Something all video game manufacturers need to be mindful of when creating and publishing their products is piracy. Nintendo themselves are no stranger to battling against the practice; just last year they successfully filed a lawsuit against the company behind the Switch emulator Yuzu. With the Switch 2 now on the horizon, it seems they are gearing up for more safety measures with a seemingly-aggressive policy update in regards to tampering with their products.
The news comes from the latest Nintendo Account Agreement sent to all Nintendo account owners. Most of it is as one would expect, but what caught the eye of some is the updated wording in the excerpt below:
“Without limitation, you agree that you may not (a) 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; (b) 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; (c) obtain, install or use any unauthorised copies of Nintendo Account Services; or (d) 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 authorisation, or unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law. 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.”
That last line in particular is new, and seems to be claiming that Nintendo may render tampered systems unusable in response. How exactly they’ll go about this and how strict it will be is unclear as of now, but it certainly sounds rather intimidating. This comes along with the updated Privacy Policy, which states that Nintendo may record video and voice chats on the Nintendo Switch 2 with the user’s consent. This is in place as a safety measure to help keep chat environments safe from harassment, a practice many other built-in game chat services also use.
These updated agreements might seem scary at first, but there’s no need for most people to be concerned. These measures primarily exist to combat piracy, emulation, and hateful conduct, so for the average consumer there’s nothing to worry about. How this all will pan out remains to be seen, and whether or not it will successfully curb Switch 2 emulation is likewise uncertain.
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Written by Abbie Maxwell
Lifelong Nintendo fangirl, Abbie holds a special place in her heart for video games. She has always strived to provide tips and tricks to make the experiences of those who share her passions that much better.
