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

Nintendo has recently tightened its user agreement, introducing stricter terms and conditions that crack down on players who engage in unauthorized activities such as hacking their Switch console or running emulators. As reported by Game File, emails have been sent to users, notifying them of the updated "Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy." These new rules, effective as of May 7, override all previous versions and apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users. According to Game File, approximately 100 changes have been made between the old and new agreements.

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 permitted by law.

The updated section in the U.S. agreement has been significantly expanded to read:

"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 highlighted by Nintendo Life, the agreement differs slightly in the UK, where users agree 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 unauthorised use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable."

While Nintendo has not specified what "unusable" means, the wording implies that the company now reserves the right to potentially "brick" a user's console if it detects any rule violations. Additionally, the updated privacy policy emphasizes that Nintendo may monitor Switch users' online chats to ensure 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 changes are likely a response to Nintendo's recent challenges, including high-profile piracy cases, and are timed with the upcoming launch of the eagerly awaited 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. Demand was predictably high, as noted in Nintendo's warning to U.S. customers who pre-ordered from the My Nintendo Store, stating that release date delivery is not guaranteed. For more information, you can check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.