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

Nintendo has recently updated its user agreement, implementing stricter policies regarding unauthorized use of its Switch console. As reported by Game File, emails have been sent to players announcing the update to the Nintendo Account Agreement and Privacy Policy, effective as of May 7. These changes, which include around 100 modifications, now apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users.

Previously, until 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 permitted by applicable law.

The revised agreement in the U.S. has expanded significantly, stating:

"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, with users agreeing 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 the exact meaning of "unusable" remains undefined by Nintendo, the language implies that the company could potentially "brick" a user's console if it detects a breach of these rules. Additionally, the updated privacy policy emphasizes that Nintendo may monitor Switch users' online chats to maintain 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 policy changes may be a response to recent challenges, 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, priced at $449.99, began on April 24 and were met with overwhelming demand. Nintendo has warned U.S. customers that pre-order deliveries may not be guaranteed due to this high demand. For more information, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.