July 14, 2025, 1:32 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
When using pre-owned games, Nintendo might suspend the user account. There’s a clear reason for this.
Nintendo has long been one of the largest manufacturers of video games and related hardware. With consoles or brands like the Nintendo Switch and “Super Mario,” the company has celebrated great success for decades. To ensure this continues, the company has always taken a particularly strict stance on piracy. At times, the consensus is that they go too far, such as when harmless fan projects are shut down. Now, Nintendo has even suspended a user account, even though the affected person did nothing wrong.
Nintendo Suspended User Account Over Pre-Owned Game
This is reported by a user on the online platform Reddit. According to the user, they had previously purchased four used games for the Switch 1 on the Facebook Marketplace and wanted to use them on the new Switch 2. After downloading some patches, the user found the next day that access to online services was suddenly missing because Nintendo had suspended the user account.
According to their own statements, they then contacted Nintendo’s support and explained the situation. The problem was quickly and easily resolved, and the user was able to use their Switch 2 as usual again. But why did Nintendo suspend the user account in the first place?
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Nintendo Suspended User Account Due to Duplicate ID
The sale and purchase of used games is perfectly legal. Therefore, this should not have been the reason why Nintendo suddenly suspended a user account. Rather, it seems that in this case, the previous owner of the used games may not have always acted in accordance with the rules.
The reason could be a so-called MIG Switch. This refers to a flash card on which users can load multiple games simultaneously–legally purchased ones, but also illegal ones. Naturally, Nintendo wants to prevent the use and distribution of the latter as much as possible. The company can uniquely identify each game module. As reported by sources such as “4P,” Nintendo immediately suspends the user account if users attempt to start games from the MIG Switch on the Switch 2.
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If a previous owner of a game, for example, loaded it onto a MIG Switch or used it in another illicit manner, the manufacturer can see this because the same ID number appears in two places simultaneously.
Solution Quickly Found
In such a case, the system assumes piracy, and therefore, Nintendo may suspend a user account. It’s frustrating that this process can also affect innocent users. According to the Reddit user, it was sufficient to submit photos of the game cards and the purchase history on Facebook to have the account reactivated. The purchase of used games is legal. However, fans can never be sure what the previous owner did with the respective copy of the game.