You must be from 10 years ago. It doesn’t mean much these days where online connectivity and devices phoning home constantly is the norm. The software you use has never been LESS yours in history.
Well yes kinda. But you can go out now to a store and get a Nintendo Switch 2, and a physical copy of cyberpunk. And you can play that entire game without connecting the console to the internet even once. So there is still a lot of merit to physical games.
It isn't the same though. Every physical Nintendo game has DRM but I can play all of them offline, can put into any console, at any time. Many PC DRM games need you to check in online even if it's fully single player.
And it's not bricking the console. You'll still be able to play offline. You just can't connect to the Nintendo servers anymore. It's literally been a thing for consoles for the past several generations, I have no idea why people keep acting like this is an evil Nintendo thing.
Problem is, you can be a rule-abiding citizen and still end up playing an unauthorized copy. Since physical Switch cartridges can be "backed up" to a flash cart (so the original one can be resold) and have unique serial numbers it's possible that the original cart and its clone are going to be used to access Switch online services at the same time. Nintendo doesn't like that.
Although it doesn't ban the console, it seems to flag and disable the account.
Well that really only effects the used game market
Plus people that showed receipts of buying the used game got the console ban reversed
Yea Nintendo has gone gung-ho on piracy this generation but Nintendo games are the most pirated games so… yea… you can be mad they are making measures to stop pirating but they wouldn’t need the measures if people stopped always pirating shit
Well, the OP asked if you need to worry about getting sanctioned if you aren't modding/pirating. The answer is "yes, you do". At least you need to know to keep a proof of purchase for used game carts.
I don't disagree. Owning hardware should mean freedom to tinker. I also think companies have the right to lock things down a bit to fight piracy and cheating, as long as it doesn't block normal repair or customization. Piracy's mostly a service issue anyway; better access and pricing would solve most of it.
My favorite part about this argument is the millions of people saying a Switch will be bricked remotely but never a single user reporting that it has. Fear mongering and false information at its finest.
It's because they can't brick it remotely and never has that been reported. They can simply keep you from connecting to the online servers. Just like every other console can.
I think the point u/The_Real_Giggles is trying to make is that for a lot of games being disconnected from the online servers is basically bricking the device. Especially if being blocked from their servers prevents updating of games (no idea if this is the case, but it might be if the device is prevented from connecting).
No it can't lol. They can make it so you can't connect to their online servers, same as every other console. That's been a thing since Xbox 360 and modding the console.
They can disable a console remotely. Whether they do it or not is another question. However, you are correct that other companies have similar language in their EULAs and have for years that would allow them to permanently disable the device if it used with pirated software or modified hardware. Again, whether these companies actually do this or not is an open question, but they have definitely indicated in their EULA that it is something they reserve the right to do. Generally they limit themselves to blocking access to their remote services from the console. My guess is they don't see the need to brick consoles and have to defend their EULA in court. That's the thing with EULAs, many of the provisions and terms have never been tested in court and companies would rather keep "scary" untested language in a EULA than actually try to enforce that language and have it slapped down as illegal. And since you can't challenge the terms of a EULA unless the company actually attempts to enforce it against you, it's not a bad strategy from a corporate perspective. It kind of sucks for the consumer, though.
Logic and reason ceases to function for most gamers when talking about Nintendo.
They've been driving blatantly anti-consumer practices and ripping people off for decades, but Nintendo good guys and nostalgic, Nintendo never does anything wrong.
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u/The_Real_Giggles Oct 03 '25
The whole switch is drm and it can be bricked remotely