Nintendo Threatens to “Brick” Switch 2s of Disobedient Customers
Nintendo is not playing games when it comes to the Switch 2, and the video game company is now threatening to “brick” the consoles of any customers who do not abide by the terms of service. The long-awaited successor to Nintendo’s last hugely successful console, the Switch, the Nintendo Switch 2 was finally displayed in a Nintendo Direct on April 2, where Nintendo showed off the system’s new features and capabilities along with some games; another Nintendo Direct two weeks later focused solely on the Switch 2’s flagship game, Mario Kart World, which will be available at launch and come in a bundle with the system as well. But Nintendo fans’ excitement for the Switch 2 soon dissipated when they learned that the console would cost $449.99 on its own or $499.99 bundled with Mario Kart World, and Mario Kart World on its own would cost $79.99, a good $20 more than the average next gen game, as will some other Switch 2 games. (Other video game companies are following suit.)
Seemingly as a result of the new pricing, Nintendo is now threatening gamers if they break any of the Switch 2’s terms of service in an update to its user agreement and privacy policy, which was first reported by Stephen Totilo of Game File. The updates list quite a few more restrictions on gamers, and they indicate that Big Brother Nintendo will be watching you when you play games on your Switch 2. It now reserves the right to record voice or video chats, albeit only with consent, which it can use to verify claims of harassment or use of bad language. It also lists a lot more rules about selling, renting, or otherwise distributing games, using emulators, or tampering with the Switch 2, with a possible penalty being to Nintendo Account Services or even the Switch 2 console itself unusable, the latter of which is referred to as “bricking.” You can read the new agreement below, courtesy of Eurogamer:
“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.”
There’s a joke about Mario smashing bricks in their somewhere. Of course, no company wants their games sold or their systems tampered with in ways they did not authorize and that can cost them potential profits. And to be fair, Nintendo is offering plenty of ways to play older Switch games on the Switch 2. But going so far as to brick someone’s system over this seems like an obvious response to the widespread distaste for the Switch 2 price hikes. The console is selling well at this early stage, with pre-sales of the Switch 2 selling out on day 1, which suggests that Nintendo fans have made their peace with the higher prices, at least to the extent that they still want the new system. But it’s entirely possible that some of the tech-savvier among them are planning to do what they can to get around the prices, even if that means finding ways to upload free versions of the games onto their Switch 2. Nintendo is looking to get ahead of that, so they’re laying down the law now, and the addition of the voice and video chat recordings, even if they’re only happening with consent, is their way of making gamers feel like they’re being watched, so they’d better behave. It’s not an accident that these updates came after the Switch 2 pre-sales began; the gamers who know enough to circumvent Nintendo’s rules are probably among the ones who’ll be securing their Switch 2 early, and Nintendo wanted their business before giving them the business. I don’t expect this to make much of a dent in their sales – the number of customers who are even capable of tampering with the Switch 2 like this can’t be very big – but it seems to be pissing people off online, and that it’s happening after the price hikes has compounded the feeling that Nintendo doesn’t think much of its customers.
Let us know what you think about Nintendo threatening to “brick” the Switch 2 in the comments!
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