really know what this is going to be used for yet (presumably something to do with the Switch), but setting your own only takes a minute. You may as well do that as we wait for news about what this fancy new ID will actually do for us. Hopefully it will bridge all the disparate parts of Nintendo’s online persona into something more manageable and user friendly.

Featured image: Nintendo