A Nintendo Switch 2 owner found their console banned from online services after playing legitimately purchased second-hand games, highlighting a potential risk for buyers in the used game market.
Reddit user dmanthey reported that after buying four used Nintendo Switch 1 games from Facebook Marketplace and downloading updates for them on their new Switch 2 console, they woke up the next day to discover they were locked out of Nintendo’s online services. The ban prevented access to the Nintendo eShop and blocked them from downloading games they had already purchased.
“You can get banned if a bad actor dumped it,” dmanthey warned other Switch 2 owners on Reddit, referring to the practice where previous owners copy game data before selling the physical cartridge.
The ban occurs because Nintendo’s anti-piracy system attaches unique cryptographic keys to each game cartridge. When the system detects the same key being used simultaneously on multiple consoles, it automatically issues a ban, assuming piracy is taking place. This happens when someone has used a device like the MIG Flash to copy a game’s data and unique identification number before selling the original cartridge.
The innocent buyer has no way of knowing if a game they’re purchasing has been compromised this way. This creates what one online publication called a “guilty until proven innocent” situation for consumers who buy used games.
Fortunately for dmanthey, Nintendo offered a solution. After contacting Nintendo support through their website, dmanthey provided proof of legitimate purchase by showing the Facebook Marketplace listing, photos of the physical cartridges, and chat logs with the seller. Nintendo subsequently lifted the ban.
“The whole process was painless and fast,” dmanthey wrote, adding it was “so much easier than getting support from Microsoft or Sony.”
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Nintendo confirmed to dmanthey that the cartridges were legitimate and could even be resold. However, this incident raises concerns about the future of the second-hand game market for Nintendo Switch 2, as buyers now face the risk that pre-owned games could lead to console bans through no fault of their own.
The situation highlights Nintendo’s aggressive stance against piracy, which has become more relevant with the release of the Switch 2 and its backward compatibility with original Switch titles. The company recently updated its user agreement to allow itself the power to restrict Switch consoles caught running pirated games or modifications.
For Switch 2 owners buying used games, the incident serves as a warning to keep records of purchases as evidence in case Nintendo’s anti-piracy system flags their console.