The Controversial Move: Nintendo’s Right to Disable Your Console
Nintendo is known for many things. Some are good, and others may appear downright evil at times. One issue that the company has repeatedly taken a tough stance on is the modification and piracy of its games and consoles. Now, an update to Nintendo’s EULA allows the company to brick your entire system at will.
Last year, Nintendo sued the creators of a popular Switch emulator, cementing its anti-emulator stance. This is not the first time that the company has taken harsh action against those who breach its terms of service. The difference now is that the new approach of bricking consoles targets individuals rather than companies that profit from their products.
Nintendo’s Anti-Modding Campaign
While Nintendo’s attitude toward piracy is understandable, many gamers are irritated by the company’s anti-modding stance. This is especially true since modding has been a part of gaming since its inception and continues to play an important role on other systems. After all, not all modding is purely destructive to a game or community.
Nintendo remains one of the only big players in gaming that forbids modding across the board and not on a case-by-case basis. Recent changes to Nintendo’s EULA state that if you alter the console or its software in any way whatsoever, you acknowledge that “Nintendo may render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part.”
This means that Nintendo reserves the right to completely disable your console for even the slightest transgression. With the upcoming release of the Switch 2, the company seems to be extra careful when it comes to defending its intellectual property. Given the high price of the Switch 2, the threat of bricking your console has suddenly made even private modding a costly risk.
Is Modding Worth the Risk?
Despite the increased risk, big companies and groups of people who mod Nintendo consoles will most likely continue to do so. The people who will feel these changes the most are individuals who are interested in modding their consoles or extracting a ROM that they purchased. For many, the risk of losing their $450 console is simply not going to be worth it.
It is unclear whether Nintendo will actually brick the consoles of people who aren’t profiting from their modifications. However, the important thing now is that Nintendo could do it, which will be enough to deter most players.
Have you ever thought about modding your Nintendo console in any way? If so, are these changes going to deter you from trying it in the future? And is Nintendo’s anti-modding stance justified? Let us know in the comments below!
