Nintendo will brick your Switch for modding

[PartySick 155,542]

Nintendo has warned that it will brick your Switch 2 for one fundamental reason, so you must proceed cautiously if you want to follow this path.

It must be said that modding consoles is somewhat of a legal grey area. Technically, it’s not illegal in most cases to mod the console you own. Yet, using software to allow the functionality of pirated software is.

The updated user agreement warns gamers that if it's detected that your Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2 have been hacked or modded in any way, it will brick your console. In layman's terms, they will kill your console rendering it unusable.

The updated user agreement is in preparation for Nintendo’s new digital Game-Key cards for the Switch 2. In a nutshell, Game-Key Cards are physical cards that contain a download for the full game accessed with an internet connection. In truth, the Game-Key cards make it easier for Nintendo to have control over your digital games.

In the first updated user agreement since 2021, a line states that Nintendo can make an “applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part,” as well as the “Nintendo Account Services”.

“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 continues.

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[PartySick 155,542]

This goes beyond the old "if streaming isn't ownership then piracy isn't theft" vibe. They're quite literally saying even if you pay the nearly half a grand for their console, they can render it as dead as a paperweight any time they want as long as they update their user agreements first to give "validity".

You don't buy a Switch 2.

You buy Nintendo's permission to use the Switch 2 for as long as they allow you.

Restrict online play and store services to modders and hackers, sure. That's absolutely reasonable. Bricking the physical console itself? There's no defending that.

[NemoMyName 549]

And what's wrong with that? It's their right to take any measure to prevent piracy... I feel like people are very entitled with video games, like it's a human right to play them for free.

If franchises like Mario and Zelda still alive and successful after more than 30 years it's because how nintendo cares about their intellectual property, otherwise they would be bastardized franchises like sonic.

Edited Saturday at 11:16 PM by NemoMyName

[RAMROD 107,750]

They will do the same to Switch OG too, well, especially to Switch OG. Since now the successor to it is available, usually mod community will modding the older console, as per usual.

 

But anyway, not like most regular Nintendo gamers are into that stuffs so much. 

Edited Saturday at 11:38 PM by RAMROD

[SpadesToStart 3,379]

15 minutes ago, NemoMyName said:

And what's wrong with that? It's their right to take any measure to prevent piracy... I feel like people are very entitled with video games, like it's a human right to play them for free.

Absolute L take. It’s about the fundamentals of ownership. Once I purchase something, I own it and it is mine to do with as I please as long as I’m not breaking any laws. 

[River 113,774]

Every game, digital or physical, on any platform, you don’t fully own, you own the license to it.

For example, Ubisoft one day shut down The Crew, the physical is garbage now.

On Steam at least 2-3 games are getting revoked off of my list per year, sucks but this is gaming

Nintendo banned the OG switch too, they only added it to the TOS to make it clear.

And it’s also Sony and Microsoft who bans consoles and accounts, it’s nothing new.

[NemoMyName 549]

3 minutes ago, SpadesToStart said:

Absolute L take. It’s about the fundamentals of ownership. Once I purchase something, I own it and it is mine to do with as I please as long as I’m not breaking any laws. 

Will Nintendo go to your house and take your console? You still own it.

[lastpopicon 23,290]

This is why I gave up on consoles long ago, sure, you miss some exclusives and that's especially noticeable with Nintendo exclusives but with a Computer you get so much more liberty, not to mention, it's cheaper on the long run.

I barely play games nowadays but when I do I just hook up the PC the my 4k TV and have an almost infinite amount of games at my disposal, don't need to pay to play online, can mod the games to my liking, it's so liberating lol

We can even emulate some games that aren't on the PC platform

[RAMROD 107,750]

8 minutes ago, SpadesToStart said:

Absolute L take. It’s about the fundamentals of ownership. Once I purchase something, I own it and it is mine to do with as I please as long as I’m not breaking any laws. 

Fair, but they as a brand also allowed to make sure nobody is modding their gadgets for nefarious stuffs, such as piracy, or worse, turn their electronics into bombs for example. I see this move by Nintendo as necessary steps before it's too late. 

[weed 72,976]

Disgusting

[Ilia Malinin 949]

i'm too poor to mod any of my nintendo consoles, but this is aboslutely f**ked up.

why would you brick the system entirely?  afaik, you only get banned from online services for modding rn.  why would i spend half a grand on a console with the fear that you're going to turn it into an expensive paperweight at any perceived slight?

[SpadesToStart 3,379]

19 minutes ago, NemoMyName said:

Will Nintendo go to your house and take your console? You still own it.

So you’re cool if I walk into your house and break your refrigerator, then? Don’t worry, I’ll leave all the pieces behind and you’ll still own those, it just won’t have the functionality you purchased it for.

what a joke. Stop bootlicking and come up for some air.

[NemoMyName 549]

1 minute ago, SpadesToStart said:

So you’re cool if I walk into your house and break your refrigerator, then? Don’t worry, I’ll leave all the pieces behind and you’ll still own those, it just won’t have the functionality you purchased it for.

what a joke. Stop bootlicking and come up for some air.

You deserve for pirating games. If you aren't doing anything wrong, then it shouldn't matter.

[weed 72,976]

3 minutes ago, NemoMyName said:

You deserve for pirating games. If you aren't doing anything wrong, then it shouldn't matter.

You've never played an unreleased song on YouTube or watched any clip from a tv show or anything?

[CautiousLurker 18,946]

You gotta be very naive if you think this is them acting out of safety concerns, or because gamers are just so entitled to free games (even though games sell perfectly fine despite climbing prices) 

No - fact is, for quite some time now the game distributors have been SALIVATING over the prospect of renting out licenses as opposed to providing people with a game copy that you OWN, because that allows them to pull licenses whenever they want and resell the same games at a later date.

And out of all the big distributors, Nintendo is the most egregious one in this regard, as they have numerous titles that can no longer be played UNLESS you resort to modding, and they have on numerous occasions absolutely RUINED lives of people who tried to play/provide a way to play games that are no longer accessible, even though that endeavour was clearly not motivated by money, and did not hurt the company.

You can 'it's their right to do that' all you want, doesn't change the fact that this standard of practice is being forced by distributors for one and one reason only - greed.