Nintendo Switch has been hacked, with two similar exploits released in the last 24 hours following a complete dump of the console’s boot ROM. The hacks are hardware-based in nature and cannot be patched by Nintendo. The only way forward for the platform holder in fully securing the console will be to revise the Nvidia Tegra X1 processor itself, patching out the boot ROM bug. In the short term, homebrew code execution is possible and a full, touch-enabled version of Linux with 3D acceleration support is now available.
I’m a little hesitant to try this out on my own Switch out of fear of messing it up and leaving me with a bricked console, but this is great news for the homebrew community.
Since Nintendo still has to make profit, *yet* delivers pretty good experience (game, cardboards, …) I just hope people will still invest some money in return for the good fun they get from all the innovations, not just fall into stupid piracy because they can. I hope homebrew on Switch will bring a fair XNA-like experience on Nintendo.
The thing about the Switch (for me that is, I can’t speak for others) is that the form factor is it’s selling point. Being able to dock it, then pick it up to use it on the go is brilliant, and I’d LOVE something like this for playing retro games on.
There are not a whole lot of games for the Switch that I find interesting, but if I could play old games from whatever platform on it, it’d be an epic device.
Wouldn’t the lack of a d-pad be a dealbreaker in that case? Or, is there a replacement dockable controller with a proper d-pad?
I wouldnt have thought that their dpad like buttons would have been that different for most games, but if itvis a must there is at least one company makjng a custom controller with a dpad. I’m not sure how well itd work with homebrew Linux but itd be an option.
I have the Pro controller that has a proper D-pad on anyhow. But yeah there is a third party Joy-Con I’ve seen floating around with a proper D-Pad.
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/3/22/17152160/hori-nint…
“Wouldn’t the lack of a d-pad be a dealbreaker in that case? Or, is there a replacement dockable controller with a proper d-pad?”
HORI has announced one, coming this summer.
Edited 2018-04-26 05:46 UTC
“There are not a whole lot of games for the Switch that I find interesting, but if I could play old games from whatever platform on it, it’d be an epic device.”
You like retro games but haven’t figured out that a ton of NEO GEO and Arcade games has been ported to it from Hamster? Really?
Edited 2018-04-26 05:46 UTC
I don’t know what portion of Nintendo’s revenue comes from game sales but one thing is for certain, piracy does not result in anywhere near the “losses” you hear about. In reality, most people who pirate games either don’t have the disposable income to buy all the stuff they pirate, or didn’t intend to buy in the first place. Considering how rampant piracy has been on nearly every Nintendo system, if it hasn’t killed Nintendo by now, it never will. Nintendo isn’t going anywhere.
It killed the Dreamcast. Well, the PS2 and it’s DVD drive did. But competition for the Switch can always happen.
Who do you think would compete against the Switch ? Seing how Sony handled the Vita I don’t see who would risk entering a fight against the Switch.
A new… Gizmondo ?
Piracy never killed anything and it’s largely because of what I said previously. PC & console gaming? Doing great. Film? Bigger than ever. Music? Doing great. Every industry that screamed piracy will be the end of them continues to thrive and in many cases enjoys record-setting profits.
If competition kills a console, it’s not because of piracy, it’s because the competition is better in some way(s).
To be fair, Sega kind of killed themselves. With the Genesis, they kept slapping on upgrades.. just in time to compete with themselves over the Saturn. By the time the Dreamcast was released, they were already hurting, then Sony stepped things up with the PS2, which sold huge amounts, and had fantastic games for it. Most people simply didn’t buy a Dreamcast, even though it was a phenomenal system.
One thing I thought was weird is that the SegaCD and Dreamcast had basically zero copy protection on the disks, but the Saturn was only hacked within the last few years.
So, zero copy protection killed the Dreamcast through piracy, or not ? The Dreamcast was a superior system than the PS2, mostly because it was a complete ecosystem (modem, vmu, keyboard, mouse, …). The PS2 had its “Emotion” engine, the DVD drive and full PS1 compatibility, so it was easier for PS1 owners to upgrade.
People blame piracy for the Dreamcast’s failure. I think it was marketing, availability and the large amount of games that were Japanese only. I think it probably did really well in Japan.
Think back to the time of the Dreamcast, while with the SegaCD times, CD burners were extremely expensive, so piracy wasn’t a huge problem. Dreamcast was released when most people had CD burners, so game copying was pretty high. But the problem is that developers are what make a system, no matter how awesome the hardware is, if there isn’t any software (or desirable software) then it ends up failing.
Dreamcast has a similar issue to the Switch for me, there really weren’t any games that I absolutely had to have. I’ve always been an Atari / Sega fan over Nintendo, but the Switch has the right form for some awesome retro gaming. I’ve actually thought of getting a Dreamcast lately, but dealing with getting it to output to HDMI, and the fact I would mostly use it for homebrew / emulators kind of makes me hold off.
When I buy a computing device, I expect it to fit my purpose within its range of capabilities. It should be my choice which operating system to run, and what software on top if it, for whatever application I come up with.
Hardware that is artificially locked-in to a specific business model leads to waste of energy and valuable resources and has a detrimental impact on the environment. We should work towards a world where everyone can retrofit and upcycle their devices instead of throwing them away.
I applaud the efforts of fail0verflow who have been very determined to benefitting the community and playing a responsible part in the homebrew scene. The contributions of them and fellow hackers are far more than simple fooling around. They show us what we can or should be able to do with our hardware.
From what I’ve read this also effects shield and other X1 devices. It would be nice if I could install fully functional Linux on my Shield tablet. It would make a great little portable Linux machine for work and play. Android on the shield tablet hasn’t been the best so I look forward to have Linux on it.
I’ve thought many times of picking up a shield tablet, but I hate android and would love to have a full Linux on it.
Does this mean I can get Kodi on a Switch?
That’d be awesome.