Question/Discussion About Nintendo Switch Account Longevity

[(NSW)ZargaLykos]

Good Day Tenno (Tennos/Tenni?),

I am a new player to Warframe (NinTenno), been about a week and I've decided that I want to make this my main game and pump massive amounts of hours and some money over time. I am blown away at the amazing quality of this game and how exquisite the community is. Without exaggerating even though its been such a short time, this is likely the best game I've ever played.

That being said, I have been doing a lot of reading on the forums here and on Reddit about the long term factors regarding playing and account retention that led up to me making this post. Stemming from other forums posts I participated in, reddit  as well as instructions/advice from DE support, I come to you all for hopefully some answers or solace, from the experienced players or even developers. My question is this: Are there any measures put in place for Nintendo Switch Warframe accounts so that when the console reaches the end of its life, the account can be used on another platform?

What I would love (to whatever extent it is possible, if possible) is some kind of reassurance that my Switch Warframe account will be protected with as much of its content intact as possible coupled with the opportunity to keep playing on another platform, whether it be another console (Nintendo or otherwise) or PC when the Switch inevitably reaches the very end of its lifespan.

From what I've gathered so far, the answer to that question I posted above as it relates to Xbox/PS4 accounts, there is no protection right now but it is possible they can be migrated to newer proprietary platforms (PS5/Xbox2 etc) when the time comes, and measures would be put in place at that time. I assume it is a similar case for Nintendo accounts but cannot be sure until documentation is published about the aforementioned by reputable sources. If cross platform/shared accounts becomes a thing (however they manage to sync updates/versions) I guess this would give me peace of mind regarding account longevity unless there were some unreasonable caveats. Xbox/PS4 may not even make any kind of account preservation/transfer but I am hoping that the deal between DE and Nintendo has this documented already to protect the player accounts at least.

To give a bit of scope as to why I'm fixated on playing on Switch, It is my only platform that can run Warframe in a consistently enjoyable manner. I do have a laptop but when I did a test run of Warframe on it (lowest graphical settings, OS usage stripped down etc) I was only getting like 20FPS in the intro mission, so playing long term on it would probably be very daunting especially getting to open world areas/towns etc. My laptop is about 5 years old and I would not be able to build a PC rig for like another year or two (in college rn, tight budget) so for an enjoyable experience, the Switch is my only viable avenue. I've listed my laptop specs at the end of this post if anyone has advice on how to optimize for better performance from your own experiences.

In all honesty though, if I cannot get any reasonable assurance that my Switch account will be protected and can be used on another platform when the Switch dies, I will go out of my way to cease playing on the Switch entirely and play on my laptop even though it might be a far more unpleasant experience, I will do this just have the security and peace of mind that I can have my account for as long as the game is operating. I intend to make Warframe my main game, hands down.

I know this was lengthy but I felt the need to be thorough. Any thoughts or advice you guys can give me is greatly appreciated. I am so happy to have discovered Warframe. Thanks very much for reading and have a good one!

 

EDIT: Contacted Nintendo about account longevity query, escalated to admin and awaiting their response. Will let you guys know.

Laptop Model: Dell E6420

Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
            Intel Core i7 2720QM @ 2.20GHz  
            Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

RAM
            8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)
        Motherboard
            Dell Inc. 032T9K (CPU 1)
        Graphics
            Generic PnP Monitor (1600x900@60Hz)
            Intel HD Graphics 3000 (Dell)
            511MB NVIDIA NVS 4200M (Dell)  
        Storage
            232GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (SSD) 
        Audio
            High Definition Audio Device

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by (NSW)ZargaLykos
Contacted Nintendo

[Kyoresh]

30 minutes ago, (NSW)ZargaLykos said:

Laptop Model: Dell E6420

Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
            Intel Core i7 2720QM @ 2.20GHz  
            Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

RAM
            8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)
        Motherboard
            Dell Inc. 032T9K (CPU 1)
        Graphics
            Generic PnP Monitor (1600x900@60Hz)
            Intel HD Graphics 3000 (Dell)
            511MB NVIDIA NVS 4200M (Dell)  
        Storage
            232GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (SSD) 
        Audio
            High Definition Audio Device

 

that should run waaaaaaay better than on the switch, except that graphics card lol

Edited November 29, 2018 by Kyoresh

[Kasamoto]

Here is the advise of a complete stranger on the internet, telling you how to best spent money

return or sell Nintendo switch, buy graphic card, play on laptop for now. At some point sell laptop (unless that’s your study laptop) get tower computer as soon as possible, play on PC.

that way you are not in for regret in a year or two when you have to lose all progress and no, there is no crossplay or account switcheroo between console and PC

[Erytroxylin]

You could play on that laptop by using a thunderbolt port to connect to external GPU if you wanted.

[(NSW)ZargaLykos]

4 minutes ago, Kyoresh said:

that should run waaaaaaay better than on the switch, except that graphics card lol

Yeah honestly the specs other than the GPU on the laptop isn't too bad considering it's an old 2nd gen i7 laptop from like 4+ years ago, but unfortunately the GPU is soldered onto the board so can't swap it out.

Legit just tried the intro mission again and it goes between 17 and 32 fps in gameplay, only played up until right before I got to the ship. I'm really nervous about if I get into heavy activity stages and everything reaches snail pace.

[Firetempest]

I'm sure there are plans to migrate accounts to next gens. PS4 to 5, xbone the xbtwo or whatever. Switch to switch 1.5 next year. But don't think there will be a liferaft to PC if you don't want to buy into the next gen.

[(NSW)ZargaLykos]

1 minute ago, Erytroxylin said:

You could play on that laptop by using a thunderbolt port to connect to external GPU if you wanted.

The laptop only has USB 2.0 ports :x

[Erytroxylin]

2 minutes ago, (NSW)ZargaLykos said:

The laptop only has USB 2.0 ports :x

Rip. Get new laptop or just play on switch then.

[(NSW)ZargaLykos]

11 minutes ago, Kasamoto said:

return or sell Nintendo switch, buy graphic card, play on laptop for now. At some point sell laptop (unless that’s your study laptop) get tower computer as soon as possible, play on PC.

I was actually considering something similar, though I have a decent amount of digital games I'm tempted not to sell it (having a bit of buyers remorse rn). Maybe I'll have to ignore the "sunken cost fallacy" and end up selling the switch x.x

[Kyoresh]

2 minutes ago, (NSW)ZargaLykos said:

I was actually considering something similar, though I have a decent amount of digital games I'm tempted not to sell it (having a bit of buyers remorse rn). Maybe I'll have to ignore the "sunken cost fallacy" and end up selling the switch x.x

well if you got the switch only for warframe, just sell it 😄

[Kasamoto]

5 minutes ago, (NSW)ZargaLykos said:

Maybe I'll have to ignore the "sunken cost fallacy" and end up selling the switch x.x

I will earn a lot of flame for this comment but I see people asking for account transfer from console to PC in reddit threads multiple times a week for several years now

Do it on PC now, Save yourself regretting later 

 

[(NSW)ZargaLykos]

2 minutes ago, Kasamoto said:

I will earn a lot of flame for this comment but I see people asking for account transfer from console to PC in reddit threads multiple times a week for several years now

Do it on PC now, Save yourself regretting later 

 

I appreciate you pointing this out to me. Ill definitely take this heavily into consideration.

19 minutes ago, Firetempest said:

I'm sure there are plans to migrate accounts to next gens. PS4 to 5, xbone the xbtwo or whatever. Switch to switch 1.5 next year. But don't think there will be a liferaft to PC if you don't want to buy into the next gen.

This is what I think is likely too, but I was hoping that somewhere in the DE+Nintendo documentation that they would have account sharing eventually or something that promoted\ensured account longevity.

[(NSW)Vintagetribe]

I am kind of int the same situation. I've played on the Switch a bit, and I liked it very much.

Just from sheer curiosity, I've also downloaded it on my PC to see how it works there. Obviously it works and looks better, but to my suprise, it's not THAT far ahead of the Switch version. Of course it's easier to control with M+K, it's easier to type in the chat, it runs in 60fps as opposed to 30... but - and it is purely subjective - I think I like the overall experience on the Switch better. Warframe just feels like this kind of game that you can quickly boot up, play several missions, grind some materials, start some production in the foundry, and then put it away and return next day to see the results. It's kind of a laid back experience that feels like it belongs on a smaller / mobile platform. At the same time it's a huge MMO lite game, and currently it's one of a kind on the Switch. Having something like this on this little piece of hardware is rather amazing.

Still, this game is a time sink, and if my account does not carry over to another platform in the future, I will be very disappointed and I will feel quite a regret that I haven't started playing on PC right away.

So yeah, I also don't know where to invest my time in. I kind of lean towards playing on the PC for a bit, catching up with my Switch progress, and once they announce the deadline for account transfer, then I'll decide if I want to continue on PC or transfer to the Switch and continue there.

[(NSW)ZargaLykos]

1 hour ago, (NSW)Vintagetribe said:

So yeah, I also don't know where to invest my time in. I kind of lean towards playing on the PC for a bit, catching up with my Switch progress, and once they announce the deadline for account transfer, then I'll decide if I want to continue on PC or transfer to the Switch and continue there.

In the stream yesterday they said the deadline for transfer will be some time after Christmas, giving people who get switches as presents time to get their console up and running and ready to transfer.

I'm curious though, do they give the same bunch of free stuff on PC like they do with the Switch? With the orkin reactors etc?

1 hour ago, (NSW)Vintagetribe said:

I think I like the overall experience on the Switch better. Warframe just feels like this kind of game that you can quickly boot up, play several missions, grind some materials, start some production in the foundry, and then put it away and return next day to see the results. 

I totally feel the same way. Like it's a portable game once you have a laptop but there's something about having it handheld that just makes it feel great.

[Mesquite]

I personally am enjoying my Switch a great deal (just got it recently), but I'm only migrating my WF account over as a novelty. I suggest, if you really like the game (and it sounds like you do, but you might want to give it a month or more to see how typical game fatigue may set in), that you play on PC as your primary account. Nothing is stopping you from playing on your Switch as well (and it is a crazy good port).

[(NSW)Evilpricetag]

Not sure where I ran into it but there was a weird discussion that basically was about how the Switch for its low value really gives gaming laptops a bad name. 

 

Aside from that... Warframes biggest sales are from console. While as you say its not concrete they will be ported to next gen. I doubt that they would do this to their biggest portion of the game.

I believe world of tanks was ported so you can play on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One.  I assume Warframe would do the same and if nothing else let it go on until the last gen updating becomes to much or obsolete they would just stop there and continue on current/next gen.

Edit: they likely would just end updates on one console, your account would be safe until you upgrade. 

Edited December 12, 2018 by (NSW)Evilpricetag

[Marekthejester]

I believe when the new console generation come, the game will simply be ported over and the account will be the same. Technically speaking, the only thing preventing to have one account for all consoles are the consoles company themselves. But i don't think either of the three company would be against cross play between their previous and new gen console.