Latest news with #EULA
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Steam users are review bombing the Borderlands games following Take-Two's new user agreement: "I don't feel comfortable with the terms of service"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Ahead of Borderlands 4, fans of the action RPG series from Gearbox Software are rallying online to share their thoughts on Take-Two Interactive's new terms of service. As pointed out by a player in a recent Reddit thread, the Borderlands games are currently facing a review bomb of sorts on Steam. The debacle boils down to Take-Two's recently updated user agreement, which is outlined on the holding company's website. "People are review bombing the entire Borderlands series because of EULA changes that can apparently gain root-level access to your machine under the guise of 'anti-cheat' software." The poster continues, explaining how fans are upset at the prospect of Take-Two collecting "personal info like accounts, passwords, telephone numbers, etc." One look at the Steam pages for each of the three main Borderlands entries serves as proof that players are indeed upset about the new terms of service. Under the first game's recent reviews, which have dropped to "Mixed," people share their concerns about the user agreement. People are review-bombing the Borderlands games because Gearbox/2K made EULA changes? from r/borderlands3 "I don't feel comfortable with the terms of service," writes one such fan. Another simply calls the game "spyware" following the integration of Take-Two's new terms of service. The page for Borderlands 2 also shows "Mixed" reviews, with players highlighting their worries over the user agreement and how they're afraid it affects their privacy online: "This collects usernames and passwords, IP locations and browser history data." Recent Borderlands 3 reviews don't look much better, either. One fan exclaims that "recent EULA changes seem insane," while others describe how now "mods are a bannable offense" and any "display of cheats/exploits is bannable" despite the game being largely single-player/co-op rather than an online experience where anti-cheat measures make sense. Elsewhere, people cite the legal implications of Take-Two's new user agreement. Not everyone is convinced the changes spell the end of Borderlands as fans know and love it, however. As seen on the Reddit post covering the review bombing, some think players are "overreacting" currently: "People are overreacting for sure. The EULA is hardly any different than the one before it all the way back in 2018." Just as the games' reviews are now "Mixed" on Steam, then, so are the community's opinions on the terms of service. Borderlands 3 player beats every last bit of the FPS at the highest difficulty, without getting downed a single time: "The most tense run I've done"
The Star
15-05-2025
- The Star
Nintendo warns it might brick Switch consoles with pirated games
Violating any of these terms could put a console at risk of being 'bricked', or permanently disabled. — Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash In an update to its End User License Agreement (EULA), Nintendo now says it may render a console completely unusable if it detects pirated games or unauthorised software modifications. First spotted by online gaming news outlet Game File, it was found that the Japanese gaming giant has made a significant change to its EULA, now stating that failure to comply with Nintendo's restrictions "may render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part". Nintendo Account Services is a catch-all term, referring to video games and add-on content. The updated restrictions state that gamers are not allowed to "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". They also cannot "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." Alongside those restrictions, users are prohibited from installing unauthorised version of Nintendo software, meaning pirated or unlicensed, and using Nintendo Account Services beyond Nintendo's intended or documented use without permission, unless allowed by law. Violating any of these terms could put a console at risk of being "bricked", or permanently disabled. The agreement previously only stated 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". The updated EULA is also not specific to any one console, meaning it could be applied retroactively to existing devices as well as future releases, which is particularly relevant with the upcoming Switch 2 launch next month. The company has historically taken a strong stance against piracy, most recently winning a case against a Japanese Switch modder who sold modified consoles with pirated software. The modder was subsequently fined 500,000 yen (around RM14,668) and sentenced to two years of suspended jail time. Separately, Nintendo says it "may collect, monitor and record audio and video of your chat sessions with other users to provide a safe and secure environment for certain of our services", which is likely tied to the new Voice Chat feature included with the Switch 2.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
PC gaming remains undefeated: Nintendo now says it has the right to brick your Switch if it thinks you're pirating games or modifying the console
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. First spotted by Game File (readers may encounter a paywall), Nintendo has recently changed its online user agreement in multiple consumer-unfriendly ways just before the launch of the Switch 2. Chief among them: Nintendo asserts the right to render your console "permanently unusable" if it determines you're in violation of the agreement. Nintendo's specific new phrasing, distinct from its prior EULA from 2021, is that "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 [emphasis mine] permanently unusable in whole or in part." The restrictions in question are that you may not: "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." "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." "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." For context, the same section of the EULA used to read: "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." The sections I most take issue with are the prohibitions on copying, modifying, or decompiling software—particularly as it no longer accounts for it being "expressly permitted by applicable law"—as well as hardware/software modifications "that would cause the Nintendo Account Services to operate other than in accordance with its documentation and intended use." No game or hardware modding, no extracting ROMs—something Nintendo continuously asserts we cannot do, even though it is a legally protected consumer right—and no dual booting to another OS. There's also the very legitimate concern of the notoriously heavy-handed, litigious company acting on false positives. I don't know what means Nintendo has to detect such activity and kill a console, but I'm getting a clear message: You spent $450 on this hardware, but Nintendo does not think you own it. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to jailbreak or modify a console, or extract a ROM from a game you own: Many original Switch games run better via PC emulation than on the original console, and Nintendo is only just catching up to that capability with the Switch 2's potentially compromised backwards-compatibility. Even more pressing is the inevitable discontinuation of proprietary online services, like we saw recently with the 3DS and Wii U. Just before that was finalized, Nintendo pushed an update to 3DS consoles which made them harder to jailbreak. This is also something that makes Nintendo's subscription-based access to its classic games library all the more galling to me, and in Nintendo's new EULA update, it now explicitly warns that it may discontinue its online services. In the face of such unreliability, user modification of a device to ensure it remains fully functional is a perfectly reasonable solution. Going beyond legitimate hardware modifications, I'm a firm believer that piracy is as much a question of service and convenience as finance, and Nintendo's moves to consolidate its own control of products people legitimately purchase are inconvenient, annoying impositions that will annoy fans and drive away customers. Best of the best 2025 games: Upcoming releasesBest PC games: All-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together Amid an ongoing campaign against emulation, Nintendo continues to throw its muscle around, emboldened by the generation-defining sales success of the original Switch, but also clearly threatened by the rise of PC handhelds, emulators which run its own games better than the original hardware, and rumblings of future Xbox and PlayStation portables. I feel vindicated in my assessment that the Switch 2 is all stick and no carrot: Lacking truly exciting industrial design innovations (except the Joy Con mouse, which I actually quite like) or tech/hardware improvements to set the console apart from a more crowded handheld market, the Switch 2 can only rely on name recognition, customer inertia, and console-exclusive games to move units, much like its living room-bound rival, the PlayStation 5. All three console manufacturers have well and truly left behind the plug-and-play "it just works" convenience that used to set them apart from PCs. And there's even more in the EULA that's worth flagging, as pointed out by Game File. A change in the wording of the EULA for minors that places responsibility on their legal guardians seems designed to further head off embarrassing lawsuits like the infamous Joy Con drift ones, ensuring such cases are forced into arbitration. Nintendo also joins in an unfortunate trend we can't even escape on PC: Explicitly spelling out that we do not own our games, and instead only "license" them. That last embarrassment aside, these odious impositions are a big part of why I'm largely a desktop and Steam Deck-exclusive gamer at this point. I want to understand, modify, and be able to use the hardware I purchase for as long as I see fit, not be beholden to the proprietary services of a notoriously consumer-unfriendly company. Sure, Microsoft keeps trying to push a new version of Clippy that lies and screenshots your credit card information, but Linux gaming only keeps getting better thanks to SteamOS—if things get bad enough in the house that Bill built, I'll make the move. I still love the original Nintendo Switch, but everything I've learned about its follow-up makes me think the 2017 hybrid console was lightning in a bottle.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
PC gaming remains undefeated: Nintendo now says it has the right to brick your Switch if it thinks you're pirating games or modifying the console
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. First spotted by Game File (readers may encounter a paywall), Nintendo has recently changed its online user agreement in multiple consumer-unfriendly ways just before the launch of the Switch 2. Chief among them: Nintendo asserts the right to render your console "permanently unusable" if it determines you're in violation of the agreement. Nintendo's specific new phrasing, distinct from its prior EULA from 2021, is that "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 [emphasis mine] permanently unusable in whole or in part." The restrictions in question are that you may not: "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." "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." "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." For context, the same section of the EULA used to read: "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." The sections I most take issue with are the prohibitions on copying, modifying, or decompiling software—particularly as it no longer accounts for it being "expressly permitted by applicable law"—as well as hardware/software modifications "that would cause the Nintendo Account Services to operate other than in accordance with its documentation and intended use." No game or hardware modding, no extracting ROMs—something Nintendo continuously asserts we cannot do, even though it is a legally protected consumer right—and no dual booting to another OS. There's also the very legitimate concern of the notoriously heavy-handed, litigious company acting on false positives. I don't know what means Nintendo has to detect such activity and kill a console, but I'm getting a clear message: You spent $450 on this hardware, but Nintendo does not think you own it. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to jailbreak or modify a console, or extract a ROM from a game you own: Many original Switch games run better via PC emulation than on the original console, and Nintendo is only just catching up to that capability with the Switch 2's potentially compromised backwards-compatibility. Even more pressing is the inevitable discontinuation of proprietary online services, like we saw recently with the 3DS and Wii U. Just before that was finalized, Nintendo pushed an update to 3DS consoles which made them harder to jailbreak. This is also something that makes Nintendo's subscription-based access to its classic games library all the more galling to me, and in Nintendo's new EULA update, it now explicitly warns that it may discontinue its online services. In the face of such unreliability, user modification of a device to ensure it remains fully functional is a perfectly reasonable solution. Going beyond legitimate hardware modifications, I'm a firm believer that piracy is as much a question of service and convenience as finance, and Nintendo's moves to consolidate its own control of products people legitimately purchase are inconvenient, annoying impositions that will annoy fans and drive away customers. Best of the best 2025 games: Upcoming releasesBest PC games: All-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together Amid an ongoing campaign against emulation, Nintendo continues to throw its muscle around, emboldened by the generation-defining sales success of the original Switch, but also clearly threatened by the rise of PC handhelds, emulators which run its own games better than the original hardware, and rumblings of future Xbox and PlayStation portables. I feel vindicated in my assessment that the Switch 2 is all stick and no carrot: Lacking truly exciting industrial design innovations (except the Joy Con mouse, which I actually quite like) or tech/hardware improvements to set the console apart from a more crowded handheld market, the Switch 2 can only rely on name recognition, customer inertia, and console-exclusive games to move units, much like its living room-bound rival, the PlayStation 5. All three console manufacturers have well and truly left behind the plug-and-play "it just works" convenience that used to set them apart from PCs. And there's even more in the EULA that's worth flagging, as pointed out by Game File. A change in the wording of the EULA for minors that places responsibility on their legal guardians seems designed to further head off embarrassing lawsuits like the infamous Joy Con drift ones, ensuring such cases are forced into arbitration. Nintendo also joins in an unfortunate trend we can't even escape on PC: Explicitly spelling out that we do not own our games, and instead only "license" them. That last embarrassment aside, these odious impositions are a big part of why I'm largely a desktop and Steam Deck-exclusive gamer at this point. I want to understand, modify, and be able to use the hardware I purchase for as long as I see fit, not be beholden to the proprietary services of a notoriously consumer-unfriendly company. Sure, Microsoft keeps trying to push a new version of Clippy that lies and screenshots your credit card information, but Linux gaming only keeps getting better thanks to SteamOS—if things get bad enough in the house that Bill built, I'll make the move. I still love the original Nintendo Switch, but everything I've learned about its follow-up makes me think the 2017 hybrid console was lightning in a bottle.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nintendo of America might turn your Switch into an expensive paperweight if you mod your console or install any "unauthorized" games, new policy warns
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. 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."
