Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation

Nintendo has recently revised its Account User Agreement to issue a more stringent caution against individuals who “bypass, modify, decrypt, defeat,” or “tamper with” their games. Essentially, if you hack your Switch or utilize emulators, you risk having your device bricked entirely.

This information comes from Stephen Totilo’s latest Game File newsletter, which confirms that the language in the User Agreement from Nintendo has been significantly expanded, providing clearer details about what actions are considered violations and the potential repercussions.

For reference, here’s the original text, which had been effective since April 2021:

“You are not permitted to lease, rent, sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble all or any part of the Nintendo Account Services without Nintendo’s written consent, or unless otherwise explicitly allowed by applicable law.”

Now, here’s the revised section:

“Without limitation, you acknowledge that you may not (a) publish, copy, modify, reverse engineer, lease, rent, decompile, disassemble, distribute, offer for sale, or develop derivative works of any portion of the Nintendo Account Services; (b) bypass, modify, decrypt, defeat, tamper with, or otherwise circumvent any functionalities or protections of the Nintendo Account Services, including using any hardware or software that causes the Nintendo Account Services to operate differently than intended; (c) acquire, install, or utilize any unauthorized copies of Nintendo Account Services; or (d) exploit the Nintendo Account Services in any manner except for lawful usage as described in the applicable documentation, without Nintendo’s written consent or explicit permission, or unless otherwise permitted by applicable law. You recognize that failure to adhere to these restrictions may result in Nintendo rendering the Nintendo Account Services and/or the related Nintendo device permanently unusable, in full or in part.”

In the UK, we have also received an updated User Agreement from Nintendo. While it mostly addresses the same issues, the tone is somewhat milder:

“Any Digital Products registered to your Nintendo Account and any updates for such Digital Products are licensed solely for personal and non-commercial use on a User Device. Digital Products should not be used for alternative purposes. Specifically, without NOE’s written consent, you must not lease or rent Digital Products or sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of Digital Products other than as expressly allowed by applicable law. Unauthorized use of a Digital Product may result in it becoming unusable.”

Regardless, recent legal events appear to have prompted Nintendo to revisit its User Agreement and enhance it. A recent case led to $17,500 in damages from a ‘pirate streamer’ who was found promoting emulators while playing Switch games ahead of their official release.

On a broader note, Nintendo has evidently strengthened its legal framework ahead of the anticipated launch of the Switch 2. It recently announced plans to monitor and collect data from GameChat sessions on its forthcoming hardware, as per its updated privacy policy. The UK version clarified that only the latest 3-minute segments of chat would be recorded and stored locally on the Switch for up to 24 hours. Users then have the choice to submit relevant data to Nintendo if issues arise.

What are your thoughts on this updated user agreement from Nintendo? Do you believe it addresses all necessary aspects? Share your opinions in the comments.