Nintendo has confirmed that your Nintendo Network account can only be used on the console it was created on, at least for now.

“ In the future, you will be able to use your Nintendo Network Account with future Nintendo consoles and other devices, such as PC's.

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In a post over on the Nintendo Support site , the company revealed that there is currently no way to sign into your account on a friend's console or transfer it to a new Wii U should yours break, though this will change at some stage.In the interim though, this means if you're unfortunate enough to have your shiny new console die on you then you're set to lose all game progress, Miiverse posts and console settings.Hopefully this will change soon, as Nintendo has made clear it's planning on rolling the Nintendo Network out to the 3DS as well. It's interesting to speculate what the ability to log in on PC could mean though. Whilst highly unlikely, we mused last week about the significance of the company releasing its first paid-for iOS app in Japan . Could the ability to log into your Nintendo Network account on a PC be the first step in accessing a wider range of Nintendo's back catalogue in app form?Probably not. But we can dream...

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter