An Origin account will be required in order to play any of EA's games on the Wii U.

The company was recently found to have updated its privacy policy to address what authentication will be required from Wii U players.

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"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.

In Section V.3, titled "Information Provided To EA By Third Parties – Wii U", the company explains, "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."

This brings EA's attitude to the Wii U in line with the Xbox 360 and PS3, as owners of those consoles currently face the same rules when playing games such as Mass Effect or Dragon Age online.

What's also of interest is the reference to the "Nintendo Network ID", which is what we're expecting to replace the current friend code system that Nintendo is set to phase out.

The Wii U will launch in America on November 18 and in Europe and Australia on November 30.

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

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