Nintendo updated its Nintendo account agreement and issued a harsh warning about "unauthorized use" designed to prevent game simulations (i.e., emulator running) and piracy.

All users with Nintendo accounts received an email with an updated policy link.Among them, the wording of the digital product license part has been changed.

The UK Account Agreement now states that digital products are “licensed for personal non-commercial use only” and that any “unauthorized use of digital products may result in the inability to use”.

This is slightly different from the U.S. agreement, which states: “You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with the above limitations, Nintendo may make Nintendo account services and/or applicable Nintendo devices permanently unavailable in whole or in part.”

For comparison, the following is the original wording (effective from April 2021): “You may not lease, rent, subauthorize, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or dismantle all or any part of the Nintendo Account Service without Nintendo’s written consent unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law.”

The following is the full update of the UK Agreement: "Any digital products registered to your Nintendo account and any updates thereof are only licensed for personal non-commercial use on the user's device. Digital products may not be used for any other purpose. In particular, you may not lease or rent digital products, nor may you sublicense, publish, copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any part of the digital product without the written consent of Nintendo Europe (NOE), unless otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law. Such unauthorized use of digital products may result in the inability to use such digital products."

The updates from the United States are as follows: “Without restrictions, you agree that you may not: (a) publish, copy, modify, reverse engineer, lease, rent, decompile, disassemble, distribute, sell or create derivative works of any part of the Nintendo Account Service; (b) bypass, modify, decrypt, crack, tamper with or otherwise circumvent any features or protective measures of the Nintendo Account Service, including the use of any hard work that would cause the Nintendo Account Service to not operate as its documentation and intended use.(c) obtain, install or use any unauthorized copy of the Nintendo Account Service; or (d) utilize the Nintendo Account Service in any way that does not comply with applicable documentation and intended use, in each case, unless otherwise expressly authorized by Nintendo, or otherwise expressly permitted by applicable law.You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with the above limitations, Nintendo may render the Nintendo Account Service and/or applicable Nintendo devices permanently unavailable in whole or in part.”

Nintendo Account Privacy Policy was also updated before the release of Nintendo Switch 2.Now, if you agree, Nintendo will be able to record video and voice chat content stored on your console for a limited time.

The move is aimed at anyone experiencing “language or behavior that may violate applicable laws” and the company is able to view the last three minutes of recordings to ensure a “safe and home-friendly online environment.”

The update was conducted before the launch of the Switch 2 game chat feature, where players can make video calls during the game.

In March this year, Nintendo announced his victory in a lawsuit against French file sharing company Dstorage, which Nintendo said was "significant to the entire gaming industry."

Prior to this, Nintendo took a series of actions to combat piracy, including shutting down the Switch emulator Yuzu and filing lawsuits against an anchor who often plays Nintendo games before the game is released.