Nintendo Spotlights Switch Online Icon Maker With Mario Galaxy Rewards Waves

Nintendo’s latest Switch Online refresh is built around a simple habit: log in, spend Platinum Points, and swap in a new profile icon before the window closes. The April 7 post tied the icon maker to Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, with five limited-time waves running from March 31 through May 5 in Pacific time, turning a cosmetic menu into a recurring reason to check back.

The schedule is tightly paced. Wave 1 ran from March 31 at 6:00 p.m. PT to April 7 at 5:59 p.m. PT, Wave 2 ran from April 7 at 6:00 p.m. PT to April 14 at 5:59 p.m. PT, Wave 3 runs from April 14 at 6:00 p.m. PT to April 21 at 5:59 p.m. PT, Wave 4 runs from April 21 at 6:00 p.m. PT to April 28 at 5:59 p.m. PT, and Wave 5 runs from April 28 at 6:00 p.m. PT to May 5 at 5:59 p.m. PT. Nintendo says users access the icon maker through Nintendo Switch Online on the HOME Menu, then redeem My Nintendo Platinum Points for characters, backgrounds, and frames.

For Nintendo teams, the feature is a small but revealing piece of live operations. Support documentation says icon elements are refreshed weekly and each month has a different theme, which means the work stretches across account services, UI, localization, QA, and brand approvals instead of sitting still like a static menu skin. Once an icon element is added to a user’s Icon Collection, Nintendo says it stays there even if the player later loses an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. That softens the risk of trying the feature, but it also keeps the collection feeling durable enough to build around.

The company has spent years widening the role of Nintendo Switch Online, which launched on September 18, 2018. Its current lineup includes online play, save data cloud backup, classic-game libraries, special offers, and GameChat access on Switch 2. In FY2025, Nintendo said net sales reached 1,164.9 billion yen, dedicated video game platform sales reached 1,083.5 billion yen, and annual playing users stayed above 100 million between July 2024 and June 2025. That scale explains why a profile icon system matters: tiny features can keep a huge base moving between major releases.

Nintendo also built in extra gates that make the reward loop feel intentional. Some icon parts may be exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members, and Nintendo Australia’s support materials say some limited parts require having played the relevant game while they are available, or on at least three separate days within the last 30 days. For workers inside Nintendo, that is the point of the design: keep the expression low-stakes, keep the cadence regular, and make every seasonal drop feel like a reason to return.