Nintendo Updates User Agreement: Violation May Result in Switch Being Bricked

Nintendo has recently updated its user agreement, implementing stricter policies regarding unauthorized use of their Switch consoles. This includes harsher measures against players who hack their devices, use emulators, or engage in other forms of "unauthorized use." According to Game File, emails were sent to players informing them of the updated Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy, which became effective on May 7. The revised terms contain approximately 100 changes from the previous version, affecting all current and future Nintendo Account users.

Prior to May 6, the agreement prohibited users from leasing, renting, sublicensing, publishing, copying, modifying, adapting, translating, reverse engineering, decompiling, or disassembling any part of the Nintendo Account Services without Nintendo's written consent or unless permitted by law. However, the updated U.S. version significantly expands this clause:

"Without limitation, you agree that you may not (a) publish, copy, modify, reverse engineer, lease, rent, decompile, disassemble, distribute, offer for sale, or create derivative works of any portion of the Nintendo Account Services; (b) bypass, modify, decrypt, defeat, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent any of the functions or protections of the Nintendo Account Services, including through the use of any hardware or software that would cause the Nintendo Account Services to operate other than in accordance with its documentation and intended use; (c) obtain, install or use any unauthorized copies of Nintendo Account Services; or (d) exploit the Nintendo Account Services in any manner other than to use them in accordance with the applicable documentation and intended use, in each case, without Nintendo’s written consent or express authorization, or unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with the foregoing restrictions Nintendo may render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part."

In the UK, as Nintendo Life points out, the agreement differs slightly, with users agreeing that:

"Any Digital Products registered to your Nintendo Account and any updates of such Digital Products are licensed only for personal and non-commercial use on a User Device. Digital Products must not be used for any other purpose. In particular, without NOE's written consent, you must neither lease nor rent Digital Products nor sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of Digital Products other than as expressly permitted by applicable law. Such unauthorized use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable."

Although Nintendo hasn't specified what "unusable" means, the language suggests they may now have the authority to "brick" a console if they believe a user has violated their rules. Additionally, changes to the privacy policy indicate that Nintendo may monitor Switch users' online chats to maintain a safe and family-friendly environment and to detect violations of the Nintendo Account Agreement and other harmful or illegal interactions.

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These updates may stem from Nintendo's recent challenges with piracy, as well as the upcoming launch of the eagerly awaited Nintendo Switch 2, set to release on June 5. Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 opened on April 24, maintaining a price of $449.99, and were met with overwhelming demand. Nintendo has cautioned U.S. customers who pre-ordered through the My Nintendo Store that delivery on the release date is not guaranteed due to high demand. For more information, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.