Nintendo's New Family Group Option Is Now Available

Nintendo has opened up the option to create Family Groups ahead of the launch of online services for the Switch in September. You can now head to the Nintendo website to link up to eight Nintendo accounts, including child accounts, which allows you to make use of a Nintendo Switch Online family membership.

As part of the subscription – a one-year membership costs $20 (about Rs. 1,350) for an individual and $35 (about Rs. 2,370) for a family of eight – you'll get access to online play services, 20 NES games with more added regularly, cloud saves, and more.

To get started, head over to the Nintendo website and add new members by inviting them with their associated email address. Do note that members of a Family Group can’t share eShop funds, purchase history, or My Nintendo Points.

For those who have more than one Switch under the same roof, a family membership can save you a lot of money, which you can start planning already with Family Groups. But Nintendo doesn't seem to be enforcing any rules on what constitutes a family, so a group of friends could easily do the same.

Of course, you'll need to figure out who will serve as the admin, as the creator of the Family Group is automatically considered the admin. And obviously, your Nintendo account can't be linked to more than one Family Group.

As for actual families using this feature, admins can pick family members as guardians (aged 18 and up) who can then manage parental controls for any child accounts. Guardians can't change anything for other guardians or the admin.

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