
Inside Nintendo’s “perfect” method for detecting online Switch piracy - vanburen
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/06/inside-nintendos-perfect-method-for-detecting-online-switch-piracy/
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SifJar
More technical analysis:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/8rxg26/psa_str...](https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/8rxg26/psa_strong_antipiracy_measures_implemented_by/)

(this is the post the Ars Technica post is referring to)

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jordigh
I haven't owned a console in decades, so bear with me: is it currently
possible to buy a game and lend it to a friend? I used to borrow my friend's
cartridges as a kid. Is that now piracy?

What about second-hand rentals, is that also immoral now?

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javagram
Lending cartridges and discs works fine (on all modern consoles) and is not
piracy. (Edit: Microsoft proposed changing this with the Xbox one by requiring
discs to be activated online, but backed down before ever implementing the
plan)

The only piracy Nintendo is worried about is cartridge duplication or
downloads that don’t involve paying the retail price in the eshop.

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setr
Are you sure about that? The one and only time I've interacted with an xbox
one, we picked up a physical game, put it in, and then _downloaded_ the game
to the xbox. Afaict, there was nothing on the disk itself except perhaps an
identifier and a key; the download was substantial. Probably the stupidest
interaction I've had with computers yet.

And if thats still the case, I can't imagine downloading the game to multiple
xbox's valid behavior. But I also dont remember if the disk was required to be
inserted to actually play (which would make the interaction even more
obscene).

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jsgo
I'm a bit confused here. I have two Switch consoles, one for myself and one
for my daughter. Say I buy the cartridge for the new Smash Bros game. We take
turns between my console and her console using the cartridge (not at the same
time, for obvious reasons).

Because her unique console and my unique console are sharing a cart (with same
cert, I imagine), is that going to lead to us being banned? I honestly haven't
done online yet (BotW mostly, some Bomberman local multiplayer), so I don't
know if this is an obvious "no" or not, but I do plan to play Smash Bros.

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intopieces
This is perfectly OK. Since you're using a physical cartridge, it's not
possible for that cert to be accessing the online system at the same time.

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ss248
>If you download an illegitimate copy of a Switch game that was purchased on a
different console/account, Nintendo can detect the mismatch as soon as you log
in and immediately ban the console from its network.

What is stopping hackers from purchasing one game legitimately and just spoof
the data after?

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SmallDeadGuy
You can't spoof the data, it's generated unique to each game then signed by
Nintendo in a way that isn't reversible to anyone else.

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ss248
Yeah, i have read the reddit post now [1].

If i understood correctly, Nintendo only allows access to online features of
the game specified in that particular certificate.

[1] -
[https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/8rxg26/psa_str...](https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHacks/comments/8rxg26/psa_strong_antipiracy_measures_implemented_by/)

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Scaevolus
This does mean that you can buy a game, hack it using a modded console, and
play online.

This doesn't prevent cheating in online games, just piracy.

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oh_sigh
How will they handle online banned units when they start getting resold on
Craigslist to people who don't know to check it's online access status?

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EpicEng
Would you buy a console without turning it on?

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Sir_Cmpwn
Would you buy a console without turning it on, popping in an online-ready
game, and attempting to go online?

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BHSPitMonkey
Nintendo should start adding some bright, easily visible message to the system
UI that indicates the device is permanently restricted so that buyers doing a
cursory check would see it. It should be as obvious as a theft-bricked iPhone.

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JackCh
I believe they have a financial incentive to not do this. If buying a second-
hand switch is perceived as risky, then sales of new switches will be
encouraged. Of course this would cause a switch to depreciate even more when
you buy it since it would suppress the market price of a used switch. But I'd
wager most people aren't considering how much they could get from selling
their switch when they're considering buying one.

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kbob
I never connected my Switch to the network. Is there some functionality I'm
missing?

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Doxin
the E-shop and system updates mostly. If you don't care about either of those
it's not a big deal to not have your switch networked.

sidenote: I love how the switch deals with system updates, from a user
perspective they take less than 3 seconds.

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jpeter
Nintendo? The same company that let's you download games directly from there
store (without buying them) so you can play them on an emulator?

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rasz
Nintendo. The same company shipping scene rom dump inside Wii Super Mario
Bros.

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benologist
Sounds like the EU will have to invite Nintendo to go fuck themselves for
disabling resellable devices. The other thing they do that's pretty nasty is
requiring their permission to buy a developer kit instead of something like
wifi or a USB cable.

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LocalH
They're not disabling anything. They're banning consoles from online services
after attempts to connect to those online services with a pirated game. The
device itself is perfectly usable for single-player gaming. This is exactly
like Sony and Microsoft have already done for years. If the EU goes after
Nintendo here, why haven't they already gone after Sony and Microsoft for the
same thing?

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benologist
Do Microsoft and Sony ban the person or the actual console device? Nintendo
are going for the account _and_ the device for what amounts to unsanctioned-
by-them use of software:

    
    
         "permanently ban those consoles from Nintendo's network."
    
         "a banned console will stay banned from the network"

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Isomatik
I can say at least that the Xbox 360's standard ban for pirated games that
failed verification checks was a console level ban, as in, you can take your
hard drive and plug it into a new console and you're gaming again. There were
also several times account bans were applied as well, like when Forza 3
dropped several weeks early and people tried playing online.

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reacweb
I can't drive my car as soon as I run a red light. The punishment seems harsh.

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CGamesPlay
I feel like a closer analogy would be "I can't drive my car as soon as I
install flame-thrower exhaust".

What would cause a user in normal operation of a switch to be permanently
banned form the Nintendo network?

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loser777
Isn't the most direct analogy: a stolen car refuses to start? But I would
still download a car if I could.

side note: What does flamethrower mean in this case? Some _potentially totally
legitimate_ car modifications (e.g., two-step launch control) have the side
effect of dumping unburnt fuel into the exhaust, creating a "flamethrower"
effect. Not sure if two-step violates noise or "flamethrower" laws first
though ;).

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secabeen
> Isn't the most direct analogy: a stolen car refuses to start? But I would
> still download a car if I could.

Perhaps, and if you buy a stolen item, and the police find it, they will
return it to the original owner. You get nothing, you just lost the money you
spent.

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Thaxll
The Switch is already hacked meaning that you can have cheaters online, none
of what Nintendo is doing prevents that so it's a huge fail ( where Sony and
MS are secured )

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mkirklions
Since its Nintendo, how easy will it be to break their system?

I can only imagine after beating Zelda and this years Smash people will have
plenty of time to make their 450 dollar system(after necessary hardware)
interesting.

Im teasing, but after a decade of awful Nintendo systems and letdowns, I'm not
above trashing this company.

