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Nearly forced. once the console downloads the update, it will be applied automatically upon reboot. The alternative is to never connect to WiFi, ever, and som

Nearly forced. once the console downloads the update, it will be applied automatically upon reboot. The alternative is to never connect to WiFi, ever, and some do that. Generally, consumers would want to downgrade because older versions have vulnerabilities that are fixed in newer versions. these vulnerabilities allow console owners to do what they want with their hardware, and gaming communities have shown Nintendo time and time again that if it is possible to use game hardware for game piracy, it will be widely used for that purpose. Those of us who want a neat standardized hardware platform to hack on without pirating anything are in the noise floor for companies like Nintendo, so we have no representation among neither pirates nor the console manufacturer.

hnthrowaway0315 5y ago
Ah I see, thanks. Looks like Nintendo is pretty serious about this (by suing a lot of hobbyists and blowing fuses like this).
- Mindwipe 5y ago
  Efuses are not uncommon nowadays. Most TVs have efuses to stop software rollback.
  - MonaroVXR 5y ago
    What? Completely new to me, but is expected.
bredren 5y ago
The Amazon kindle os does not allow downgrades, not sure if it’s using fuses or not. In that case it isn’t about access to pirated content either—people want to be able to modify it for basic features the company has neglected to provide.
mccorrinall 5y ago
Switch does not forcefully upgrade on reboot, but you might be required to have at least firmware version x to run game y.
- hnthrowaway0315 5y ago
  I Googled a bit more and found the history of Nintendo v.s. fans is fascinating...
  - imglorp 5y ago
    Fans? Sounds more like victims of Stockholm Syndrome.
    - eru 5y ago
      Many people like Nintendo's games.
      - pojzon 5y ago
        Many ppl like old Nintendo Games and Nintendo refuses to allow running those old games on switch thats when hacking comes in and makes it possible. Nintendo is just greedy.
        prmoustache 5y ago
        On the other hand Nintendo never pried the NES, SNES, original gameboy and gameboy advances and N64 from its customers hands.
        dotancohen 5y ago
        In fact, that is exactly what Nintendo is doing and what the fine article is about. Bricking a device is an effective way of prying it from the customers' hands.
        prmoustache 5y ago
        Nintendo isn't bricking it. It prevents firmware from being downgraded. That is a bit different.
mmh0000 5y ago
I've been out of "the scene" for many years now, but back in the day, I had a Flash Cart[0][1] so that I could have all (literally all...) the Nintendo DS games at hand. I was a naughty naughty pirate. The flash cart also added some really neat features that were missing, such as: the ability to take screenshots, ability to save and restore a game at any point, ability to load cheats like infinite ammo and such. Nintendo was/is at war with cart users and any update to a DS with a flash cart stood a good chance of either killing the flash cart or rendering it inoperable until a new firmware was released for the flash cart (which may never happen). There's a long and great history here. And if you want to know more, the GBATemp wiki[3] is a great starting point. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_cartridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_cartridge [1] https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3DS_Flashcart_Comparison https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3DS_Flashcart_Comparison [3] https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Category:Nintendo_DS https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Category:Nintendo_DS
rileyphone 5y ago
This is partly why I'm really excited about the Steam Deck - it's in the same form factor and is running a Linux distro that you're free to modify.
- gjs278 5y ago

hnthrowaway0315 5y ago

Ah I see, thanks. Looks like Nintendo is pretty serious about this (by suing a lot of hobbyists and blowing fuses like this).

Mindwipe 5y ago
Efuses are not uncommon nowadays. Most TVs have efuses to stop software rollback.
- MonaroVXR 5y ago
  What? Completely new to me, but is expected.

bredren 5y ago

The Amazon kindle os does not allow downgrades, not sure if it’s using fuses or not. In that case it isn’t about access to pirated content either—people want to be able to modify it for basic features the company has neglected to provide.

mccorrinall 5y ago

Switch does not forcefully upgrade on reboot, but you might be required to have at least firmware version x to run game y.

hnthrowaway0315 5y ago
I Googled a bit more and found the history of Nintendo v.s. fans is fascinating...
- imglorp 5y ago
  Fans? Sounds more like victims of Stockholm Syndrome.
  - eru 5y ago
    Many people like Nintendo's games.
    - pojzon 5y ago
      Many ppl like old Nintendo Games and Nintendo refuses to allow running those old games on switch thats when hacking comes in and makes it possible. Nintendo is just greedy.
      - prmoustache 5y ago
        On the other hand Nintendo never pried the NES, SNES, original gameboy and gameboy advances and N64 from its customers hands.
        dotancohen 5y ago
        In fact, that is exactly what Nintendo is doing and what the fine article is about. Bricking a device is an effective way of prying it from the customers' hands.
        prmoustache 5y ago
        Nintendo isn't bricking it. It prevents firmware from being downgraded. That is a bit different.

mmh0000 5y ago

I've been out of "the scene" for many years now, but back in the day, I had a Flash Cart[0][1] so that I could have all (literally all...) the Nintendo DS games at hand. I was a naughty naughty pirate. The flash cart also added some really neat features that were missing, such as: the ability to take screenshots, ability to save and restore a game at any point, ability to load cheats like infinite ammo and such. Nintendo was/is at war with cart users and any update to a DS with a flash cart stood a good chance of either killing the flash cart or rendering it inoperable until a new firmware was released for the flash cart (which may never happen). There's a long and great history here. And if you want to know more, the GBATemp wiki[3] is a great starting point. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_cartridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_cartridge [1] https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3DS_Flashcart_Comparison https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3DS_Flashcart_Comparison [3] https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Category:Nintendo_DS https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Category:Nintendo_DS

rileyphone 5y ago

This is partly why I'm really excited about the Steam Deck - it's in the same form factor and is running a Linux distro that you're free to modify.

gjs278 5y ago