Early Nintendo Switch Sports Players are Forbidden from Talking About It Publicly

Players playing the pre-release version of Nintendo Switch Sports are forbidden from talking about their experiences with the game on social media – despite the Online Play Test being free to anyone with a Switch Online membership.

As spotted by Liam Robertson on Twitter (below), Nintendo said on its website, that “by registering to participate in the Online Play Test, you agree not to share information about the Online Play Test publicly, including the sharing of screenshots or video footage from the game on social media.”

It’s unclear how Nintendo intends to enforce that rule, however, and no punishments are listed for those that break it.

In more news of Nintendo being dumb and out of touch: they are prohibiting players of the Nintendo Switch Sports online playtest from sharing *anything* on social media about it. https://t.co/UWdnCUR9G1 pic.twitter.com/yboRpRZLBS

— Liam Robertson (@Doctor_Cupcakes) February 16, 2022

It’s not uncommon for such a stipulation to built into closed beta builds of pre-release games, but this paytest is far more open to the public than many such schemes. Reaction to the decision online has been one broadly of confusion.

Nintendo points out further into its terms and conditions that the “Online Play Test software is under development and may not be reflective of the full version of Nintendo Switch Sports,” adding that “you may experience unexpected behaviour or errors while playing.”

Registration for the playtest opened today, and you can get access by subscribing to the Switch Online service and heading to this website.

The Online Play Test for Nintendo Switch Sports, a 15-years-later sequel to Wii Sports, is spread across five separate 45-minute sessions on February 19 and 20, offering Switch Online members a chance to play the game ahead of its launch on April 29.

The game will feature six different modes on launch (Tennis, Bowling, Chambara, Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball) but Nintendo has confirmed that Golf is also on its way via a free update this autumn.

Nintendo unveiled Switch Sports during its latest Nintendo Direct, where it also announced Xenoblade Chronicles 3, 48 new tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a new Mario Strikers and a ton of other new games and updates.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.