Nintendo Updates User Agreement: Violators Risk Switch Being Bricked

Nintendo has recently updated its user agreement, introducing stricter policies for those who engage in activities like hacking their Switch console, using emulators, or any other "unauthorized use." As reported by Game File, emails were sent to players announcing the update to the Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy, effective as of May 7. These new rules override all previous versions and apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users. According to Game File, there are approximately 100 changes from the old agreement to the new one.

Before May 6, the user agreement stated that players 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. has been expanded to include:

"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, the agreement differs slightly, as highlighted by Nintendo Life. UK players 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 unauthorized use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable."

Although Nintendo hasn't specified what "unusable" entails, the language implies that the company now has the authority to potentially "brick" your console if it detects a violation of its rules. Additionally, the updated privacy policy emphasizes that Nintendo may monitor Switch users' online chats "in order to support a safe and family-friendly online environment and to detect violations of the Nintendo Account Agreement and other harmful or illegal interactions."

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These changes may be a response to Nintendo's recent challenges, such as high-profile piracy cases, as well as the upcoming launch of the much-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2, scheduled for June 5. Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 opened on April 24, with the price set at $449.99, and the demand was as intense as expected. Nintendo has also warned 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.