It’s no surprise to hear that Nintendo is picky about what usernames we can use on its services. It has a family-friendly image to maintain, and it hardly wants the average Mario Kart World lobby to look like something straight out of Marvel Rivals.
However, they might be a lot stricter than we feared. As reported by GamesRadar+, a Nintendo Switch 2 user says that their account was hit with a permanent ban, all because of an account called “Twink Link”.
Nintendo Fan Says They Were Banned For The Username “Twink Link”
“I let everyone in my family use my Nintendo Switch 2 system and as a result, my sister uses it. Her username was recently changed to Twink Link and… console ban,” says Reddit user Funaoe24. “I am fully prevented from accessing any Nintendo services at all on the system.”
Worse yet, they have updated the post to say that there is no way to have the ban reversed. “Permanent system bans cannot be revoked by Nintendo at all,” they claim. “I was told to return my system and use the latest save data cloud backups.”
In the replies, they have denied that this had anything to do with modding or using pirated games, since that would be a surefire way for Nintendo to hit the entire console with a ban.
If it was indeed the username that triggered the ban, then it is curious that they were not given the chance to simply change it. It is also curious that Nintendo considers the word “twink” to be a banable offence, since it’s hardly the most inappropriate username out there. Perhaps Nintendo is just trying to protect Link’s image, and deny the allegations that he is, indeed, a bit twinky…
With all that said, if the user even had a past with piracy or modding, there is a chance that this is what triggered it instead. As we covered recently, Nintendo’s terms and conditions were recently updated to explicitly state that it reserves the right to brick your console if you do anything other than use it for its intended purpose. Clearly, Nintendo believes that going even harder on the modding scene is the way to go about combating piracy in this console generation.
- Brand
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Nintendo
- Original Release Date
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June 5, 2025
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$449.99
- Operating System
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Proprietary
- Resolution
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1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked)
- HDR Support
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Yes