Nintendo has made some major changes to its Account User Agreement and Privacy Policy in an attempt to stop Switch 2 piracy.
Nintendo has never been shy when it comes to protecting its intellectual property. Last year, the video game company made headlines after shutting down several high-profile emulators, which enabled players to run Switch games on their PCs.
More recently, Nintendo issued a lawsuit against a third-party accessory manufacturer after they leaked unofficial “mockups and renderings” of the Nintendo Switch 2. The Pokemon-inspired game, Palworld, is also tied up in an ongoing legal battle and has been forced to make changes to its game.
However, Nintendo has outlined a new method that it hopes will stop Switch 2 piracy dead in its tracks.
Nintendo will be able to brick Switch 2 consoles
As discovered by Game File’s Stephen Totilo, Nintendo will be able to brick Switch 2 systems that “bypass, modify, decrypt, defeat, tamper with” their games and services. As of May 8, Nintendo has started rolling out emails to all Nintendo account users, which now come with some amendments to its User Agreement policy.
The full update can be found below:
“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 unauthorised 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 authorisation, 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 you can see, the most important part here is the actual bricking of players’ consoles, which we’ve bolded. Totilo points out that the new agreement is much more “intense” in its nature, especially when it comes to Nintendo being able to render Switch 2 consoles “permanently unusable.”
While this isn’t a problem for anyone who is looking to play their games legally, it’s clear Nintendo is keen to clamp down on future Switch 2 piracy, even before the console releases on June 5.
Be sure to check out our Switch 2 release hub to find out everything you need to know about the price and launch games.
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