There’s a brand new firmware update for the Nintendo Switch available now that should make it a whole lot easier to connect with your friends.
Released on March 12, update 5.0 brings a few changes to the system, but the most significant is that you can now add your Facebook and Twitter friends through the console’s Friend Suggestions section.
You will, of course have to link your social media accounts to your Nintendo Switch accounts and your social media friends will have to have done the same for them to appear as a suggestion. But it's a far easier way to connect than posting your Friend Code out into the wild on your social media platform of choice in the hopes fellow Switch players will pick it up.
Switch solutions
Outside of this, there have also been some parental control changes. To make parental control PIN entry less obvious, the default entry method is now to use the control stick and buttons rather than the on-screen touch pad. If this doesn’t suit, you can always change back to the traditional method by holding the plus button when the entry prompt appears.
Captured videos will also be restricted by Parental Controls in accordance with the software you’ve restricted and the rating limits you’ve placed. If there's a game you want to make an exception for, the new parental controls will allow you to white-list specific games that would otherwise be restricted while keeping your play-time limits.
Any digital software purchases you make on a PC or smartphone will now start downloading sooner – even if your Switch is in Sleep Mode – and you’ll also receive notifications when any games you’ve pre-ordered become ready to play (as if you weren’t counting down the days).
Arms and Kirby fans will be glad to know there are now 24 new user icons for you to choose from. And to top things off, that issue with play times displaying incorrectly has been solved. You can wave your Breath of the Wild and Skyrim commitment in the face of anyone that ever doubted you once more.
This isn't perhaps quite as significant an update as we would have expected from 5.0 (usually these numbers are reserved for big hitters). However, it does bring some small welcome changes.
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