Nintendo Updates User Agreement: Violators Risk Switch Being Bricked

Nintendo has recently tightened its user agreement, introducing stricter terms and conditions aimed at users who engage in hacking their Switch console, running emulators, or any other forms of "unauthorized use." As reported by Game File, Nintendo has sent emails to players announcing the update to the Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy, effective May 7. These new rules supersede all previous versions and apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users. The revisions include around 100 changes from the previous agreement.

Prior to May 6, the agreement stated 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 U.S. version significantly expands this section, now reading:

"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 clarified the exact meaning of "unusable," the wording suggests that the company now reserves the right to "brick" a user's console if it detects violations 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 online environment" and to detect any breaches of the Nintendo Account Agreement or other harmful or illegal activities.

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These changes likely stem from Nintendo's recent experiences 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 have been met with high demand, as expected. Nintendo has warned U.S. customers who pre-ordered via the My Nintendo Store that delivery on the release date is not guaranteed due to overwhelming interest. For more information, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.