A Switch 2 owner has had their console “restricted by Nintendo” after installing a Switch game they bought on the used market. Quinn Nelson, the creator behind popular YouTube channel Snazzy Labs, fell foul to the long arm of Nintendo law, and now assumes the “old copy of Bayo 3 on eBay” they bought must have been dumped/ripped by its previous owner and got flagged by big N’s anti-piracy servers.
Nelson kindly posted the above warning as a PSA (public service announcement) for other Switch 2 owners who may be considering building their game library via the used market. “Be EXTREMELY careful buying used Nintendo Switch games,” they stress. Nintendo’s action, represented by the screen, doesn’t just disable access to the possibly duped and redistributed copy of Bayo 3. All access to Nintendo’s online services have been cut off.
“The use of online services on this console is currently restricted by Nintendo”
The above foreboding message effectively signals a ban on the particular console from online services operated by Nintendo. The move isn’t tied to the user account, but Nelson’s “1-month-old $450 Switch 2 is BANNED” from a lot of the online fun available. To be clear, if this happens to you, the physical cartridges that you own will remain playable, without updates, and some previously downloaded digital games may remain accessible.
Other social media users were quick to reassure Nelson of two things. Firstly, hardware bans received for using second-hand game carts that have been cloned by tools like MIG Flash are not uncommon. And, probably more importantly, Nintendo is receptive to owners who can provide corroborating evidence that they are innocent of Nintendo-flavored piracy. We reported on exactly such a case, only last week, with a happy ending for the innocent Facebook Marketplace-sourced used-game buyer.
All that seems to be required to iron out this digital wrinkle is some online correspondence with Nintendo and some kind of paper trail (or screenshots) showing that the offending game cart was bought used without any awareness of bad provenance.
Nelson has publicly dabbled in MIG Flash game dumping
Not all social media responses to Nelson’s situation were supportive, though – this is X in 2025., afterall A particular point was raised by Centro LEAKS, a Pokémon leaks, rumors and news site, which highlighted Nelson’s previous posts, one mentioning that he intended to run “my MIG Flash game dumps” on the Switch 2.
Nelson clarified in that referenced Tweet that he used the flash cart to vastly improve the portability of a large game collection. Moreover, he informed commentators and critics at the time that "You get banned if you play pirated copies. Not your own," implying he doesn't think the ban is related to this activity.
Taking Nelson’s claims at face value, let’s hope they get their Switch 2 back online shortly. Having an almost new console restricted and locked down like this, while being innocent of any piracy, would definitely not be fair.
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