Despite being around a month away from the launch of Wii U, we are surprisingly (or not) in the dark about the specifics of Nintendo's online set-up for its new console. 'Nintendo Network', as the company's umbrella system is now known, remains quite a mystery.

However, with the slow march of time, inevitable little morsels are bubbling to the fray, with third parties rather unsurprisingly being the ones to break cover. EA has recently updated the Privacy Policy section of its website, revealing perhaps a little more about Wii U than we already knew.

The section in question pertains to the standard policy that comes into force regarding playing EA's own games through its Origin framework. The Wii U section is largely a copy-and-paste of the Xbox 360 and PS3 sections, but the devil is in the detail.

If you sign up to play EA games through a Nintendo Wii U console, your Nintendo account information will be provided to EA so that we can establish an Origin Account for you. You need an Origin Account to play EA's titles online. By signing up to play EA's titles, you agree that limited user account information can be transferred to EA. Information transferred to EA includes your Mii information, email address, Nintendo Network ID, friend list, country, language and date of birth but does not include credit card number or other financial account information.

Dissecting the paragraph, it looks like it provides further reiteration that Wii U will be the first Nintendo system to offer fully fledged accounts, rather than having all user data locked to the hardware. Nintendo spokespeople have all but casually confirmed this, without actually nailing down the specifics.

It is also seemingly confirmation that, like with other systems, the door is open for third parties to push their own online services to consumers. In EA's instance, you'll have to have an Origin account to connect to their online servers. This will likely be initiated through the gateway of Nintendo Network, and while Nintendo might strive to make the situation uncomplex, consumers might find themselves with several different kinds of online accounts on their console.

Lastly, and perhaps most trivially, is the mention of a Nintendo Network ID. This may be a placeholder name for something that is not quite finalised yet, but even if not, it is almost frustratingly vague - offering no indication of whether a universal numerical friend code will be returning for Wii U, or whether gamers can choose their own tag for connecting their Nintendo Network account with others.

Wii U is edging ever nearer, so surely Nintendo is close to detailing its social and features. Right?