Nintendo made the unfortunate announcement today that there's been a massive security breach tied to its Nintendo accounts. In doing so, Nintendo confirmed reports from over the past several weeks that individuals were having their Nintendo Switch accounts breached. In total there are over 160,000 accounts that have had their Nintendo Accounts compromised. The reason why is due to security issues related to Nintendo Network IDs.

The Nintendo Network ID was Nintendo's online and eShop account system for the Wii U and 3DS generation. With the onset of the Nintendo Swtich, the Nintendo Account system took the Nintendo Network ID system's place. However, users have been able to still use their Nintendo Network ID login information for their Nintendo Accounts.

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Leaked information, according to Nintendo, could include the Nintendo Network ID user's nickname, date of birth, and country/region, and email address. Passwords and payment information are not included in Nintendo's list of potentially leaked account information. That means hackers are likely comparing Nintendo's leaked information to previously leaked passwords from hacks of different account systems.

Due to the data breach, Nintendo is removing the option for Nintendo Network ID logins for Nintendo Accounts, forcing password resets for potentially breached accounts, and is encouraging NNID users to reset their passwords and implement two-step verification.

Nintendo also apologizes for  "any inconvenience caused" as a result of the data breach. "We will make further efforts to strengthen security and ensure safety so that similar events do not occur," is Nintendo's promise going forward.

nintendo switch logo

Nintendo's online services have consistently been criticized year after year, though security has never been a focus of that criticism. While other platforms like PlayStation and Xbox have pushed for more robust online features, Nintendo has been much slower on the uptake. To be fair, both PlayStation and Xbox have both had their own problems with account security, but those events occurred years ago. It should have been expected that Nintendo learned from their mistakes, but obviously that isn't the case.

As ever, it never hurts for users to reset their account information and create new, unique passwords routinely. Even if a user's account hasn't been breached in this wave, it still may have been leaked. Leaked account information can contribute to further hacking attempts for different services at a later date.

MORE: How to Set Up 2-Step Verification for Nintendo Switch Account