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When Animal Crossing on the Switch took off last year, I heard of some nefarious characters who would use Android phones with NFC capability to write Amiibo (Ni

When Animal Crossing on the Switch took off last year, I heard of some nefarious characters who would use Android phones with NFC capability to write Amiibo (Nintendo toys-to-life products) data to NFC tags, then use those tags in game. Such a thing is only possible when the manufacturer allows the user to utilize the hardware they purchased.

cptskippy 5y ago
> nefarious That's bit harsh don't you think? It's a bit like Ford selling a v6 Mustang with 4 functional cylinders and a switch on the dashboard that enables the other two but you're not allowed to flip the switch unless you send Ford $$$. Nintendo could have easily prevented copying tags by writing a signature based on the tag's MAC to the data on the tag itself. The Switch would just read the tag, generate a signature and compare it to the data read.
- lapetitejort 5y ago
  I'm being facetious, in a humorous attempt to deflect any criticism against piracy. Nintendo sold Amiibo cards in blind packs, then later discontinued them. Some of those cards are rare and sought after. I have no problem with people downloading a few hundreds bytes of data to unlock parts of software they already paid for.
  - danShumway 5y ago
    Nothing to detract from your point, but I just want to reinforce in general to anyone reading this that cloning an NFC tag is very likely not piracy. An NFC code isn't a creative work that can be copyrighted, and it's a stretch to call an NFC tag a DRM system. IANAL, but I suspect that Nintendo would have a hard time arguing in a court that aftermarket Amiibo cards are doing anything illegal at all (of course, provided those cards don't violate trademark or have copyrighted graphics/characters printed on them).
    - detaro 5y ago
      I could see an argument that the card is a license key for the functionality activated by it.
  - cptskippy 5y ago
    > I'm being facetious That's a dangerous game around these parts. > I have no problem with people downloading a few hundreds bytes of data to unlock parts of software they already paid for. I agree, the locked content is taking up storage space on their device and for many it's permanently inaccessible due to the scarcity of the cards.
    - lapetitejort 5y ago
      > That's a dangerous game around these parts. Subtlety is lost in text, and wasted on the technically-minded. > the locked content is taking up storage space Modders noticed unknown amiibo codes in the Wii U version of Breath of the Wild version and were able to create tags months before the amiibos were actually released. So in this case the locked content is released earlier than designed.
astraloverflow 5y ago
How is that "nefarious"? It's not like using a copy nfc tag is giving some players an unfair competitive edge (animal crossing is supposed to be laidback right?). Also, there is a limited supply of any given amiibo and so when one suddenly becomes popular (* cough * Ankha * cough *) many players get priced out.
- lapetitejort 5y ago
  "I heard of some nefarious characters" is code for "I used my Android phone to write NFC tags and I will do it again".
Zelizz 5y ago
That's possible from iOS as well.

cptskippy 5y ago

> nefarious That's bit harsh don't you think? It's a bit like Ford selling a v6 Mustang with 4 functional cylinders and a switch on the dashboard that enables the other two but you're not allowed to flip the switch unless you send Ford $$$. Nintendo could have easily prevented copying tags by writing a signature based on the tag's MAC to the data on the tag itself. The Switch would just read the tag, generate a signature and compare it to the data read.

lapetitejort 5y ago
I'm being facetious, in a humorous attempt to deflect any criticism against piracy. Nintendo sold Amiibo cards in blind packs, then later discontinued them. Some of those cards are rare and sought after. I have no problem with people downloading a few hundreds bytes of data to unlock parts of software they already paid for.
- danShumway 5y ago
  Nothing to detract from your point, but I just want to reinforce in general to anyone reading this that cloning an NFC tag is very likely not piracy. An NFC code isn't a creative work that can be copyrighted, and it's a stretch to call an NFC tag a DRM system. IANAL, but I suspect that Nintendo would have a hard time arguing in a court that aftermarket Amiibo cards are doing anything illegal at all (of course, provided those cards don't violate trademark or have copyrighted graphics/characters printed on them).
  - detaro 5y ago
    I could see an argument that the card is a license key for the functionality activated by it.
- cptskippy 5y ago
  > I'm being facetious That's a dangerous game around these parts. > I have no problem with people downloading a few hundreds bytes of data to unlock parts of software they already paid for. I agree, the locked content is taking up storage space on their device and for many it's permanently inaccessible due to the scarcity of the cards.
  - lapetitejort 5y ago
    > That's a dangerous game around these parts. Subtlety is lost in text, and wasted on the technically-minded. > the locked content is taking up storage space Modders noticed unknown amiibo codes in the Wii U version of Breath of the Wild version and were able to create tags months before the amiibos were actually released. So in this case the locked content is released earlier than designed.

astraloverflow 5y ago

How is that "nefarious"? It's not like using a copy nfc tag is giving some players an unfair competitive edge (animal crossing is supposed to be laidback right?). Also, there is a limited supply of any given amiibo and so when one suddenly becomes popular (* cough * Ankha * cough *) many players get priced out.

lapetitejort 5y ago
"I heard of some nefarious characters" is code for "I used my Android phone to write NFC tags and I will do it again".

Zelizz 5y ago

That's possible from iOS as well.