Nintendo: We Can Brick Your Switch Console If You Pirate Games
Nintendo has taken a firm stance against piracy and hacking on its beloved Switch consoles, with the company quietly updating its user agreement to reflect this policy. The change, first spotted by GameFile, marks the first update to Nintendo's user agreement since 2021.
The new agreement is more stringent than its predecessor, which only stated that customers were "not allowed" to adapt, reverse-engineer, or modify a Nintendo user account. In contrast, the updated agreement makes it clear that failure to comply with the restrictions can result in permanent unusability of the console and associated services.
"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," the new agreement states. This clear warning is a significant departure from the previous version, which was more vague in its language.
The updated agreement also expands on Nintendo's definition of prohibited activities. Efforts to "bypass, modify, decrypt, defeat, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent any of the functions or protections of the Nintendo Account Services" are now explicitly listed as violations of the user agreement. This could include hacking and modding the console to run pirated games or other third-party software.
Nintendo's strict stance against piracy has been evident in its efforts to combat bootlegs, using legal threats and lawsuits to shut down emulators of older Nintendo consoles and related ROM provider sites. The company may be more concerned about attempts to hack and mod the Switch 2 to run pirated games or other third-party software, given its emphasis on digital game downloads rather than traditional cartridges.
The company's updated privacy policy also sheds light on how it plans to detect piracy and modding. While it does not provide explicit details, the policy reveals that Nintendo collects information about device errors, application usage, and user interactions with other users.
"If you or your device experiences an error, we collect information about the error, the time the error occurred, the application or features being used, the state of the application when the error occurred, and any communications or content provided at the time the error occurred," the privacy policy states. This data could potentially be used to identify attempts to bypass or circumvent the console's security measures.
Additionally, the updated privacy policy reveals that Nintendo may also monitor and record video and audio interactions with other users, with consent from the user. This could raise concerns about online gaming etiquette and the potential for targeted advertising.
The timing of these updates is significant, as Nintendo prepares to launch the Switch 2 on June 5. The new console promises a sizable performance upgrade over its predecessor and may rely more heavily on digital game downloads rather than traditional cartridges. As a result, it's likely that Nintendo will be closely monitoring user activity to prevent piracy and modding.
However, it remains unclear how Nintendo plans to detect piracy or modding in the first place. The company has not provided explicit details on its anti-piracy measures, leaving users wondering about the potential risks of exploiting vulnerabilities in the console's software.