Be Careful of Nintendo Switch Accounts for Sale

While there are plenty of great sales on the Nintendo Switch eShop, there’s nothing wrong with looking for a bargain. Unfortunately, I almost got caught in a weird scam selling a Nintendo Account full of games. So here’s what you need to know to avoid the same fate.

Third-Party eShop Codes Are OK, but Accounts Are Not

Let’s look at how this scam works. It starts with third-party game key site, which are generally perfectly fine. After all, online and brick-and-mortar retailers are allowed to sell digital game codes, which you can redeem in the eShop. If you think about it, Nintendo wouldn’t have the facility to redeem these codes on its eShop if it wasn’t perfectly OK.

So anyway, when you go onto a third-party site that advertises it’s selling digital Switch games, you’d expect to be paying for a code that you’ll redeem against your own account. However, what I encountered are third-party sellers who sell you entire Nintendo accounts, with a username and password. If you add this account to your console, you’ll then have access to the game.

This is a big no-no, and one of the main red flags is that the seller in question only guarantees the game for six months. In other words, if you lose access to the game after six months, it’s gone. If you were just redeeming a unique code against your own account, that wouldn’t even be a potential issue.

There Can Be Consequences When Buying an Account

If you look at Nintendo’s user agreement, it’s explicitly stated that you are not allowed to transfer or sell your account to another person. For example, if you sell your Switch, you are not allowed to “sell” the digital games in your account the same way you can sell a physical cartridge. If you violate this, Nintendo can simply disable and delete the account.

You May Be Sharing It With Others

I think the third-party sellers who do this are almost certainly buying a game once on an account, and then selling the same account over and over, hoping Nintendo doesn’t catch on too quickly. By the time Nintendo does delete the account because it notices it’s on too many consoles, or pops up in too many regions, the seller has already made their profit, and the only one who’s out of pocket is you.

You’ll Almost Certainly Lose Access to Your Games

I think the inclusion of a “warranty” which lasts for a few months is probably a good indication that you’ll almost definitely lose access to any games you “buy” this way. What worries me even more is the potential risk of being banned from the eShop or losing games that you’ve actually paid for legitimately, though I have not heard of this happening.

I guess for some people who only want to play a game once, and don’t care if it evaporates after a few months, this can still seem like a good deal, but honestly, it’s better to simply wishlist the games you want and wait for a sale. Also, don’t forget about physical Switch games, which you can buy used for about as much as some of these scam digital sellers are pricing their titles. Even new physical games are often cleared from brick-and-mortar stores, or on deep discount on Amazon. Just be patient, there’s plenty to play in the meantime.

It’s Not Worth the Risk

While I rarely have any issues using trusted third-party key sellers on PCs, or even for consoles, if anything seems suspicious at all, it’s best to steer clear. This isn’t like the old days when people had offline consoles where no one knew what you were doing inside your home with your hardware. If the lidless eye of Nintendo should turn upon you, and you’ve been naughty, then you’ll have no basis for complaining if they enforce their terms and conditions.