Nintendo Wins Dutch Court Ruling Against Sale of Switch Circumvention Devices

Nintendo has secured a legal victory in the Netherlands following a ruling by The Hague District Court. The court declared that the sale of devices designed to bypass Nintendo security measures, specifically products like MIG Switch Cards and MIG Switch Dumpers, is unlawful and constitutes copyright infringement.

The legal case focused on an online retailer using a dropshipping delivery system. Products ordered through European-facing websites such as r4switch.nl, ther4card.com, and r4switch.co.uk were fulfilled directly from Asia, primarily China. The court ordered the defendant to immediately stop offering and selling these circumvention devices, as well as any other products designed to bypass technological protection measures on Nintendo hardware.

According to Nintendo, the court followed reasoning established by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The judiciary recognized that the primary purpose of these hardware items is to bypass security safeguards on consoles and authentic video games, which enables the usage of unauthorized copies. Mig devices function as flash cartridges that allow backups or downloaded game files to be booted on hardware, alongside dumper tools meant to create backup files from game cartridges.

Nintendo stated that it initiated the legal action not only to protect its own business, but also on behalf of external video game developers globally who depend on legitimate sales. The company noted that the decision reinforces the legal basis for rights holders to protect against piracy using security measures. This recent case mirrors a previous landmark decision from the same Dutch court in 2010 against importers and sellers of Nintendo DS R4 cards.

Alongside the Dutch court ruling, Nintendo has pursued other legal avenues to curb piracy. In September 2025, Nintendo of America was awarded $2 million in damages in a lawsuit against distributors of MiG Switch devices. The platform holder also recently enforced the removal of hundreds of Switch emulator repositories on GitHub.

Concluding its public statements on the matter, Nintendo issued a direct message to players. The publisher advises users to avoid purchasing or using circumvention devices, unauthorized software, or pirated game copies, warning that such actions increase the risk of interfering with the functionality and overall experience of authentic hardware and software.