Nintendo strikes back: New Eula could block consoles forever!

Nintendo strikes back: New Eula could block consoles forever!

USA - On May 20, 2025, Nintendo announced comprehensive changes to its terms of use in the USA for the Switch console in order to act against pirated copies and non-authorized modifications. These changes, which came into force on May 7, 2025, enable Nintendo to permanently deactivate consoles for "unauthorized uses", which can also affect operational offline operation. Affected uses include playing pirated copies and the use of flash carts, which aims to aim the new regulation, especially for technical abuse. According to [VOL.AT] (https://www.vol.at/so-kann-nintendo-de-s-switch-Schrenbst-im-offline mode/9412943), the deactivation can even be done without prior notification if Nintendo is of the opinion that a violation is imminent.

A central aspect of the new end user license agreement (EULA) is the far-reaching right of Nintendo to make hardware unusable under certain circumstances-a process known as "bricking". This measure could theoretically be implemented by distance access and is intended to enable the company to act against a variety of activities that are considered unclear, such as the installation of homebrew software or the bypass of copy protection measures. According to schmidtisblog.de fight.

regional differences in implementation

However, the new regulations have regional variations. While Nintendo has the right to make the hardware unusable in the United States, the strict consumer rights in Europe have set closer limits. According to the provisions regarding European consumer law, a flat -rate bricking of the software hardware is difficult to enforce. Instead, Nintendo could continue to withdraw digital content from accounts or block user accounts without deactivating all the hardware. This aspect is also highlighted by [VOL.AT] (https://www.vol.at/so-kann-nintendo-de-s-switch-Schrenbst-im-offline mode/9412943).

Critics of the Eula see the new regulations a form of "digital vigilante justice" that raises legal questions. While Nintendo argues that these measures are necessary to combat piracy, the question of the legality of such interventions arises. As part of the struggle against piracy, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EuIPO) sees the importance of data processing measures in order to be able to develop targeted solutions. This is of importance in the context of the access of personal data of users in order to contribute to observing monitoring and combating piracy, as described on the website of the euipo euipo.europa.eu.

The developments related to these new regulations show the tightened views of Nintendo in the context of consumer protection and copyright. On the upcoming Switch 2, which has already been announced for June 5, 2025, this strict attitude could continue to manifest.