Nintendo just quietly released a fun way to revisit your 3DS and Wii U days

Seemingly out of nowhere, Japanese video game giant Nintendo shadow-dropped an all-new application onto mobile storefronts: the Nintendo Store. This app, which is available now for free across both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, allows you to browse through a massive selection of Switch and Switch 2 software titles, in addition to console hardware, peripherals, merchandise, and more.

Aside from serving as a storefront for window shopping all things Nintendo, the Nintendo Store app also lets you add products to a personal wish list, as well as keep up with relevant gaming updates and events via a dedicated news tab. Critically, and most likely a result of the company not wanting to pay royalties to Apple or Google, you can’t make any actual purchases within the app; instead, you’re redirected to your web browser of choice to complete any and all transactions.

…in addition to carrying a log of Switch and Switch 2 gameplay, it also displays users’ information going all the way back to the 3DS and Wii U days.

The Nintendo Store app also tucks away one more secret within its interface: the ability to view your cross-Nintendo platform play activity. On the surface, this may not sound particularly exciting, but it’s a big deal for Switch and Switch 2 gamers who have long been hamstrung by the obscure, nebulous play time statistics offered on the hybrid console’s own operating system.

A surprising bonus within the Nintendo Store’s play activity section is that, in addition to carrying a log of Switch and Switch 2 gameplay, it also displays users’ information going all the way back to the 3DS and Wii U days. One quirk here is that total hours spent within each software title is rounded, but it does at least provide granular details on the following metrics:

• First played
• Last played
• Days played
• Time played (including the time of last refresh)
• Play Activity (a full log of every date a given software title has been launched, as well as how many total hours and/or minutes were tracked per daily session).

How to view your Nintendo play history

The option is tucked away within the new Nintendo Store application

To access all your Nintendo gameplay history, ranging from 2011’s 3DS all the way to 2025’s Switch 2, follow these steps:

1. Download and install the Nintendo Store application onto your mobile device, if you haven’t done so already.
2. Sign in to your Nintendo Account using your login credentials.
3. Tap or click on the user profile section of the app, which is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the navigation bar.
4. From here, scroll down to the very bottom of the page, and then tap or click on Play Activity.
5. From within this next screen, you can sort your Nintendo play history in various ways, including by Most recently played, by Date first played, by Total time played, and by Game system.

Note that in order for your game history to be recognized and recorded within this new user-facing activity log, you’ll have to be signed in to your various Nintendo consoles using either a Nintendo Account or the older Nintendo Network ID (NNID). Consoles older than the 3DS, such as the original DS and the Wii, won’t synchronize play activity.

The following consoles can sync game play history to the Nintendo Store app via your Nintendo Account:

• Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS, New 3DS, New 3DS XL, New 2DS XL
• Nintendo Wii U
• Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, Switch OLED
• Nintendo Switch 2

If you find that your play history is inconsistently recorded or inaccurate, allow some additional time to elapse upon completing your most recent play session. Additionally, ensure that your console in question is connected to the internet and that it’s logged in with a Nintendo Account.