Nintendo has recently tightened its user agreement, introducing stricter terms and conditions to address players who hack their Switch console, run emulators, or engage in other forms of "unauthorized use." As reported by Game File, emails have been dispatched to players, informing them of the updated "Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy." These new rules, effective as of May 7, supersede all previous versions and apply to both existing and new Nintendo Account users. According to the report, there are approximately 100 changes between the old and new agreements.
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 section has been significantly expanded in the U.S. version, 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."
As highlighted by Nintendo Life, the agreement differs in the UK, where users 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 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 language implies that the company now reserves the right to "brick" a console if it detects rule violations. Additionally, changes to the privacy policy emphasize 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 updates may reflect Nintendo's ongoing concerns with piracy, highlighted by recent high-profile cases, and the upcoming launch of the much-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2, set 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 who pre-ordered from the My Nintendo Store that release date delivery is not guaranteed due to the high volume of orders. For more information, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.
