Nintendo warns it might brick Switch consoles with pirated games
Violating any of these terms could put a console at risk of being 'bricked', or permanently disabled. — Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash
In an update to its End User License Agreement (EULA), Nintendo now says it may render a console completely unusable if it detects pirated games or unauthorised software modifications.
First spotted by online gaming news outlet Game File, it was found that the Japanese gaming giant has made a significant change to its EULA, now stating that failure to comply with Nintendo's restrictions "may render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part".
Nintendo Account Services is a catch-all term, referring to video games and add-on content.
The updated restrictions state that gamers are not allowed to "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".
They also cannot "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."
Alongside those restrictions, users are prohibited from installing unauthorised version of Nintendo software, meaning pirated or unlicensed, and using Nintendo Account Services beyond Nintendo's intended or documented use without permission, unless allowed by law.
Violating any of these terms could put a console at risk of being "bricked", or permanently disabled.
The agreement previously only stated that users are "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".
The updated EULA is also not specific to any one console, meaning it could be applied retroactively to existing devices as well as future releases, which is particularly relevant with the upcoming Switch 2 launch next month.
The company has historically taken a strong stance against piracy, most recently winning a case against a Japanese Switch modder who sold modified consoles with pirated software. The modder was subsequently fined 500,000 yen (around RM14,668) and sentenced to two years of suspended jail time.
Separately, Nintendo says it "may collect, monitor and record audio and video of your chat sessions with other users to provide a safe and secure environment for certain of our services", which is likely tied to the new Voice Chat feature included with the Switch 2.
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