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submitted 2 months ago by NONE_dc@lemmy.world to c/games@lemmy.world

In short, if you happen to hack your Switch or run emulators, you may find that it winds up getting bricked entirely.

Nintendo is Nintendoing again!

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[-] RangerJosey@lemmy.ml 151 points 2 months ago

I'm gonna emulate even harder now.

[-] jodanlime@midwest.social 43 points 2 months ago

Right? This just makes me want to emulate every Nintendo everything from now on.

[-] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 98 points 2 months ago

This is why I pirate.

I'm tired of companies telling me what I can and can't do with something I've purchased.

Anyways. I'll be gaming on my PC if anyone needs me.

[-] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 58 points 2 months ago

Groovy. All they're doing is making me more certain that I will not move above my 3DS. At least, not until there's a guaranteed CFW for Switch.

[-] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 22 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

At least, not until there's a guaranteed CFW for Switch.

There is for early models of the Switch:

https://switch.hacks.guide/user_guide/getting_started.html

If you are interested you’ll have to buy a used one, older is more likely to work.

[-] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 10 points 2 months ago

Well, I wouldn't buy anything but a used one - do you think I'm going to give any money to Ninty's lawyers?

[-] winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 months ago

This is the only thing giving me any slight of interest in wanting to get a switch 2. I have an early switch and its pretty cool what it can do when hacked

[-] drspawndisaster@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 months ago

We got lucky in 2017, I suspect it'll be a good long while before the switch 2 gets hacked, specifically in an accessible way.

A hacked switch (or even switch 2 really, looking at the specs) is really just a shitty steam deck that can run Nintendo games natively.

I wouldn't recommend forking over 500 bucks for something you may be able to jailbreak one day, when 400 can get you more out of the box.

[-] Mwa@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago

i would rather by a tablet or a pc then buy a switch just to mod it

[-] kevin2107@lemmy.world 40 points 2 months ago

Steam over here just open sourcing their full ass os and you can literally do anything you want. Best money ive spent

[-] derpgon@programming.dev 9 points 2 months ago

And the only digital store so far that directly allows sharing your collection with your family (yes, I call my long time friends a family). I mean, it am sure they are winning the long game.

Meanwhile EA got their like third remake which STILL sucks, Epic trying to buy exclusivity in PC market, Ubisoft launcher is just a shit stain that nobody wants to use directly and is forced on them, and the rest (Bethesda, Rockstar, Battle.net) are not really worth considering as a store, rather than just DRM-checking slop nobody really needs.

[-] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

Valve remains goated because they're not a public company. They set out to satisfy their customers, not their shareholders.

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[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

Same. Possibly getting a second

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[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 38 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Preventing me from accessing Nintendo network and store is one thing. Somehow bricking my physical device, that I own? Fuck them

[-] charade_you_are@sh.itjust.works 26 points 2 months ago

Nintendo is such a shit company now. I'd be surprised if they ever innovate again. They'll just sit around and sue and release mediocre to bad bullshit.

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[-] TeoTwawki@lemmy.world 26 points 2 months ago

I don't buy physical objects and then agree to not own them. I don't even like that shit with digital goods. I don't need someones authorization to "allow" me to use what I buy as I see fit. If buying isn't owning than pirating isn't stealing.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 25 points 2 months ago

So if I never buy a Nintendo product, I'm fine to emulate? Got it

[-] Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub 7 points 2 months ago

Malicious compliance

[-] PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.social 23 points 2 months ago

Guess who decided not to buy a switch 2 after this news.

(Me)

I don’t want them bricking my shit.

Ima help out with switch emulator projects now instead of just playing their games.

Fuck em.

[-] OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 months ago

For real. What will a Switch 2 do that a Steam deck (or one of its several competitors) won't? There are still switch emulators, and there will be switch 2 emulators.

[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Steam deck - 98% all games, PC, Nintendo, arcade, etc

Switch - Nintendo games only, massive restrictions from an anti consumer company

[-] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 18 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Joke is on them. I have had every NES and SNES rom ever made for a long ass time. I need to make sure i have every N64 rom (even if I don't play that often) and now every GameCube.

I still don't have a Wii emulator or even looked into that.

[-] derpgon@programming.dev 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Is there a way to obtain such treasures in one clean swoop? Asking for a friend.

[-] SlippiHUD@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Dolphin, the gamecube emulator is also a fairly complete wii emulator. The wii was basically 2 gamecubes duct-taped together.

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[-] rocky1138@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 months ago

I've decided that I'll skip Nintendo consoles moving forward and just use emulation if there's a game I really want. I'll buy the cartridge to cover myself ethically and just put it in a drawer.

[-] SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Since Nintendo games never lose value apparently, just keep it sealed and sell it off when you get bored for a break even.

[-] Moeverload@lemm.ee 13 points 2 months ago

And how exactly do they intend to detect or prevent emulation?

[-] dditty@lemm.ee 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

As of right now, it seems like the only way they can detect a hacked Switch is if its user goes online for a game in the emuNAND. I don't think there is a way for them to detect emulating on PC, unless you're like that streamer who publicly flouted Nintendo's cease and desists

[-] Tigeroovy@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Honestly, I’m an advocate for emulation and game preservation and all that, but I’m surprised this is only now the case. I don’t have the nerve to try to hack my device if it’s the currently being supported platform. If they’ve already abandoned it then it’s fair game but the currently active console with your current actual information on there that gets regular updates? You’re just playing with fire.

It’s like taking it upon yourself to make an “HD remake” of the IPs owned by famously stringent companies who aren’t afraid to put the hammer down on these things.

[-] twocupsofsugar@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

I generally agree, I only really hack consoles that aren't being supported anymore, but I don't like how over-reaching the end user agreement is sounds like it's likely to be abused

[-] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

Sigh. They're really trying to turn into the villain this generation aren't they?

[-] NONE_dc@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago

Nah, all the big names (Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft) are shit this generation. This is the worst console generation so far.

laughs in steam deck You know, I didn’t really have a lot of interest in emulating old Nintendo games, but now I think I’ll do it just because Nintendo doesn’t want me to.

Thank god I own a PC and not a corpo platform.

[-] Mwa@lemm.ee 7 points 2 months ago

even older consoles will cause your nintendo switch to brick???

[-] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 months ago

They wish they could stop me from emulating old games lol

[-] Mwa@lemm.ee 7 points 2 months ago
[-] ggtdbz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 months ago

Been thinking of getting a used Switch Mini exclusively to solder in a chip and use it as a nice emulation handheld. As long as it doesn’t rat itself out over Bluetooth or something to its older brother gathering dust behind the tv (which has never been touched by the light of piracy), I should still be good I guess.

It’s unfortunate, but what I’m actually worried about is that world where different devices will report on each other.

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[-] 11111one11111@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

How is retropie still able to operate? Seems like 9 out of 10 people who buy a raspberry pi are using it with retropie to play retro games. Seems like something that holds that much of the emulator industry share would be targeted by Nintendo.

Subsequently, if I know someone who knows someone who has a retropie for gaming, what's the worst case scenario that could come from Nintendo shutting down retropie's ability to provide the means to emulate? Will it be fine as long as the OS isn't updated any further? Just run the emulators and roms already installed on it as long as no new emulators or roms are added after the possible crack down?

[-] missingno@fedia.io 43 points 2 months ago

Nintendo can't control anyone else's hardware, they can't stop you from doing what you want on a Raspberry Pi. They're trying to crack down on Switch modding, but even that's just a cat-and-mouse game.

You will not get in trouble for emulating at home. Emulation itself is legal, it's only illegal to download games you don't own. But it's nearly impossible for anyone to get caught doing that, and very obviously not worth any lawyer's time to pursue individual end users for pennies in damages. You are safe.

What Nintendo wants to do is attack piracy at the source. They can go after sites that distribute ROMs, but those are like a hydra, kill one and three more take its place. Then there's the likes of Yuzu and Ryujinx, where Nintendo claims to have found some technicality about these emulators having something they shouldn't. But the forks are still being distributed, and you the end user will not get in trouble for downloading the fork at home.

Note that for the most part, they're really only concerned with protecting their current hardware. They've never gone after Dolphin, Snes9x, mGBA, etc, because they know those are battles they can't win. Considering how aggressive Nintendo is on the battles they do fight, it's clear that anything Nintendo doesn't go after is something they can't go after.

[-] WatDabney@fedia.io 13 points 2 months ago

I'd never thought of it in these specific terms before, but the essentially educational and fear-ameliorating nature of your post led me to realize that it's likely that a lot of what Nintendo's doing with all of this legal barnstorming is essentially PR, and that's all it's meant to be.

They have little hope of actually winning cases or of doing anything more than cutting off one head of the hydra if they do, and all of their safeguards can be and will be worked around, repeatedly if necessary, so from a practical standpoint, they're fighting a losing battle. But all of their noise and aggressive posturing likely serves to scare a lot of less-informed gamers into not emulating in the first place, so it furthers their goals anyway.

[-] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 10 points 2 months ago

I mean it's still important to walk an emulators for current Hardware while we still have modern working examples and can capture Network packets and whatnot but I'm not totally against the idea of Simply holding your insights from public consumption for a while out of practicality alone

[-] missingno@fedia.io 16 points 2 months ago

I agree, it's important to preserve things today because it may be too late tomorrow. Some Switch titles have already been delisted, so it's good that we backed them up early.

But I'm just explaining it from Nintendo's perspective. If the tools we use to restore Super Mario Bros. 35 can also be used to crack Tears of the Kingdom, they don't want those tools in our hands.

The more important point though is that it is all cat-and-mouse, and the mouse is winning. We have those tools, and they can't fully stop it.

[-] 11111one11111@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

Fuck me 10/10 response. Thank you that answered so many of my questions.

Maybe it's just a coincidence that because I switched to Lemmy almost 2 years ago I started seeing more IT related news and thats why im seeing so many more articles about Nintendo shutting down as much pirated material as they can. Or is it that they only recently started this crusade? If so, do you have any more information as to why they started making this a priority in the past couple years?

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[-] Guidy@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

At this point if you're buying their stuff, you're the reason they get away with it and you're the problem because you can't control them, you can only control you... and you didn't.

[-] kittenzrulz123 3 points 2 months ago

As a Linux gamer the idea of unauthorized software is absolutely absurd. Also spending billions on "security" to make sure only approved games are played then approving slop.

[-] jsomae@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago

I don't really see how the new agreement is any more restrictive than the previous one?

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this post was submitted on 11 May 2025
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