Switch 2 user warning, please warn of accidental ban after playing pre-owned game card

If you don’t want to be erroneously banned, you may have to be extra careful to buy a used Nintendo Switch gaming card. The Nintendo Switch 2 owners released owners on Reddit, who were banned after downloading patches for some switch game cards purchased from Facebook Marketplace.

Reddit user Dmanthey said they plugged each game into Switch 2 for patching, but found that their online service was restricted the next day. Switch 2 users contacted Nintendo’s support and found that they were banned but provided proof of purchase and were not arrested soon after. “The whole process is painless and smooth,” Reddit said, but this reactionary ban protocol is a shocking precedent for anyone looking to save a few dollars by buying used games.

To understand why this happens, it is important to note that Nintendo attaches unique code to its switched gaming cartridges to prevent piracy. However, bad actors can copy the game to a third-party device like MIG Flash and resell the physical game card. Once Nintendo detects two instances of its unique code online at the same time, it will prohibit any account using it. Anyone who pirated Nintendo software knows this is a potential consequence, but it is an annoying surprise for forgotten second-hand buyers. After proving they purchased the Switch game, Redditor Dmanthey said they were told the cartridges were pretty good and could even be resold.

This anti-piracy policy is nothing new – Nintendo has long been known for its fierce fight against piracy of any kind – but again it becomes relevant thanks to the recently released Switch 2, which offers backward compatibility with the original Switch title. The company even recently revised its user agreement to allow itself to knock down the captured Nintendo Switch, which captures running pirated games or mods.