News The era of Nintendo Switch Flash Carts has arrived, potentially providing pirates with a new tool

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Saying that flash carts are mostly used by pirates is just…cringe at this point. Mainly because piracy isn’t really a consideration for games Nintendo no longer sells, like for the retro consoles most people use flash carts with. Flash carts are allowing people to preserve video game history and continue to use these aging consoles. For the switch it may be “too soon” for a flash cart to take on that purpose, but the switch will be an old console someday too and we’ll be glad to have flash carts to use with it.
 
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"it is possible it is merely an incredibly elaborate hoax" So, is it a hoax or not? What is the point of this article? Why didn't the author try it himself and see if it's a hoax or not? Typical lazy reporting from TomsHardware.
 
These don't really interest me as seems to only play games.

The only reason I cracked my og switch is backing up data....I shouldnt be required to pay Nintendo just to have backup saves (this was an issue back with X/Y with a bug that broke ur save and made me lose my event only stuff).

Already paying a ton for the games that never go on sale just let me save my backups like any other console.
 
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hotaru251 said:
These don't really interest me as seems to only play games.

The only reason I cracked my og switch is backing up data....I shouldnt be required to pay Nintendo just to have backup saves (this was an issue back with X/Y with a bug that broke ur save and made me lose my event only stuff).

Already paying a ton for the games that never go on sale just let me save my backups like any other console.
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How long before Toms Hardware starts calling out anyone who wants to control their own data “pirates”? I cracked my original Switch to copy the Zelda BoTW ROM specifically so that I could play it via emulator on my PC with better resolution. Imagine that, I copied data for a game I already purchased. The only other alternative would have actually been to pirate a copy. Funny how that works when companies lock down their ecosystem.
 
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FoxtrotMichael-1 said:
Saying that flash carts are mostly used by pirates is just…cringe at this point. Mainly because piracy isn’t really a consideration for games Nintendo no longer sells,
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Em, yes it is.
As long as the copyright holder protects their IP and the copyright hasn't expired yet, it is very much piracy. Not that I care about it either way but that's the way it is.
Also especially nintendo has sold many old games almost "randomly" on newer consoles and they could do that for any game in their library.
 
TerryLaze said:
Em, yes it is.
As long as the copyright holder protects their IP and the copyright hasn't expired yet, it is very much piracy. Not that I care about it either way but that's the way it is.
Also especially nintendo has sold many old games almost "randomly" on newer consoles and they could do that for any game in their library.
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I’m not talking about the legal definition of piracy, but more how it’s used in the common lexicon. If I were to buy a DMG off eBay and had no original copies of Gameboy games, is it harming Nintendo in any way for me to also buy a flash cart and load up some original Gameboy games? Even if Nintendo rereleases them for the Switch, or releases a GB emulator for the Switch, there’s still no possible way for me to purchase new GB games for the DMG. If the thought is that Nintendo would rather all remaining used DMGs go into the trash then I’d have to disagree - that doesn’t benefit anyone, certainly not Nintendo. I play my DMG and GBCs with flash carts and pay for Nintendo Online monthly. They aren’t losing a single penny.
 
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FoxtrotMichael-1 said:
Saying that flash carts are mostly used by pirates is just…cringe at this point. Mainly because piracy isn’t really a consideration for games Nintendo no longer sells, like for the retro consoles most people use flash carts with. Flash carts are allowing people to preserve video game history and continue to use these aging consoles. For the switch it may be “too soon” for a flash cart to take on that purpose, but the switch will be an old console someday too and we’ll be glad to have flash carts to use with it.
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I agree. Flash carts for the Switch is a little premature but do have a place in the market at some point. I do not condone piracy but I do believe in backing up...well everything I can that I own and games are no exception. Had these carts been released 3-5 years post Switch 2 (or when ever it the current one is EOL) that would be the correct time for such a product.

My big concern as mentioned in the article is the used market and how it will suffer. Will unsuspecting buyers get their hardware banned from the same game being played on different accounts/hardware due to those unethical users who buy, burn and resell their their carts? This whole situation is unfortunate and can make those who back games/media up in an ethical fashion look like pirates by extension.
 
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atomicWAR said:
My big concern as mentioned in the article is the used market and how it will suffer. Will unsuspecting buyers get their hardware banned from the same game being played on different accounts/hardware due to those unethical users who buy, burn and resell their their carts? This whole situation is unfortunate and can make those who back games/media up in an ethical fashion look like pirates by extension.
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I could be wrong, but I don’t believe there is anything attached to the ROM that identifies who is playing it. On the switch itself, two mechanisms accomplish this. One, the Switch has keys that identify the Switch to Nintendo’s online servers. If two Switches identified by two different keys attempt to play the same digital copy at the same time the online servers will deny the attempt. The second mechanism is just old fashioned physics: you can’t put the same physical cartridge in two switches as the same time. As far as I’m aware, though, there is nothing preventing someone from using MiGSwitch (or future flash cart) to play a copy of a legitimately owned physical Switch game on two Switches at the same time. I’m not even sure Nintendo could detect that scenario from two legally owned physical carts.
 
FoxtrotMichael-1 said:
I could be wrong, but I don’t believe there is anything attached to the ROM that identifies who is playing it. On the switch itself, two mechanisms accomplish this. One, the Switch has keys that identify the Switch to Nintendo’s online servers. If two Switches identified by two different keys attempt to play the same digital copy at the same time the online servers will deny the attempt. The second mechanism is just old fashioned physics: you can’t put the same physical cartridge in two switches as the same time. As far as I’m aware, though, there is nothing preventing someone from using MiGSwitch (or future flash cart) to play a copy of a legitimately owned physical Switch game on two Switches at the same time. I’m not even sure Nintendo could detect that scenario from two legally owned physical carts.
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Game IDs are unique to each cart/digital title. So I wouldn't rule the possibility out Nintendo doesn't or won't find a way to tell about where which rom is playing where and and potentially the same time, when online at least due to this game ID and mac addresses that would be attached to their usage. But until these become 'wide' spread in the wild, we likely won't know the answer to this question but it is fun to speculate! End of day, I don't suspect Nintendo will take this laying down.
 
Admin said:
The first Nintendo Switch flash cart from MIG-Switch has arrived, but brings with it concerns for legitimate gamers buying used Switch titles in the future.

The era of Nintendo Switch Flash Carts has arrived, potentially providing pirates with a new tool : Read more
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I want it for my 6 year old. I buy a lot of games, I think I'm at around 30 physically and more digitally. It would be fine but he wants to switch games 10 times a day and when I use to let him do it he would lose games and the dogs got to a few because of it. I just want to load then all onto a cart, delete the one or two I'm playing, and let him go. And then I have the other 2 younger boys that will end up doing the same I'm sure. I refuse to spend money on the same game twice when he's not going to finish it. Or even play it long.
 
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FoxtrotMichael-1 said:
I’m not talking about the legal definition of piracy, but more how it’s used in the common lexicon. If I were to buy a DMG off eBay and had no original copies of Gameboy games, is it harming Nintendo in any way for me to also buy a flash cart and load up some original Gameboy games? Even if Nintendo rereleases them for the Switch, or releases a GB emulator for the Switch, there’s still no possible way for me to purchase new GB games for the DMG. If the thought is that Nintendo would rather all remaining used DMGs go into the trash then I’d have to disagree - that doesn’t benefit anyone, certainly not Nintendo. I play my DMG and GBCs with flash carts and pay for Nintendo Online monthly. They aren’t losing a single penny.
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It doesn't but It is still harming them if they don't go after it because it would show the courts that they are not protective of their IP.
ROMs are still copyrighted and if nintendo doesn't go after these things they might lose their copyrights.
 
MENNONH said:
I want it for my 6 year old. I buy a lot of games, I think I'm at around 30 physically and more digitally. It would be fine but he wants to switch games 10 times a day and when I use to let him do it he would lose games and the dogs got to a few because of it. I just want to load then all onto a cart, delete the one or two in playing, and let him go. And then I have the other 2 younger boys that will end up doing the same I'm sure. I refuse to spend money on the same game twice when he's not going to finish it. Or even play it long.
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This!!! exactly same reason I want it, when invariable the game card goes missing, worst issue I am out a flash card and its microSD card. For the wider implications of this release, Nintendo has their work cut out.

Sure regret some of my online game purchases now, much prefer the permanence of a cart and now a viable backup method.
 
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This is already a possibility even without flash carts. It doesn't happen.

People dumping and sharing games know how it works, and have no desire to poison the used market. All that would do is turn the general public against everything/everyone leading up to such a device being possible.

The average person is not going to buy physical games, dump them (it's not backup if you don't keep it), and then resell them. You get too little of a return from reselling; if your goal is to have a game with as little money as possible out of your pocket, and you're willing to do something illegal (keeping a "backup" of a game that you resell)... you'd just download somebody else's dump. Which you can do for the vast majority of Switch games the day they're released if not earlier.

And that's aside from the fact that the person buying, dumping, and reselling a game would get banned too. As well as losing the difference of what they bought it for vs what they could resell it for, and having the person they sold it to asking for restitution.

So, there's just no reason to buy, dump, and resell. It's all downside and no benefit.

Also, the majority of people dumping games want to keep the physical game. They're genuinely creating backups, or they're collectors and/or preservationists, or - more rarely - they somehow got a copy early and want to keep it for sentimental reasons (or, if they share it, are afraid it will be traced back to them). They're not evil pirates out to hurt used game buyers for the sake of being evil.
 
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TerryLaze said:
It doesn't but It is still harming them if they don't go after it because it would show the courts that they are not protective of their IP.
ROMs are still copyrighted and if nintendo doesn't go after these things they might lose their copyrights.
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Not true. You can lose trademarks if you don't respond to an opposition case or if you stop actively using them. Copyrights will not be lost until they expire.
 
TerryLaze said:
All right, so it hurts their trademarks and not their copyrights.
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No. The situation described would indeed be a copyright violation. My point was, they are not at risk of losing any rights if they don't go after it. It doesn't "hurt" their copyright (nor trademark) to not go after it. (I only brought up trademarks because it seemed that's what you were confusing it with.)
 
This whole conversation is a bit funny because DOOM runs on just about everything these days - in fact, one of the tests for new hardware is "can it run DOOM?" What made this possible? For one, iD Software open sourced DOOM. This made it possible to compile and run DOOM on just about anything, which not only boosted the DOOM franchise more in the public mindset but likely sold additional copies of future DOOM entries like DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal. What's my point in saying this? Yes, technically reading the ROM off an original Pokemon Blue cart and copying it to a flash cart is a copyright infringement. But are we seriously going to argue at this point that hurts and doesn't help Nintendo's overall brand and business? Are we seriously going to treat retro gaming enthusiasts as pirates simply because there aren't enough original carts to go around?
 
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FoxtrotMichael-1 said:
Are we seriously going to treat retro gaming enthusiasts as pirates simply because there aren't enough original carts to go around?
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Nobody is treating you as an pirate, they are just calling you one.
If nintendo would treat you as an pirate then all their games would be online only with their consoles being always online so that there would be zero chance for anybody to fake anything and play anything they didn't pay for.

Nintendo is one of the last companies still sticking with physical media with no mention of an only digital future (at least for now) .
 
TerryLaze said:
Nobody is treating you as an pirate, they are just calling you one.
If nintendo would treat you as an pirate then all their games would be online only with their consoles being always online so that there would be zero chance for anybody to fake anything and play anything they didn't pay for.

Nintendo is one of the last companies still sticking with physical media with no mention of an only digital future (at least for now) .
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To be clear, my arguments are directed at consoles to which Nintendo no longer sells genuine game carts and not the Switch.
 
cyrusfox said:
This!!! exactly same reason I want it, when invariable the game card goes missing, worst issue I am out a flash card and its microSD card. For the wider implications of this release, Nintendo has their work cut out.

Sure regret some of my online game purchases now, much prefer the permanence of a cart and now a viable backup method.
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This is exactly why I want one of these. Make a backup of all my cartridges and not have to worry about them disappearing when the kiddos are playing or when traveling somewhere.
 
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TerryLaze said:
It doesn't but It is still harming them if they don't go after it because it would show the courts that they are not protective of their IP.
ROMs are still copyrighted and if nintendo doesn't go after these things they might lose their copyrights.
Click to expand...

Trademarks are the ones that need to be defended in order to maintain their exclusivity.
 
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