Watch out! Nintendo is cracking down on using secondhand cartridges with the Switch 2

As more gamers are finally getting their hands on a brand new Switch 2 console, Nintendo seems to be cracking down harder on piracy.

In recent news (via Reddit), it was discovered that a user had purchased four original Nintendo Switch game cartridges from a seller on Facebook Marketplace in good faith, only to find that after inserting each one separately into their Switch 2 console for patching overnight, that Nintendo had banned their accout the following day, with online services also restricted.

The user, dmanthey, shared their experience in the r/Switch thread to warn other Switch 2 users not to buy used Switch 1 games (even though Nintendo already confirmed its new console was fully backwards compatible). Confused? I was too.

But it seems the reason this gamer had their account banned was a mistake on Nintendo's part, due to believing that the user had been intentionally installing pirated games. This can happen when the original owner of a game duplicates a game onto another storage device for piracy purposes, and then proceeds to sell the physical cartridge to someone else.

I was today years old when I learned that Nintendo has a unique identification number embedded into a game's data, to allow the company to detect if a game is being loaded simultaneously in more than one location.

This is concerning for a number of reasons, but primarily, I recently shared a Switch 2 game hack encouraging Switch owners to buy a cheaper secondhand version of a title to get the Switch 2 enhanced upgrade for a lesser cost. While I thought this was solid advice at the time (I swear I didn't know), this could prove problematic if you buy the cartridge from a wrongun who has duplicated it first. Take a look at the Reddit thread below for full details of the incident.

Switch 2 users - be careful buying used Switch 1 games. You can get banned if a bad actor dumped it. Having said that, Nintendo support is amazing and will help get you back up and running. from r/Switch

Fortunately for dmanthey, they were able to contact Nintendo right away to set things straight, talking to a real human (a luxury you rarely get nowadays) to provide proof of purchase and get their Nintendo account reinstated. Nearly all of my current Nintendo Switch games were purchased secondhand, so it's worrying to think that by the time I purchase a Switch 2, these games could land me in trouble out of the blue.

This is especially frustrating given the extortionate new Switch 2 game prices (up to $80), which would usually prompt me to purchase a secondhand Switch game without hesitation. However, I don't blame Nintendo at all for trying to protect its intellectual Property and clamp down on piracy.

It seems the company is also targeting well-known online emulation sites and criminal marketplaces, given that the FBI has recently seized nsw2u, with further authorisation granted to seize other sites including game-2u.com, ps4pkg.net, and mgnetu.com.

I guess if there's anything to take away from this, it's that there's nothing illegal about purchasing a secondhand copy of a game; however, you should consider where you buy your cartridges from carefully, keep your receipts, and be cautious that Nintendo could ban your account at any given time if your cartridges have been cloned.