Poll of the Day > Switch is hackable now

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2018/04/24/every-nintendo-switch-can-be-hacked-and-the-tools-just-went-public/#64db0c6568e5

wow. If I win the lottery I might just buy a second switch
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People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.
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Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

You could argue for the majority, but there are people that do this for reasons other than piracy.

Among other things, this will potentially lead to backup-able saves, since Nintendo apparently refuses to add the feature, which I find inexcusable in a portable system.

Regardless I don't own one nor do I have any plans to so... *shrug*

Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

Been doing it for "not piracy" since 2008.

...but most people do it for piracy. Like a good 90%.
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Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

No they don't. I've hacked several consoles so I can dump the games I bought and run them in emulators.

CaptainStrong posted...

Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

No they don't. I've hacked several consoles so I can dump the games I bought and run them in emulators.

that is still illegal and considered piracy
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So, what the point of hacking it, anyway?
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sveksii posted...

Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

You could argue for the majority, but there are people that do this for reasons other than piracy.

Among other things, this will potentially lead to backup-able saves, since Nintendo apparently refuses to add the feature, which I find inexcusable in a portable system.

Regardless I don't own one nor do I have any plans to so... *shrug*

There's no slot to add a card or something so you can back up your saves that way?

helIy posted...

that is still illegal and considered piracy

That sounds like modding unless he means running the emulators on a computer which wouldn't even play current gen games correctly anyway.
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i don't own a nintendo tablet, so idc.
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Revelation34 posted...

That sounds like modding unless he means running the emulators on a computer which wouldn't even play current gen games correctly anyway.

not even so much as that.

in order for an emulator to run, it needs the bios of the console it's emulating.

that is 100% illegal to obtain, or have.
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helIy posted...

that is still illegal and considered piracy

I don't give a fuck if it is illegal. It's not piracy and I did nothing wrong. Piracy is downloading someone else's dump of a game.
Revelation34 posted...

That sounds like modding unless he means running the emulators on a computer which wouldn't even play current gen games correctly anyway.

I did mean running emulators on a PC. The consoles I was talking about are the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.

I am super happy about this turn of events. I always wanted a tablet that was like the Switch.

helIy posted...

Revelation34 posted...

That sounds like modding unless he means running the emulators on a computer which wouldn't even play current gen games correctly anyway.

not even so much as that.

in order for an emulator to run, it needs the bios of the console it's emulating.

that is 100% illegal to obtain, or have.

Most emulators don't need a BIOS. For example, Cemu doesn't need a BIOS. It's not illegal to have a BIOS and it's not illegal to obtain if you dump it yourself. Also, so what if someone illegally obtains a console's BIOS. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's wrong.

Still not seeing what hacking the system does. Why would you need to hack it? What benifits does it give?
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Revelation34 posted...

sveksii posted...

Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

You could argue for the majority, but there are people that do this for reasons other than piracy.

Among other things, this will potentially lead to backup-able saves, since Nintendo apparently refuses to add the feature, which I find inexcusable in a portable system.

Regardless I don't own one nor do I have any plans to so... *shrug*

There's no slot to add a card or something so you can back up your saves that way?

No. Game saves are only stored on switch hardware. If your hardware breaks you lose everything. Nintendo's reason for this decision is apparently in a large part due to piracy. However there's no excuse that they don't even offer some sort of online cloud to back up your saves. Ironically it's created a stronger demand for a hacking solution like this to give players the ability to resolve this issue themselves.

LinkPizza posted...

Still not seeing what hacking the system does. Why would you need to hack it? What benifits does it give?

You can now install Linux on Switch. You probably will be able to back up your saves. You can create your own homebrew content. It should create an easier avenue to use emulators. (apparently there was already a method for homebrew/emulators that doesn't require this, but this hack is apparently unpatchable so it's probably a better long term avenue for being able to do homebrew/emulators) Eventually it'll probably allow piracy. Whether you consider any of this is legitimate or useful is another story, but that's what this should offer anyway.

Oh. Ok. Yeah. I'm pretty sure I don't need any of that. So, I'll probably just not hack mine. It does what it needs to do. Which is okay Switch games... I guess if it helps people do what they want. Although, I don't agree with piracy or the illegal stuff...
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CaptainStrong posted...

Most emulators don't need a BIOS

every single emulator needs a bios.

CaptainStrong posted...

For example, Cemu doesn't need a BIOS. It's not illegal to have a BIOS and it's not illegal to obtain if you dump it yourself. Also, so what if someone illegally obtains a console's BIOS. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's wrong.

it's already built into the emulator. the menu file you need to run on cemu is the bios, btw.

and yes, obtaining the bios involves reverse engineering the copy protection on it. that is illegal. dumping it yourself, still illegal.

and yes, it's wrong.

that's literally what illegal means.
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Well that was fast.
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sveksii posted...

this hack is apparently unpatchable

They say this about every hack ever.
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Veedrock- posted...

sveksii posted...

this hack is apparently unpatchable

They say this about every hack ever.

yeah but this one's actually in the hardware itself
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LinkPizza posted...

Still not seeing what hacking the system does. Why would you need to hack it? What benifits does it give?

Most people splooge in their pants seeing Sm 64 being released on the VC for the 5th time and are happy to drop another $15 on it despite buying it for the 4th

A lot of people do it for emulators and a lot of people (especially third/second world foreigners) do it for piracy. You can also do it for AR codes, backups, custom themes, but you're always fighting Nintendo with patches every step of the way. It's best to do it at the end of a console's life. Like the Wii U, Nintendo's not interested in that anymore.
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Veedrock- posted...

sveksii posted...

this hack is apparently unpatchable

They say this about every hack ever.

Not really. A lot of exploits hackers know can be patched out, so they give people the firmware people should not update from before dropping it.
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CaptainStrong posted...

Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

No they don't. I've hacked several consoles so I can dump the games I bought and run them in emulators.

I bet you really had a difficult time keeping a straight face while typing that bullshit.
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Veedrock- posted...

sveksii posted...

this hack is apparently unpatchable

They say this about every hack ever.

The problem is that there is a flaw in the bootROM for Nvidia Tegra X1 systems that can be exploited (what the Switch currently uses) and you would need an update to the bootROM. However, when the Tegra chips leave the factory the fuses that are required to update the bootROM are burnt so that updates are no longer possible. This is a security measure if the bootROM is secure, but now that a flaw has been discovered it is potentially an unfixable hack.

helIy posted...

not even so much as that.

in order for an emulator to run, it needs the bios of the console it's emulating.

that is 100% illegal to obtain, or have.

It's fair use for emulator developers to dump bios for the development of an emulator. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_Inc._v._Connectix_Corp. As far as using BIOS to play games on an emulator, it is illegal to distribute/download BIOS but obtaining BIOS by dumping them from your own console is more of a legal gray area. There's no definitive ruling that I'm aware of here, and there are some rulings that would support the process and others that would not.

However, various emulators use high-level emulation to simulate BIOS subroutines, bypassing the need for the actual BIOS in the finished emulator, therefore bypassing the issue of the legality of using BIOS in an emulator.

To be clear: being able to hack consoles is good.

It means you actually own something if you buy it, and you can do whatever you want with it. The company can leave you out to dry, but nobody is going to sue you over it.
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helIy posted...

and yes, it's wrong.

that's literally what illegal means.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/thesaurus/illegal
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@helIy posted...

not even so much as that.

in order for an emulator to run, it needs the bios of the console it's emulating.

that is 100% illegal to obtain, or have.

I have written an emulator before. This is complete nonsense.

NES doesn't need a bios.
SNES doesn't need a bios.
GBA doesn't need a bios.
Even some ps1 emulators have started emulating the bios.

Most emulators don't need a bios.

If you need a bios you can rip it from your console the exact same way you can use your console to create backups.

That's legal and it was ruled in a 2000 lawsuit with "Bleem!". You can't just say "no nuhuh not true".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_Inc._v._Connectix_Corp.

The court saw this criterion as being of little significance to the case at hand. While Connectix did disassemble and copy the Sony BIOS repeatedly over the course of reverse engineering, the final product of the Virtual Game Station contained no infringing material. As a result, "this factor [held] ... very little weight."[4] in determining the decision.

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that is because bleem ended up creating their own bios

if they had actually used the real ps2 bios, they would have lost.

and honestly, bleem lost regardless.
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helIy posted...

that is because bleem ended up creating their own bios

if they had actually used the real ps2 bios, they would have lost.

and honestly, bleem lost regardless.

Correct, correct, not really.

Sony bought out Connectix.
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jsb0714 posted...

CaptainStrong posted...

Revelation34 posted...

People only do these kind of things for piracy anyway.

No they don't. I've hacked several consoles so I can dump the games I bought and run them in emulators.

I bet you really had a difficult time keeping a straight face while typing that bullshit.

What the fuck are you talking about, dude? How is it bullshit?