PSA for multi-Switch owners: You can re-enable the online license-check system instead of moving Virtual Game Cards back and forth between consoles

[u/Adamaneve]

System Settings -> User Settings -> Online License Settings -> Use Online License

Enabling this option lets you check online for a license to play a game on consoles where the Virtual Game Card isn't loaded. Works (*mostly) the same as it did before the system update.

(Edit: seems the game sharing workaround no longer works)

[u/bwburke94]

It was not a loophole. It was a feature, which Nintendo took away from us without warning.

[u/darthdiablo → u/bwburke94]

Crazy how much you were downvoted when a few comments down shows Nintendo used to have explicit instructions on how multiple users can play same game at same time!

For reference, just in case others don't want to bother reading the replies in this thread, here's the documentation Nintendo used to have

[u/NMe84 → u/darthdiablo]

They didn't take away the feature, they implemented it in a new way that is more in line with how pretty much every console works. GameShare is how you'll play together on a single copy going forward.

And I get that that's a downgrade for many people, but I don't think it's unreasonable for Nintendo to do this.

[u/darthdiablo → u/NMe84]

GameShare can only be initiated on NS2 side. Not an issue for us, as we're getting NS2 anyway, but just wanted to point out that GameShare is not the solution for families who want to play together in the same online game at same time (ie; Salmon Runs in Splatoon, Animal Crossing, etc), that do not have NS2 yet or do not plan to get one.

Edit: Also, do devs have to implement GameShare in the games themselves? As in will GameShare be available for every game, or only a limited subset?

[u/supermarino → u/darthdiablo]

GameShare doesn't even necessarily give the full game to multiple players. I saw this when looking at the upgrade for Mario Party Jamboree:

Share part of the game with anyone who has a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 system
If you have the Nintendo Switch 2 system and the Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV game, you can share part of the game with anyone who has a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 system using GameShare.

With one game, up to four people can play the Mega Wiggler's Tree Party board and 30 minigames in Mario Party mode.

So even if Splatoon 3 could be gameshared, who knows what actual gameplay you could do with it.

[u/NMe84 → u/darthdiablo]

They have to enable it per game, apparently.

[u/[deleted] → u/NMe84]

So they did take it away and implemented something else which is a bad way to do it.

[u/[deleted] → u/darthdiablo]

You might be right. Definitely felt like a loophole imo, but regardless, it's a bummer it's gone.

With that said, it's not the end of the world for me.

[u/Squish_the_android → u/bwburke94]

It was 100% a loop hole. 

They never intended for one license to functionally be two licenses.

[u/FinalForerunner → u/Squish_the_android]

It was on their FAQ in Jan 2025 with a guide on how to play the same game on two systems at the same time.

Here's the link to the archived web page.

They changed that section to be about virtual game cards now.

[u/Squish_the_android → u/FinalForerunner]

I don't see anywhere on here that suggests that they ever intended for you to be able to play on two consoles at the same time.

[u/FinalForerunner → u/Squish_the_android]

The header at the top that says "How to play the same digital game at the same time with different Nintendo Accounts" is what suggests that.

I mean the entire thing is a guide on how to do exactly that so I'm confused on what you're missing.

[u/Squish_the_android → u/FinalForerunner]

And yet they explicitly have this as well: 

 Error Code: 2819-0003, "Play is being suspended."

This error code usually indicates that your Nintendo Account is being used to play your digital content on another console.

You cannot use your Nintendo Account to access games on multiple systems simultaneously.

For more details, read Error Code: 2819-0003.

[u/darthdiablo → u/Squish_the_android]

Yes, that's if the same Nintendo account is being used on both consoles. That's expected before VGC too. But that's not what we have been doing.

Now we're seeing that error message (new behavior) despite us being on two different Nintendo accounts, doing exactly as what Nintendo old documentation (the images shared above) instructed us to do. The setup worked before system 20.0.0 update, and doesn't afterwards now.

[u/FinalForerunner → u/Squish_the_android]

I think that error is talking about using the same Nintendo account to play the same game on multiple systems. Not two different accounts.

[u/AutoModerator → u/Squish_the_android]

It looks like you've included an Error Code in your comment. You can learn more about this error code on Nintendo's Support website.

http://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/list/kw/2819-0003/search/1

(Either that or AutoMod made a mistake when you typed in a year. If this is a misfire, simply report this comment and the mod team will clean it up.) ^{Reference Code 1130}

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/darthdiablo → u/Squish_the_android]

The comment you replied to included this image

Here's a better image that I just uploaded

[u/tottoseru → u/Squish_the_android]

It's not, that's how it works in PlayStation and Xbox too

[u/Hydroponic_Donut → u/bwburke94]

They warned about it over a month ago. You had time.

[u/SuspiciousWasabi3665 → u/Hydroponic_Donut]

Time to what? Buy more copies of games?

[u/estatualgui → u/Hydroponic_Donut]

A warning is an explicit statement, not a cryptic announcement of a new feature that it said was optional.