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

Nintendo has recently updated its user agreement, implementing stricter policies against 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 announcing the update to the Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy, effective as of May 7. This new agreement, which includes around 100 changes, supersedes all previous versions and applies to both existing and new 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 written consent from Nintendo or unless permitted by law. The updated U.S. version of this clause 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 noted by Nintendo Life, the agreement states:

"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 hasn't specified what "unusable" means, the language implies that the company may now have the authority to "brick" a console if it detects rule violations. Additionally, changes to the privacy policy indicate that Nintendo may monitor Switch users' online chats to ensure a safe and family-friendly environment and to identify violations of the Nintendo Account Agreement.

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These updates may be a response to recent challenges faced by Nintendo, including high-profile piracy cases and the upcoming launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, scheduled for June 5. Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 began on April 24, with the console priced at $449.99. Demand has been exceptionally high, leading Nintendo to warn U.S. customers who pre-ordered through the My Nintendo Store that delivery on the release date is not guaranteed. For more information on securing a Nintendo Switch 2, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.