Nintendo Targets Switch Modchip Installation Service In Latest Legal Crackdown

Illegal practical like that also insulting the gamers who still want original things.
Just imagine when you have no option but modded machines from your local game shop both actual shop and online shopping.
This is already happened in my country Indonesia when even on Tokopedia, almost every 3DS machines i found are 99.99 % CFW machines. Like we are not allowed to enjoy original things just because the mentality of Indonesian peoples adore pirated things.
Illegal modding must be terminated.

This is what I always wanted....

primary purpose is to export saved games to an external SD card

What's so wrong with this?

Its outrageous that you can't get a device which you own, not Nintendo, modified without big business' bully boy lawyers knocking on the door. Piracy happens at the point the games are stolen and distributed, not if your device has been modified in a way that might be used to play pirated games.

I’ve modded several consoles over the years but never once done so with illegal intent. If there’s a game with a translation patch, I’ll buy it physically and mod it myself but that’s the extent of my morally grey actions. Nintendo need to realise that the world’s not black and white. People mod their consoles which they’ve bought outright and most of the time, they can’t even go online therefore minimising any risk of their actions affecting Nintendo’s overall infrastructure.

I didn't want to play the devil's advocate but I have to give my opinion. Some markets like my country (Brazil) the cost is high to have Nintendo stuff. We don't officially have Nintendo here, it disregards one of the biggest game markets. Then everyone is in the hands of scalpers who charge for a game 1/3 of the minimum wage. So this practice of piracy is common here. I think that Nintendo, besides being relentless to protect itself, should also look at all markets carefully.

Maybe they should target all those drifting joycon issues just as voraciously. Seriously, no joycons to buy as they are all sold out everywhere, and repair requests have come to a grinding halt. I filled a repair request and it’s been 4 weeks and I have yet to receive a label/authorization to send in for repairs.

This is why the Switch will be the final Nintendo console I ever purchase. I'm tired of giving this company money. They were great pre-Wii era, maybe even into the Wii itself.

If they are so concerned with people hacking and modding their consoles, why didn't they take the time to invest in a more secure infrastructure? Wasn't their console "jail-broken" within a month or two of release? That's not the consumers fault. Make a tighter lock next time, big N. At least that way it will take a longer amount of time to crack it.

@TG16_IS_BAE Not only was it easy to jailbreak, the whole system still feels like it’s been in BETA mode for 4 years. So many simple and essential features missing. I’ve been a longtime Nintendo fan, but I’m not gonna lie when I say that no matter how awesome a console is- they always find a way to disappoint. Always.

Of course, Nintendo will try to do this if they're allowed. It is the law that is strange when you are not allowed to modify an object you own.

@TG16_IS_BAE According to what I've read from hackers of it, Nintendo actually did their job well with regards to their software, it was Nvidia who had a flaw in their hardware that caused it to be hacked so quickly.

It's a shame really, especially when you see how small the piracy communities on xbox and ps are, partly because their securities are harder to circumvent and because they have stuff more available and no premium prices on games. Went to a store yesterday and found BotW (2017) for 70$ while Ratchet & Clank (2016) was 25$.

@Tendogamerxxx Absolutely, 100% this comment right here. Honestly, the last really solid Nintendo console was the SNES. Even the N64, as revolutionary was it was for the MARKET, had such a lackluster set of games and such a breakable control stick. Then Gamecube came out and made absolutely no sense. I have no idea why people speak so highly of that system when it had probably two games worthwhile to it's name, and Ikaruga is one of them.

It's amazing how GOOD the Switch is...but with so many shortcomings...control sticks are garbage, the console controllers are tiny, and I have smaller hands! Games from 2011 are being charged full price, because it's so under-powered. I mean, look how disappointing The Witcher 3 is; it looks awful, and half of that game's experience is the cutting edge graphical presentation.

Sorry for the tirade, I'm not happy with Nintendo, and I want them to succeed and fix things, but they are really cheaping out on us this console generation.

@Bomberman64 That's a good comment, I didn't know the flaw could potentially have been on the hardware side. Either way, Nintendo is being really disappointing this generation, especially with how they handle the joy-con drift issues!

Not sure why anyone would expect any different. Nintendo has been this way since the NES lockout chip and their failed attempt at suing the Game Genie creators. They're a business first, and they haven't made it this long by cutting anyone slack or devaluing their products.

@Tendogamerxxx

True, i have the same. Been a big Nintendo fan sinds i whas a kid, in now 36 and still a fan. Buy they lack in so many ways that its getting annoying.
I just want to simply invite friends to play online (mario kart, smashbros etc) third party games have that option, why not Nintendo.
The dissapointment is getting so big. That i almost want to say that its gonna be my last Nintendo console, unless they radically change things.
I would probably change my mind when they just reveal a new smash Bros or zelda 🤣

I think modding is fine for personal use but modded consoles shouldn't be resold. Concerning the save data issue, Nintendo should provide that service itself if it doesn't want third-parties to do so.

@EchoNemesis It is unfortunate but I heard about the Brazilian anti-importation taxes that effectively multiplies the price of consoles several times what they would cost in other countries, and is probably what has deterred Nintendo, I would guess.

Never learn Nintendo, never learn.
You can't stop modding big N! You can't.
The blame is on you "Nintendo", for not putting measures & means to protect your software/hardware not the mod community. Modding of things is something that have come to stay whether you like it or not. People will always modify what property they've purchased the way they wanted it, so I don't see you winning on that front.

@EchoNemesis Nintendo was in Brazil a few years ago. they left because of the high taxes on the county. The Brazilian president lowered the IPI on these products, but Cofins and ICMS still remains. so maybe Nintendo might go back to Brazil in the future.

I'm always so conflicted with this kind of thing. Because on one hand, if you buy a car, can the car company demand you do not modify the car? No, all they can do is say that if you do, you void your warranty.

And yet, on the other hand, modding a game console almost always opens the door to piracy. Even if the mod itself doesn't do it, it's like handing matches to a pyromaniac. He's probably gonna use them.

And I get it, there are legitimate home-brew apps that have nothing to do with piracy. But that doesn't change the fact that modding a Switch (or any game console) to run unlicensed software is opening the door to piracy.

@Strumpan You can mod your own Switch all you want. But these companies are selling these mods / installing these mods. And that's not okay.

"While Rheen understands how the chip can be used to pirate games, he believes the device's primary purpose is to export saved games to an external SD card, so users don't have to subscribe to Nintendo's cloud services."

So it's not for piracy, it's for piracy.

@sanderev
Save games, not SAVED games. Backing up save game files is not piracy. Nintendo hampered features like local backup of save game files to try and justify creating their terrible Nintendo Switch Online service.

@MichaelHarvey You can't make save game backups without Nintendo Switch Online, for which you need to pay. Giving yourself a feature you otherwise need to pay for is piracy.

Also it opens the way for modifying save games, so it's also a way to cheat in (online) games.

they might as well sue capitalism altogether

@MichaelHarvey actually he’s right, it is ‘saved games’.

@Heavyarms55 It's like modding your car so it can run without fuel. Modding your car doesn't give you free stuff. Modding your Switch does.

Also, here in the Netherlands, it's actually illegal to mod your car, because of road safety.

I think Nintendo should make a developer mode for the Switch, like the XBOX ONE has, with which you can run your own homebrew games and you can test games you want to publish on the system as well. The Dev mode should not be able to run commercial game code.

"Baldly"??? Surely they meant "boldly".

@datamonkey
Rheen is obviously referring to saved game files though. Nintendo Switch Online doesn't provide the ability to save your entire game cartridge onto an SD card.

@sanderev
"Giving yourself a feature you otherwise need to pay for is piracy."
I disagree since it isn't using Nintendos servers to back up saves. Taking away previous "features" to put behind a paywall is fraudulent and a con. Hacking the Switch became morally fine after the creation of NSO.

Wow the comments are just full of excuses for breaking the law, use them on the judge thanks.

@sanderev The person who finds a way to mod a car to run without fuel will either be killed by the oil industry or the richest dude alive.

In the US and Japan it's legal to mod a car, but only within reason. Modified cars still must meet certain safety standards. And in Japan you actually have to have your car inspected every year to make sure it meets those standards.

Back when I was in the US, if we had had those inspections, they'd have never passed the hunk of junk I used to drive. lol. I literally had random pieces of scrap metal welded to patch the holes in the floor of the car to keep my feet dry on rainy days.

No, I'm not kidding. XD

The physical product is something the user buys and has the right to do with as they see fit.

Not many countries in the west will criminalize a chip installation service, as this potentially has many other uses outside of running illegal versions of copyrighted software.

@vitelus
Any suffeciently successful conglomerate grown from a capitalist democracy will establish their own communist dictatorship inside their organization first chance they get. ^^

@SwitchForce basically everything else aside from this

@TG16_IS_BAE I think its ridiculous that you would vilify a company for preventing piracy on thier console

@ComradeThom thats where you are wrong Nintendo OWNS that system its their property you signed the dotted line for terms of service. people being stupid? thats their own stupidity.

"It's to copy savedata to SD cards", suuuuure...

It's obvious the modchips are for piracy, while backing up savedata without relying on the worst online service in existence (If the game even supports cloud saving) is a nice side-effect, the main purpose of the mod chips is piracy.

Nintendo are doing a pretty bad job in places (Online service, system updates with actual noticeable improvements for the user), but stamping out this mod chip business is a good thing.

This brings back some memories. Back in the day I used to work on this store that would sell (not install) PSX mod chips. We were very clear that the version we sold was only designed to bypass region locking. We sold this mostly because we also sold imported games.

We had to clarify this to almost every customer because EVERYONE would ask about playing piracy. Every so often some dumb customer, that assumes we were just covering our own reads by saying it would just play imports, would walk in and say we cheated them because they could not play game “backups”. 😒

So, let’s be real: people doing these mods want to steal games.

@The-Chosen-one dude im 36. if you love nintendo just do everything that isnt break the law. its not hard genius.

@MysticX I’m sure, if they really wanted to just offer that functionality, they could offer a mod that only allowed that and not to play pirated games.

Modern Vintage Gamer LITERALLY BOUGHT A 2DSXL TO PUT HOMEBREW ON IT AND IS GIVING IT AWAY ON YOUTUBE CHANNEL. HOW IS THAT NOT WRONG? i reported that lamewad to NOA legal.

Seriously: If this chip really enables me to do backups of my savegames, then I need this chip. Didn't know it exist.
It's my Hardware. I can do with it what I want.

I never cared about romhacking or using fan made software like OpenBOR and Doom on my Wii until Nintendo started going after romsites. They outright refuse to provide a good online service, functional controllers or let fans release games that are superior to their own like AM2R and Pokemon Prism.

I have zero sympathy for this company and owe them nothing. Pretending like there is some moral standard for gaming is just stupid and ignorant of how awesome the homebrew community has grown. If you don't want to mod your console then don't, but don't tell me I can't do what I want with something I paid for and own. I also like to mod my car

"While Rheen understands how the chip can be used to pirate games, he believes the device's primary purpose is to export saved games to an external SD card, so users don't have to subscribe to Nintendo's cloud services"

And he's making a Pikachu face about the lawsuit after that?😅

Not the first such business to try and play the ghostly "customer rights" card without realizing that a customer modding their own console (with the personal EULA infringements committed and the things and services given up on in return) is one can of worms, and a business making money on the purposeful facilitation of it all is another.

I know the kind, there have always been plenty of ads in the local flea market sites' service sections, and console makers mostly ignore them (read: not likely even know about them) because console makers still mostly ignore the existence of Belarus in the first place. Long established markets like the US and Western Europe? Tougher luck there, folks.

"All I'm doing is putting the solder on, how is that breaking the copyright?"

Are this people idiots or they are just playing dumb bc they got caught?

Is it OK for Nintendo to sell faulty Joycons that drifts? That is illegal, the Joycons were made to last a year - when warranty expired, it drifts like crazy. I bet you Nintendo makes more money selling Joycons than games.

That's what you should focus on Nintendo, improve the joycons, not users modding their console.

@EchoNemesis I don't know if it's your case, but here in Argentina the Nintendo online store game's prices are far better than the US's. That's why I don't support piracy (at least for current gen consoles), even tho gaming in itself is a luxury (you shouldn't be playing games anyway if you can't afford them) Nintendo IS looking at our market and adjusting pricing accordingly.

Doesn’t affect me in any way, so have at it.

Go nintendo keep shutting them down.btw with the drift issue still using my launch switch and still no drift issue

Seems pretty simple, you pay for the console. What you do with it after is your business. Just nintendo being scummy as usual.

Seeing so many people making excuses for a company trying to protect piracy on their console as if they think people who buy these aren't buying the systems modded primarily for that feature. The few hobbyists that openly talk about owning them and use it only for feature that aren't available on the Switch are in the minority. I am sure if any of you made any kind of computer based product would want to do anything you could to stop people from stealing software on it. You my not like that Nintendo hasn't added the features you want but claiming people that are installing mod chips that enable piracy is doing no wrong shows the mind set of many.

@NoTinderLife this is some hard truth that I cannot agree with you more.
Another feature of this modchip is that you don't need to be online to play games on your secondary console!

@Anti-Matter I modified my PSVita and 3DS.I'm still buying games for them too.There is nothing wrong with modding your console as long as you stick to original software.

@Mynemo
No thanks.
I have vowed to my oath that I will not and will never play with pirated games and machines anymore.
I have Four 3DS XL machines with 3 different regions (2 = USA, 1 = Japan, 1 = Europe) and All of them are Original unmodded. The only mod i applied are the pictures i pasted on the top screen of 3DS XL and my White Joy Cons from Neon Red Joy Cons that i swapped the shell color.

Ok an example to clear the problem for stubborn people. User A owns an object. The object belongs to A. A decided to bring it to B and pay him to modify the object in a way that adds new features to the object that A owns. B does it and gets paid for his work. Piracy? No I was talking about people that have their cars modded to make them go much faster than they were supposed to. You can totally do that. If you bought an object it is yours and you can have it modified as much as you want.

Nintendo are going after people who are profiting off it.
It’s all about money. They could care less what you do with your console after you give them 300 bucks.
Design and build your own mod chip, create an emulator, run all the games you want for free, whatever. Just don’t sell it afterwards. I promise you Nintendo won’t give an F.

@Anti-Matter I certainly hope you have never played, not alone praised, games like Sonic Mania. Are you aware of the personnel who created that game, and the way in which they developed their expertise?

... you would perhaps be shocked at just how many engineers and programmers develop their expertise outside the confines of officially-sanctioned activities.

I appreciate what you are saying as a gamer from Southeast Asia; but we both know the love of cheaper/pirated things in countries like yours is a matter of lower incomes compared to northern/richer countries. Your post comes across as authoritarian-sounding, and I think everyone should try to keep perspective.

@ianl579 Apple was forced to relent when they insolently tried to prevent customers from repairing/servicing their own phones, their own personal property, with their own preferred, local vendors.

Nintendo has been stupid and arrogant enough to try to tell its own customers that we cannot make copies of OUR OWN USER DATA - one of the most basic functions of any computer.

Even if this modding service is used by pirates, I hope the former will mount a spirited defense. Nintendo deserves serious chastisement here.

@Heavyarms55 Creating a public road opens the door to traffic accidents and banditry.

I am not trying to attack you. I think your post was reasonable. I am just saying that the logic you are using can be taken to an extreme and still hold up.

@sanderev How can I create copies of my own saved games, from my own legitimately purchased Switch and legitimately purchased game cards, if I cannot write them out to SD cards?

Oh, yes, that's right - I have to pay the ransom to Nintendo for their cloud service.

I expect you pay Microsoft every time you make a copy of your own files on your own PC.

@Tharsman Let's be real: even Microsoft allows you to back-up your OWN USER DATA with Xbox One.

@COVIDberry no excuse for piracy.

@Zenszulu Nintendo didn't "fail to add" the ability to back-up user files. They crippled their own device, robbing the paying customer of a utility every other comparable device has had since the first home computers in the 1970s.

@Tharsman I'm not a pirate, brah. I've never even played Black Flag. The Apple II let me copy my own freaking data. I suspect you're being deliberately obtuse.

@COVIDberry the paid service discussed in this article is mostly used for piracy. If you think it’s mostly used just to backup save files, I have a bridge for sale you might be interested on.

@Tharsman Daguerrotype cameras were used to photograph girls swimming at beaches in the 1800s. Completely scandalous by the standards of the time.

Surely this means that personal cameras, from the earliest film-exposing versions to the latest CMOS-based ones, are mostly used for porn.

@Nourldean There's more to it than just that, for me. I really hate when large corporations throw millions of dollars at small companies to try and litigate them. That's just bullying.

But I also am unhappy with how they keep closing their past eShops, instead of finding ways to make backwards compatibility a thing. Every few years when they close down a digital storefront, that's just more money they are stealing from people. I can download anything I want on Steam, and if the game gets removed due to licensing issues I can still download it as long as I purchased it.

Nintendo doesn't have a good review system, which when paired with their lack of an easy refund system is a bad combination.

Joy-Con Drift should be where they are putting their money, not in some small shop selling mod-chips or whatever they are doing these days. They should be trying to improve the overall user experience with more stability.

This case is so gray. On one hand, I'm against corporations having the ability to interfere in how you use physical goods you purchased. If I want to take the case off an appliance and solder bits onto it, there should be no way a company can interfere with that. They sold a piece of plastic shrouded fiberglass, I bought a piece of plastic shrouded fiberglass. It's mine to own and use as I please.

On the other hand, sales of security circumvention, regardless of the "primary intended use" is just that. Somebody selling a "universal Ferrari key making kit" may do it for the "primary purpose of recovering your key if you lose the last key to your Ferrari", but we all know most people buying it are going to buy it to go "borrow" some Ferraris permanantly.

This company is technically not actually making the circumvention tool, they're just installing it. But their slimy avoidance of what they're doing "oh, we didn't sell the tool, we just stuck it where it needed to go" makes me dislike their "intent" from the start. If you buy the universal Ferrarri key making kit elsewhere, and point me to the Ferrari, we'll make a key for you. We didn't do anything wrong, we just made a key with a tool you bought elsewhere. Not our problem if the Ferrari wasn't yours. The excuse confirms the slime.

@COVIDberry you miss the point: this service is primarily used for piracy.

I’m pretty sure these individuals could come up with a mod that only allows the balding up of save data and not the playing of unauthenticated games. But then they would not have anywhere near as much business.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet so: the online service works great for most backups, but what about the games that it is impossible to back up / incompatible? I, for one, have hacked my Wii U and 3DS specifically to back up save files on my PC and for no other reason. As soon as the Switch has a way to back up ALL save data on a PC I'll jump at the chance - hardmods are just not my thing or I'd attempt this myself.

@Tharsman Hahahaha, very well - you may even be right about the modders' primary source of revenue. In terms of lawyerly arguments, though, Nintendo has not done itself any favours by locking out basic functions of their own device.

These are some questions that came to mind when reading some of the comments above.

I bought a race horse - can I modify her with bionic legs so that she runs faster? No - animal cruelty is a heinous crime.

I bought a car - can I modify it with Nitrous Boosters and aero foils making it not road safe? (You could but you couldn’t drive it legally on the road)

I bought a gun completely legally - can I modify it so that it has a rocket launcher on the side? No. Illegal firearm.

I bought a Switch can I mod it so that it runs pirated software despite this little thing called copyright law? What do you think?

We can’t always do whatever the F we want because there are laws. And there are laws for many reasons.

@COVIDberry every other comparable device? If you are referring to home computers then yes but no video game console has natively been able to make copies of their software at all so if you are claiming that then I don't see the comparison as the Switch nor another other video game console since their inception has had the ability to do that.

@COVIDberry And we have serious rules governing the use of those public roads. I think my point stands. If you give people the tools to do bad things, they will. So you need measures in place to deal with it, or you can't give them the tools in the first place.

All I'm going to say is that Nintendo should be using resources to create better, less faulty, joycons. All these legal endeavours they pursue detract from the REAL issue underlying their products. The irony is that they are in a legal battle right now with the joycons as we speak.

Things I learned from this lawyer: There is now a modchip called SX, and this lawyer is a bit dumb... "baldly" 😅
With this news, I might buy a Switch again and get it modded. Thanks Nintendo lawyer.

@Zenszulu Why does my Gamecube have two memory card slots?

@Anti-Matter Well there are different points of view...
Just imagine that your salary is 100$ if you are lucky of course you can get also a normal salary of 50$ every month.
And the game costs 70$+ even in discount will be...40$.
Do you can afford to pay all your salary for a game?
You can reply:
-Is not my problem, which suggest that poor people can't play video games.
I understand the piracy is not good, but the balance between poor countries and rich countries is not good either.
The only solution is stop the distribution of gaming consoles to the poor countries, the rich people of those countries will know how to buy it online no worry.
Nothing is fully white or black there are always tonalities and i understand completely that one father of family getting 100$ per month can't afford those expensive games.
The solution: POOR COUNTRIES CAN'T PLAY VIDEO GAMES

@kryz
I live in Surabaya, East Java.
Not a really poor city.
Surabaya is the 2nd biggest city in Indonesia.
My salary is still enough to buy some cheap original games and still able to buy my basic needs.
I have experienced with original games purchase after i tried to buy one game and it was so exciting. Since i have bought my first original machine ever Old 3DS XL, it changed my mind forever.
I have no longer interest with pirated games and pirated machines as i can buy more original games from my local game shop at Surabaya. Sometimes, i have to buy the games from Ebay or playasia, thanks to my friend who can order from those websites.
I'm so proud to myself that still able to reach my dream to play with original games despite the situation in my country still there are piracy and jailbroken machines everywhere. I ignore those existence, keep focusing on original gaming no matter what.

And to tell you once again, I promised to myself to not play pirated games and or jailbroken machines anymore. That was enough for me. No more wrong way to play.

@Anti-Matter
I know Surabaya what a beautiful place!
And i really understand your point, and many of my users comes from your country and a lot of hardware modding comes from there.
I want to keep clear i am not in the switch scene of modding don't get confused with my comments.
Phillipines is not so different of Indonesia talking about economics....
And mostly all of my environment can't afford a video console, the ones that do is a really big sacrifice if they are middle class.
So, buy a game is literally impossible unless you want to do a strictly diet of a cup of rice everyday, which is happening already without buying a video console.
I am sure you know what i am talking about.
So i empathize with that.

Couldn't you do that already with CFW? Wasn't the big meme a few months after launch that the had a huge honkin' hardware exploit that took a paperclip to bypass and couldn't get patched? Do they also install a modchip if it's a launch model Switch?