Latest news with #dmanthey
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Switch 2 owner warns other gamers against buying second-hand games online after their console was banned for breaching Nintendo's anti-piracy rules
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A Nintendo Switch 2 owner was reportedly banned after playing legitimate second-hand games that were later found to be cloned Reddit user 'dmanthey' says they were able to reverse the ban after speaking to Nintendo Nintendo has been cracking down on piracy by restricting consoles caught using piracy tools A Nintendo Switch 2 owner is warning players about buying pre-owned physical games after being banned for unknowingly playing cloned versions. Last month, it was reported that Nintendo was cracking down on piracy and had begun blocking access to online services on the Switch 2 if players were caught using MIG Flash, a tool used to create copies of games. But it seems that even innocent players aren't safe from the company's strict anti-piracy policy. As reported by IGN, Redditor 'dmanthey' shared a post saying that they were banned by Nintendo after loading up some original Switch games they bought from Facebook Marketplace. The user explained that although the physical copies were legitimate, they later discovered that the games had already been copied by the original owner, which was the reason their console was restricted. "Switch 2 users - be careful buying used Switch 1 games. You can get banned if a bad actor dumped it," 'dmanthey' said. "Got banned and unbanned after simply downloading patches for 4 Switch 1 games I bought from Facebook marketplace." Dmanthey explained in the thread that they unknowingly played original Switch cartridges that were cloned using a piracy-enabling device. "Basically, a thief buys/rents a game. They make a copy for themselves using the MIG dumper," the user said. "They resell the original game and keep a copy for themselves on their MIG. Then both of you get banned when the Switch 2 goes online. Only one of you has the carts, so that's the person that will be unbanned." Thankfully, dmanthey was able to get unbanned after speaking to Nintendo's customer service and providing evidence of their purchase and conversation from the Facebook Marketplace seller. "I contacted Nintendo support and found out I was banned," they said. "They had me pull up the Facebook Marketplace listing and take some pics of the cartridges. The whole process was painless and fast." 'Dmanthey' added, "The amount of info they had is crazy". "They could see my ddwrt endpoints, the brand of my memory card, they even knew that I had an EVGA mouse and keyboard plugged into my Switch 2," they continued. Another user was faced with a similar situation last month after they purchased pre-owned Switch 2 from Walmart, only to find that it had been 'bricked' by Nintendo after booting it up. You might also like... The Nintendo Switch 2 is the company's least ambitious console to date, but its improvements are astronomical I've spent 40 hours exploring Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and it's an incredible sequel that builds upon its unique predecessor to become a masterpiece I've spent 150 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the Switch 2 Edition is an incredible upgrade
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
Nintendo banned a Switch 2 user for playing second-hand games and only reinstated after providing proof of purchase
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In problems that could only happen to console gamers, one Switch 2 owner recently received the hefty swing of Nintendo's banhammer thanks to some second-hand games. Nintendo are well known for being particularly litigious when it comes to protecting their IP, and it turns out inserting pirated carts is enough to set off the DRM protections on the brand new consoles. The proud owner of a brand new Switch 2 known as dmanthey over on Reddit (via Tom's Hardware) found themselves banned after trying out some games they'd bought off Facebook Marketplace. The games were used Switch 1 games, and dmanthey thought all was well and good after inserting each cart and performing updates, ready for a full day of gaming ahead. This wasn't to be, as loading up their Switch 2 the next day greeted them with a restriction message from Nintendo. It stated they had been banned from online services, which even included downloading games they already owned legitimately through the store. The good news is Nintendo support was really easy to get ahold of, and they raised the restrictions after dmanthey provided proof of their unwittingly pirated purchases. Still it serves as a fair warning to everyone else with the new console. If you've bought used Switch 1 games, you'll want to exercise caution before introducing them to your Switch 2. While dmanthey got pretty unlucky getting ahold of Nintendo support and getting the problem fixed, it may not be so easy for the next person. Especially if you've had the games for a while and can't prove where you got them. What is more worrying is Nintendo's quick decision to enforce the ban in the first place. Nintendo has recently changed its online user agreement to give it the right to make services "permanently unusable" if it determines you're in violation of the agreement, which includes things like modding the hardware and using pirated carts, though no word on how much it takes to trigger the ban. It raises the question about how easy it is to get caught. Was this account only tripped because several games were added all at once, or is this going to be an easy folly for anyone to fall into? Furthermore Nintendo just stripping access to purchased games also seems like a huge problem. Given this is Nintendo's fastest selling console yet, I'd wager more than a few unwitting victims are going to wind up locked out of their fancy new Switch 2. Of course, these are problems for console gamers. Those of us with PCs don't really worry about such things. Still, if I'd paid $450 for a new piece of hardware I'd at least want to feel like I owned the thing even if it's clear Nintendon't agree.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Yahoo
Switch 2 user warns about accidental ban after playing preowned game cards
You might have to be extra careful who you buy your used Nintendo Switch game cards from if you don't want to get mistakenly banned. A Nintendo Switch 2 owner posted on Reddit that they got banned after downloading patches for a few Switch game cards that were bought off Facebook Marketplace. Reddit user dmanthey said they inserted each game into their Switch 2 to patch, but found out that their online services were restricted the day after. The Switch 2 user contacted Nintendo support and discovered they were banned, but provided proof of purchase and was unbanned shortly after. The Redditor said the "whole process was painless and fluid," but this reactionary banning protocol may be an alarming precedent for anyone looking to save a few dollars by buying used games. To understand why this happened, it's important to note that Nintendo attaches unique codes to its Switch game cartridges to prevent piracy. However, bad actors can copy games onto a third-party device, like the MIG Flash, and then resell the physical game card. Once Nintendo detects two instances of its unique code being online at the same time, it will ban any accounts using it. Anyone pirating Nintendo's software understands this is a potential consequence, but it would come as an annoying surprise to oblivious second-hand buyers. After proving they bought the Switch games, Redditor dmanthey said they were told the cartridges were fine and even able to be resold. This anti-piracy policy isn't new — Nintendo has long had a reputation for fiercely combating any type of piracy – but it has become relevant again thanks to the recently released Switch 2, which offers backwards compatibility with original Switch titles. The company even recently amended its user agreement to allow itself the power to brick a Nintendo Switch that's caught running pirated games or mods.
