Nintendo Updates User Agreement: Violators Risk Switch Being Bricked

Nintendo has recently updated its user agreement, adopting a stricter approach towards players who engage in activities such as hacking their Switch console, running emulators, or any other "unauthorized use." As reported by Game File, emails have been sent to players notifying them of the updates to the Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy. These new rules, effective as of May 7, supersede all previous versions and apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users. According to Game File, there have been approximately 100 changes made to the agreement.

Prior to May 6, the agreement stipulated that users were not allowed to "lease, rent, sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble all or any portion of the Nintendo Account Services without Nintendo's written consent, or unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law." However, the updated section in the U.S. version of the agreement has been significantly expanded:

"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 highlighted by Nintendo Life, the agreement differs slightly, stating:

"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."

While Nintendo has not provided a clear definition of what "unusable" entails, the language suggests that the company now has the authority to "brick" a user's console if it detects any violation of its rules. Additionally, changes to the privacy policy emphasize that Nintendo may monitor Switch users' online chats to ensure a safe and family-friendly environment and to identify any breaches of the Nintendo Account Agreement or other harmful or illegal activities.

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These updates likely stem from Nintendo's recent challenges with piracy and the upcoming launch of the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2, scheduled for June 5. Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 opened on April 24, with the console priced at $449.99. The pre-orders were met with overwhelming demand, as noted by Nintendo's warning to U.S. customers who pre-ordered through the My Nintendo Store, stating that release date delivery is not guaranteed. For more information, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.