Nintendo didn’t make preordering the Switch 2 particularly easy—especially with its back and forth decisions in the face of tariffs. But even if you manage to get your hands on a Switch 2 for launch day, be careful, because Nintendo is ready to brick any Switch device you own should you break its rules—and I’m not talking about cheating at Mario Party.
Rather, Nintendo is particularly concerned about Switch users who hack their systems, use emulators, or engage in piracy using Nintendo hardware. These players are the targets of the company’s newfound bloodlust, and they’re not messing around: steal our games, and lose the right to use your console.
Stephen Totilo of Game File spotted the new philosophy on Thursday, when Nintendo sent out an email with the subject line: “Updates to Nintendo Account User Agreement and Nintendo Privacy Policy.” Totilo counted over 100 edits to the Nintendo Account User Agreement, but the major change was to how the company handles modifications and piracy. The original agreement statement that you weren’t allowed to “lease, rent, sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble all or any portion of the Nintendo Account Services,” unless you got the OK from Nintendo or the law permitted. Seems reasonable.
However, the modified agreement is quite different, and outlines a stark new reality for users who might consider going against Nintendo’s wishes:
While harsh, this isn’t too surprising. Nintendo certainly hasn’t looked the other way when it comes to piracy in the past. The company was more than happy to ban you from online play if they found you playing games illegally, for example—a risk some players took to hack their Switches, even if they weren’t trying to steal their games. (Maybe they just wanted to boost the performance of Tears of the Kingdom before Nintendo offered an official solution?)
Jake Peterson
Senior Technology Editor
Jake Peterson is Lifehacker’s Senior Technology Editor. He has a BFA in Film & TV from NYU, where he specialized in writing. Jake has been helping people with their technology professionally since 2016, beginning as a technical specialist at New York’s 5th Avenue Apple Store, then as a writer for the website Gadget Hacks. In that time, he wrote and edited thousands of news and how-to articles about iPhones and Androids, including reporting on live demos from product launches from Samsung and Google. In 2021, he moved to Lifehacker and covers everything from the best uses of AI in your daily life to which MacBook to buy. His team covers all things tech, including smartphones, computers, game consoles, and subscriptions. He lives in Connecticut.
