Nintendo reserves the right to brick your console following "unauthorised use", in bid to prevent piracy - UPDATE: Nintendo confirms no recording is sent "until a report is submitted".

News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor
Updated on May 10, 2025

UPDATE 10/05/25: Nintendo has confirmed that it will only review video and audio recording as part of its user-report system.

“All recording is otherwise privately stored on device and no recording is sent to Nintendo until a report is submitted," nintendo said in a statement to Game File.

Original story follows.

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Original story 09/05/25: Nintendo has updated its Nintendo Account Agreement with a severe warning against "unauthorised use", in a bid to prevent emulation and piracy.

All those with a Nintendo account will have received an email (including Eurogamer) linking to the updated policy. And, as Game File's Stephen Totilo spotted, the wording for the Licence for Digital Products section has been altered.

The agreement for UK accounts now states digital products are "licensed only for personal and non-commercial use", and that any "unauthorised use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable".

This differs slightly from the US, which states: "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."

For comparison, here's the original wording (effective since April 2021): "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."

And here's the UK update in full: "Any Digital Products registered to your Nintendo Account and any updates of such Digital Products are licensed only for personal and non-commercial use on a User Device. Digital Products must not be used for any other purpose. In particular, without NOE's written consent, you must neither lease nor rent Digital Products nor sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of Digital Products other than as expressly permitted by applicable law. Such unauthorised use of a Digital Product may result in the Digital Product becoming unusable."

The US update is as follows: "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."

The Nintendo Account Privacy Policy has also been updated ahead of the release of Switch 2. Now, Nintendo will be able to record video and voice chats stored on your console for a limited period of time - if you give consent.

This is intended for anyone who encounters "language or behaviour that may violate applicable laws", with the company able to review the last three minutes of recorded footage. This is to ensure a "safe and family-friendly online environment".

The update comes ahead of the Game Chat feature on Switch 2, where players can essentially video call each other during gameplay.

Back in March, Nintendo shared a legal victory over French file-sharing company Dstorage, which it stated was "significant...for the entire games industry".

It followed a string of moves against piracy, including the shutdown of Switch emulator Yuzu and a lawsuit against a streamer who regularly played pirated copies of Nintendo games ahead of release.
L|A

 

[Yamaha YM2612]

My nigger child, did you pay 499$ to join the forum?

I pay for internet connection, which is also monitored and has a TOS and I pay way more than a 1 time 400$ fee.

Like or not, buying something doesn't exempt you from TOS.

Gay but I don't get the crying when Nintendo does it when literally every other tech related thing does too

 

[The Repeated Meme]

Gay but I don't get the crying when Nintendo does it when literally every other tech related thing does too

Nice pink triangle, faggot.

 

[Yamaha YM2612]

Nice pink triangle, faggot.

The pink triangles is given by faggots, not to them, nigger

Go back to reddit

 

[ForkyMeetsPorky]

After Yuzu, I would imagine they are trying to make this system difficult to emulate. I'd be surprised though, Nintendo consoles typically have poor security.

This. The XBOX 360 would brick itself after 15 minutes if it was modified and online

It would brick itself regardless after 18 months.

 

[TowinKarz]

If they can brick you for being a "pirate" they can brick you for not upgrading to the next generation, denying them a sale they've 'earned' , because that's functionally the same as piracy, right?

 

[Angry Alt Right Nerd]

If they can brick you for being a "pirate" they can brick you for not upgrading to the next generation, denying them a sale they've 'earned' , because that's functionally the same as piracy, right?

This is the country that imprisons people for streaming video games on youtube and renting video games, I'm pretty sure someday they'll start imprisoning people for things like using adblock or letting their friend borrow their console.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

If they can brick you for being a "pirate" they can brick you for not upgrading to the next generation, denying them a sale they've 'earned' , because that's functionally the same as piracy, right?

They already control that with not including backwards compatability and EOL any services related. Technically it still works, but you gotta sit on the FOMO they hope you have with all their marketing showing how much fun everyone is having yelling Nigger in the lobby and shooting people on the new system.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

Ah good, another reason not to buy your garbage Nintendo. It's all so tiresome. You haven't made a good game since Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, rest in piss.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

I'll sail the high seas until I die.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

oh no how will I play the same fucking game for the past twenty years

 

[LeChampion1992]

Not to suck Nintendo's cock, but don't other consoles also do this?

Sorta with Microsoft stuff your banned from live service

 

[TEA 3HF]

Only Nintendo Console I have that is still running is my GameCube. Good Luck, Tojo, I'm behind 0 internet connection.

 

[Thiletonomics]

I don't think Nintendo is paying respectable Japanese salarymen to monitor player reports, the same way no other company is. So either they're buying jeets wholesale to handle this, who will eventually get bored and just set up a drinking bird to keep answering every report the same way, or it's automated. Either way, tying anything that serious to user reports is a horrible idea. It will cause problems and drain goodwill, which Nintendo has been doing a lot lately already.

Western game companies, i.e. Riot Games and Ubisoft, are already implementing autoban systems that don't even require player reports to trigger.

What I want to know is if Sony will implement this system to autobrick PS5 consoles if a player tries to play a game with women that actually look like women.

 

[Pentex]

Why would I play anything from Nintendo after they peaked (the 64)?

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

Their legal team is unstoppable unfortunately.

 

[Trilby]

Always pirate and emulate.

Thank god I got out of the gaming phase 20 years ago.

 

[George Lucas]

You can talk a lot of shit about westoid devs being woke slop-peddlers, but man, no company is beating how scummy and anti-consumer Nintendo has been for the last years.
Fuck them and their overpriced shit.

Have you not paid any attention to what Sony and EA have been doing for the past ten years or so?

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Have you not paid any attention to what Sony and EA have been doing for the past ten years or so?

Sony mainly get talked about wokeshit they inserted.
EA bought and killed many studios but they don't really pretend they are family oriented friendly.

Nintendo makes Disney looks like a saint in regards to IP management, created many anti consumer practices before they were popularized by other companies, and is now actively lolsuiting a new IP from a tiny dev for being a competition.

 

[George Lucas]

Sony mainly get talked about wokeshit they inserted.
EA bought and killed many studios but they don't really pretend they are family oriented friendly.

Nintendo makes Disney looks like a saint in regards to IP management, created many anti consumer practices before they were popularized by other companies, and is now actively lolsuiting a new IP from a tiny dev for being a competition.

Sony is at the forefront of IP trolling, probably moreso than even Disney now. Never heard of Nintendo suing anyone for using their characters in a birthday party. EA has been a big promoter of DRM, mystery boxing, DLC shenanigans, etc.

Operations like Yuzu set themselves up for failure by taking money. I have never had a problem with a Nintendo system playing games I bought aside from the usual online services shutting down. I have had issues playing legitimate games on other systems or on PC due to no fault of my own (either DRM or just shitty code).

 

[Edelgard von Hresvelg]

Everything about Nintendo's handling of The Switch 2 is giving me massive Xbox ONE vibes, even if the circumstances aren't exactly the same.

It's crazy how fast my interest in the console died. Literally all they had to do was release a console and they'd be golden. It's like they're actively trying to sabotage themselves.