Nintendo has updated its user agreement, and it’s got a strong message for rule-breakers: mess with the Switch, and you could lose it.
Nintendo’s New Rules Are Tougher Than Ever
If you’ve finally gotten your hands on the Nintendo Switch 2 following the seesaw pre-ordering drama, here’s a friendly little warning from Nintendo.
Earlier this week, Nintendo quietly sent out an email with the subject line: “Updates to Nintendo Account User Agreement and Nintendo Privacy Policy.” Nothing too dramatic on the surface. But as Game File’s Stephen Totilo noticed, buried in over 100 edits is a major shift: Nintendo now reserves the right to permanently disable your device if you tamper with it.
Here’s the new clause in all its no-nonsense glory:
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.
So yeah, brick city.
While Nintendo hasn’t detailed exactly how or when it might enforce this, the language makes it clear: it now has the backend capability to detect and disable compromised Switch units.
If you’ve been tweaking your console for mods, emulators, or pirated games, this could spell trouble.
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