Nintendo of America might turn your Switch into an expensive paperweight if you mod your console or install any "unauthorized" games, new policy warns

Yahoo

10-05-2025

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It sounds like Nintendo is really trying to crack down on Switch modding, as a new update to Nintendo of America's User Account Agreement says that your console may become "permanently unusable in whole or in part" if you break certain new restrictions.
The new user account End User License Agreement (EULA) was sent out earlier this week, and as reported by Game File, it makes some significant changes to the second section, "license." Before we get into it, it's worth noting that Nintendo explains that the term "Nintendo Account Services" can refer to everything made available to you via your Nintendo Account, from games, to DLC, products, apps, services, and more – this phrase is about to come up a lot.
Previously, the "license" section outlined 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."
With the latest changes, Nintendo removes "sublicense" from this list, and adds "offer for sale, or create derivative works of any portion of the Nintendo Account Services" to its list of forbidden actions.
The additions don't stop there, as it's now stated that users must 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."
That's a lot of complicated terminology, but one part that really sticks out is the bit about using hardware or software that'd cause things to operate in an unintended (un-Nintended, if you will) way. Basically, modding is a no-go as far as the company is concerned, and it sounds like it's also directly cracking down on Switch emulation, which requires users to decrypt games to, y'know, actually run them.
Topping things off, users are also prohibited from obtaining, installing, or using "unauthorized copies of Nintendo Account Services," or exploiting them "in any manner other than to use them in accordance with the applicable documentation and intended use," unless Nintendo personally gives you a thumbs up to do so (or law expressly permits it).
So, assuming Nintendo doesn't tell you that you're free to grab and play any "unauthorized" pirated games, uh, assume that it really doesn't want you to. Not that that should be a surprise.
The consequences for breaking any of these rules could be severe, as the company warns that it can turn your Switch into an expensive paperweight if necessary. "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," it says.
If you don't dabble in Switch modding or anything like that, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about, but it definitely sounds like the company is trying to take a stronger stance against such prohibited activities.
New Nintendo of America policy asks users to give up their rights to a class-action lawsuit and call customer service instead: "Most matters can be quickly resolved in this manner."