Nintendo has recently tightened its user agreement, revising the terms and conditions with a stricter stance against players attempting to hack their Switch consoles or run unauthorized emulators. As noted by [u]Game File[/u], emails have been sent out to users confirming the update to both the Nintendo Account Agreement and the Nintendo Account Privacy Policy. These new rules apply to all existing and new Nintendo Account holders as of May 7, with approximately 100 changes made compared to the previous version.
Previously, players agreed not to lease, rent, sublicense, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Nintendo Account Services without written consent from Nintendo or unless explicitly permitted by law. However, this section has been expanded under the updated U.S. terms to include:
- Publishing, copying, modifying, reverse engineering, leasing, renting, decompiling, disassembling, distributing, offering for sale, or creating derivative works of any portion of the Nintendo Account Services.
- Bypassing, modifying, decrypting, defeating, tampering with, or circumventing any functions or protections of the Nintendo Account Services using hardware or software that alters its normal operation.
- Obtaining, installing, or using unauthorized copies of Nintendo Account Services.
- Exploiting the Nintendo Account Services in ways other than intended, without written consent or legal permission.
Nintendo Life highlights that the U.K. version differs slightly, stating that Digital Products registered to a Nintendo Account are licensed solely for personal, non-commercial use. Unauthorized actions like leasing, sublicensing, publishing, copying, modifying, translating, reverse engineering, decompiling, or disassembling Digital Products could lead to the product becoming unusable.
Although Nintendo hasn’t specified what “unusable” entails, the language implies the possibility of bricking a console for rule violations. The privacy policy updates now emphasize that Nintendo may monitor Switch users’ online chats to maintain a safe and family-friendly environment and identify breaches of the Account Agreement or illegal activities.
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These changes likely stem from Nintendo’s recent struggles with piracy cases and the upcoming launch of the anticipated Nintendo Switch 2, scheduled for June 5. Pre-orders began on April 24, maintaining a price of $449.99, with demand exceeding expectations. Additionally, Nintendo warned U.S. customers who pre-ordered via the My Nintendo Store that delivery dates aren’t guaranteed due to high demand. For more details, refer to IGN’s Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.
