Nintendo user agreement tweak threatens to brick your Switch 2 and Nintendo Account if you mod or use “unauthorized” games

Nintendo put out an updated version of its Nintendo User Agreement last night. While this may not sound especially exciting, some of these changes and additions to the fine print set the stage for some serious consequences to those looking to mess around with the Switch 2 and its various games and services.

Spotted by Stephen Totilo at Game File, the changes seem to target those who like to modify Nintendo hardware, which would imapct those who hack the consoles for emulation purposes or otherwise. The cost of doing so (and getting caught) may now “render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part.”

The old clause in the User Agreement was written as follows: “You 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.” Now, additions extend both the actions that breach the user agreement and the the punishments for doing so extensively.

It’s now stated that to “distribute, offer for sale, or create derivative works” breaches the agreement, which appears to be a direct blow against the creators of emulators (a topic that has been brought into the spotlight recently with the shutdowns of Yuza and Ryujinx last year).

There’s more. The User Agreement goes on to state users may not, “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; […] obtain, install or use any unauthorized copies of Nintendo Account Services; or […] 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.”

That’s a lot of words to essentially say that any modification of Nintendo hardware or software which differs from the intended purpose of both (buying the console and games to play them without Nintendo giving the go ahead) is against the new rules. To breach this risks the permanent nonfunctionality of the the Nintendo games and/or consoles. A steep price for certain.

Okay, so what does this mean for you? Well, if you’re a standard user that just buys the consoles and games, not much. However, if you’re a fan of jailbreaking consoles or getting all up in the guts of hardware/software, doing so will prove a touch riskier. It also will make future emulation attempts harder, which strikes a blow against attempts at game preservation. That is, unless these folks in the future manage to get explicit permission from Nintendo to do so, something the company certainly hasn’t given up to this point.

What are your thoughts on these changes? Let us know below!