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

Nintendo has recently updated its user agreement, implementing stricter policies regarding unauthorized activities on the Switch console. This includes a firm stance against hacking, running emulators, and other forms of "unauthorized use." As reported by Game File, emails have been dispatched to players notifying them of the updated "Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy." Effective from May 7, these new terms supersede all previous versions and apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users. According to the report, approximately 100 changes have been made to the agreement.

Prior to May 6, the user agreement prohibited activities such as 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.

The revised agreement in the U.S. has expanded this section significantly, now stating:

"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."

As noted by Nintendo Life, the agreement in the UK differs slightly, with users agreeing to:

"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 unauthorised use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable."

Although Nintendo hasn't defined what "unusable" entails, the wording implies that the company now has the authority to "brick" your console if it detects any rule violations. Additionally, the updated privacy policy now mentions that Nintendo may monitor Switch users' online chats to maintain a "safe and family-friendly online environment" and to identify breaches of the Nintendo Account Agreement and other harmful or illegal activities.

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These changes likely stem from Nintendo's recent challenges, including high-profile piracy cases, and are timed ahead of the upcoming launch of the eagerly awaited Nintendo Switch 2, slated for release on June 5.

Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 began on April 24, with the console priced at $449.99. The response was as robust as expected. Nintendo has also issued a caution to U.S. customers who pre-ordered through the My Nintendo Store, indicating that delivery on the release date isn't guaranteed due to overwhelming demand. For more information, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.