Nintendo’s crusade against piracy continues. This time, the Japanese platform holder struck a blow at the segment of hardware modifications for the popular hybrid gaming console Nintendo Switch.
Image source: Nintendo
Let us remind you that early Switch models had a hardware vulnerability in recovery mode that cannot be fixed by software. The flaw has been patched on Switch Lite and Switch OLED, but that hasn’t stopped pirates.
To run unofficial software on protected Switch models, you need to solder a mod chip onto the console’s motherboard, which, using special firmware, bypasses the protection and seizes control of the device.
Picofly mod chip installed in Switch Lite (Image source: OHAITHARU on Reddit)
It was these firmwares that Nintendo brought down its wrath on. Company sent GitHub filed a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint against all 144 repositories with similar software: Picofly, SX Core, SX Lite, HWFLY, and so on.
According to Nintendo, the software in question allows mod chips to illegally bypass the company’s technical protections by interfering with the system’s boot process in order to launch illegal copies of Nintendo Switch games.
Mod chips already installed will not be affected (image source: Nintendo)
While the aforementioned mod chips can (and are) used for piracy, they also allow access to unofficial software, emulation, alternative OSes, game modding, and console overclocking.
Previously, Nintendo achieved blocking on GitHub of repositories with Switch emulators and tools for running pirated games on consoles, such as a key extractor. Recently, the company also closed the Switch 2 hacking vulnerability.
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