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

Nintendo has recently updated its user agreement, adopting a more stringent stance on users who engage in activities like hacking their Switch console, using emulators, or any other "unauthorized use." As reported by Game File, emails were sent out to players notifying them of the updates to the Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy, effective as of May 7. These new terms replace all prior versions and apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users. According to Game File, the revised agreement includes around 100 changes from the previous version.

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 Nintendo's written consent or unless otherwise permitted by law. However, the updated U.S. version has significantly expanded this section:

"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 specifies:

"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 has not clarified what "unusable" entails, the language implies that the company may have the authority to "brick" a user's console if they violate these rules. Additionally, changes to the privacy policy now emphasize 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 and other harmful or illegal activities.

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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 eagerly awaited Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5. Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2, which remain priced at $449.99, opened on April 24 and were met with overwhelming demand. Nintendo has cautioned 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.