In a recent post from a couple of months ago, it was reported that Nintendo had updated their End-User License Agreement (EULA), in which they specified that the user cannot sue Nintendo through a class-action lawsuit, and that if the user of a Nintendo hardware was detected to have been using the console in an unauthorized way by Nintendo, be it homebrew or any other modification to the console, that Nintendo could not only ban, but even render "the applicable Nintendo device unusable".

The update sparked quite the debate online about the implications of said changes, with some saying that the changes made to the EULA were referring to the right of Nintendo the ban the console from online services, to others saying that Nintendo will outright brick the console that the consumer purchased.

All that heated debate seems to have gotten into the ears of higher-ups in Brazil, with the consumer protection agency, Procon-SP, claiming that the changes to the clauses made by Nintendo in their EULA are flat-out abusive to Brazilian customers, with the main complaint being the unjustified and unilateral cancellation of subscriptions to the online services. The main risk that Procon-SP explains when it comes to this issue is that "the consumer may be left without a product, without a response and without assistance".

However, there's another issue related to this conflict, as Nintendo doesn't have formal legal representation based on Brazil. Given this instance, Procon-SP had to contact the company's HQ based in the United States, to which Nintendo appointed a law firm in Brazil to handle such case, but only in regards to the disputed clause.

Nintendo will review the case, and they will respond within 20 days, but Brazilian users and customers are recommended by Procon-SP to report any irregularity to their main website to assist with the case.

Source

 

[DevYukine]

I wonder when the EU will start addressing these anti-consumer practices too...

 

[VMM]

There's also a lot of other factors to take into consideration, Brazil is huge on Piracy, out of all the Brazilian people I know that live in my country, only one actually buys the games, and this is in Europe. In Brazil the prices of games are very expensive for the average salary so people go for the easy and cheaper option and eventually make a habit out of it.

I can't find official sources for this, but it seems that Brazil also has very high tariffs on imports. Seems like Nintendo increased it's software price a few months ago in South America (Sony seems to be doing the same recently but on an individual scale from what I've read).

In Brazil we have a weaker currency, very high tariffs and the minimum wage is shit.
Brazil's minimum wage is 1518 reais per month, which would be around 280 dollars today.
Most people who play videogames are young and don't have that much of professional experience to have a decent salary so there's no wonder there's so much piracy

 

[ciro64]

Que orgulho do meu país

Although I think this is more likely to result in Nintendo just giving up in Brazil again rather than changing it for the good

 

[Kozamekinas]

Well i am unhappy brazilian citizien tha love nintedo but we alwas have a lot taxes in everthing you govenament sees and touch, but after steam deck and the prices that steam pratice on your market is to be stupid to pay R$300 in game with label nintendo(in indies and third-part games) and pay like R$70 on steam and have the same game on PC and steam deck portable. So i am not into switch 2 because of that, and True to be told everyone in brazil that have switch its because of piracty its popular there since ps2.

 

[RandomUser]

I think my favorite thing about all this is people just realized this clause now. This has been in their TOS since the Wii days and apparently only now it's a problem lol.

A theory is that TOS like these weren't noticeable back then. It just that Disney have made clauses like these more noticeable.
Of course all this is just my theory or opinion.

 

[x149te]

They do sell products there, and even the games are officially translated in Brazilian Portuguese.

they translating in russian too, and they left Russia few years ago

 

[angelus kun]

Well that "brick"it's more like a ban think about it, without eShop and no other way to install games you can't do anything besides play physical cartridge or update the console itself not even the games

 

[SDA]

they translating in russian too, and they left Russia few years ago

Yeah, and no wonder why they left Russia - the ongoing war and the legalization of piracy in that territory.

 

[x149te]

Yeah, and no wonder why they left Russia - the ongoing war and the legalization of piracy in that territory.

Former Nintendo of France and Nintendo of Russia chief working here and opened his own company, that's how Nintendo imports Nintendo things "officially".
I'm just wanted to say, they can add languages and not being landed in country.

 

[SkittleDash]

Another day, another suit involving Nintendo. Could make a whole documentary at this point.

 

[HideoKojima]

This reminded me of team xecuter practices when they put a code that bricks the og switch if someone hacked their software

 

[Skv0ra]

Former Nintendo of France and Nintendo of Russia chief working here and opened his own company, that's how Nintendo imports Nintendo things "officially".
I'm just wanted to say, they can add languages and not being landed in country.

Speaking exactly of that - when McDonald's "left" Russia by selling the shops to a local company - guess what the food and menu still look like for the most part.....and there's NO way McD isn't just quetly supplying their shitty frozen food and churning a profit by same millions. Publicity stunts have become quite transparent thanks to mass communication.

 

[Reecey2]

That is false. If the user agreement contradicts the law in Brazil, then N will lose, and it will trigger a chain reaction.

A license agreement does not change from country to country a license agreement is written up for your companies needs usually by a legal team and that is concrete anyone that uses your company’s services must abide by those conditions. By the way it’s called a legal and binding license agreement not a user agreement

 

[SeventhSon7]

guise let's send Brazil our energy

 

[AshWeststar]

I wonder when the EU will start addressing these anti-consumer practices too...

It's not considered anti-consumer in the EU. The EU is pro-consumer, but also strongly anti-piracy in its legislation and legal rulings.

 

[DevYukine]

It's not considered anti-consumer in the EU. The EU is pro-consumer, but also strongly anti-piracy in its legislation and legal rulings.

That's crazy considering that modding consoles is so much more than only piracy

 

[AshWeststar]

That's crazy considering that modding consoles is so much more than only piracy

You're right that modding consoles can involve more than just piracy, like custom firmware or homebrew for legitimate purposes. However, Nintendo's bans target breaches of their terms, particularly piracy or bypassing protections, which aligns with their rights under EU law. The Digital Content Directive (2019/770) and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive (93/13/EEC) enable companies to enforce fair terms (or, in this case, terminate access to their service for a breach) that protect intellectual property. EU case law also supports these measures as reasonable when aimed at preventing misuse, such as piracy. Therefore, Nintendo's actions, like console bans, are legal even if they impact broader modding activities.

 

[ChronosNotashi]

A theory is that TOS like these weren't noticeable back then. It just that Disney have made clauses like these more noticeable.
Of course all this is just my theory or opinion.

i.e. People started actually reading what they've been agreeing to, because Disney has been trying to exploit the typical ignorance that comes from "clicking without reading". Even when shows like Futurama (only one I can think of off the top of my head that parodied a relevant case) warned of the danger of clicking to agree to a license agreement/EULA without taking the time to read the fine print. (Either because of laziness or wanting to immediately get to the game or product your purchased without delay.)

Post automatically merged: Jul 4, 2025

We have things like Steam Deck now as that console/budget PC for the vast majority of consumers who can only spring enough money for a console because Valve wasn't blind to entertainment trends and stepped up.

I mean, you say that, but...

Look, I'm not trying to come off as a Nintendo bootlicker here*, but ~4 million sales by the end of 2024 (in a market that had only sold ~ 6 million handheld PC sales among all retailers) doesn't exactly indicate a huge, thriving market that could actually compete with Nintendo on a long-term scale. Maybe if Valve actually advertise the thing beyond a simple, easy-to-scroll-past segment of the main store page. Seriously, I had to scroll down on Steam's store page to find it, and it was only because I was actually looking for it that I didn't miss it.

Plus, having to pay extra to have the same kind of hybrid experience that the Switch/Switch 2 provides might not sit well with people. Moreso when you consider the fact that you still have to buy everything you'd need to have an actual PC experience if you plan to actually use the Desktop Mode (because, personally, it feels a bit weird using Desktop Mode without a keyboard and mouse, and a PC monitor also goes a long way for that). Speaking of which, the OS being a Linux branch doesn't really help for those who are familiar with the stigma of Linux's complexity as an OS compared to the more "simple" Windows OS.

*(I like Nintendo's games and plan to get a Switch 2 at some point, but I do have a Steam Deck, and even I'm aware enough of the issues with Nintendo's legal branch to know when they might be stepping past boundaries. Though as far as the legal side, I try to keep myself informed on the opposition too, which is why I can't really side with PocketPair in that case, either - they didn't exactly make PalWorld the way they did in good faith to begin with.)

 

[NinStar]

A license agreement does not change from country to country a license agreement is written up for your companies needs usually by a legal team and that is concrete anyone that uses your company’s services must abide by those conditions. By the way it’s called a legal and binding license agreement not a user agreement

For something to be legally binding it has to, well, first and foremost comply with (local) law. So EULAs can be invalid/unenforceable and can definitely change from country to country depending on different factors.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

Good, Nintendo and EULAs need to be brought down.