Category: Nintendo

Nintendo brings the Ban Hammers on Hackers

Nintendo has always had their share of hackers and devices throughout their console releases. Everything from GameShark, R4’s, and homebrews have broken through Nintendo’s hardware. The Nintendo Switch is filled with hackers as well. Hacking ranges from playing pirated games, cheating in Splatoon 2, and adding pornography on Mario Odyssey. Fortunately, now that Nintendo has a stronger online game presence, they’ve been able to slam the ban hammer on hackers.

 

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You’re banned!

Anybody who plays pirated games online on the Switch are banned. An exploited hardware patch in April allowed hackers to play pirated Switch games. However, a recent patch allows Nintendo to detect players using the hacking software on their Switches. Each Nintendo Switch games has a unique token for the game and when you play online, the console submits a token. This counts for physical games. Downloaded games have an encrypted game ID tied to the Nintendo Switch console and the Nintendo ID. Pirated games don’t have the token or code and Nintendo will notice and ban you instantly from playing online.

 

Of course, there are complainers on forums such as GBAtemp and on r/SwitchHacks but they have high hopes of getting past Nintendo’s defense.

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Not me

Examples of hacks:

In Splatoon 2, hackers are plaguing online multiplayer matches by being invisible, having more specials and rapid fire. While you can report them and they disconnect frequently, hackers appearing on ranked games have frustrated players.  Super Mario Odyssey recently added Balloon World to allows players to create platforming time trials. When you’re playing, you can see other players Switch icons. Through homebrew hacking, players were able to add pornographic images throughout the game which would be difficult to explain to your parents.

Thanks to Jairus for the news suggestion!

Sources:

Gamenesia – Super Mario Odyssey Porn?

Gamasutra – Nintendo Switch Pirate game detection

Reddit: Original Source

[PSA] Strong anti-piracy measures implemented by Nintendo for online. from SwitchHacks

[PSA] Strong anti-piracy measures implemented by Nintendo for online. from SwitchHacks

Sony responds to Fortnite Complaints

Epic’s Fortnite is quickly becoming the biggest and most popular game in the world. Fortnite released in 2016 and is now on every major console, PC, and iOS. However, recent discoveries by users noticed that they couldn’t use their Epic accounts (Epic studio’s log-in) on other consoles. Sony and PlayStation have received massive complaints from Fortnite players regarding their accounts. If you connected your Epic Account, you were unable to use that account for the Nintendo Switch or any other platform and vice-versa. If you try to log in, you’ll see this image below.

The Nintendo Switch’s version of Fortnite allows you to play with Xbox One, PC, and iOS players while PlayStation players have no cross-console options. Sony didn’t inform players that they would be locked into one account. Essentially, all progress on PlayStation is non-transferable to other platforms including in-game items. Many players are frustrated, including fans of PlayStation such as Gameover Greggy and the PS4 subreddit.

 

Hey, Sony, it would be really cool to have my epic account unlocked for switch and be able to enjoy my money spent on the battle-pass from PS4

Unfortunately, Sony didn’t really respond to the feedback. On the BBC, Sony’s stated “”With… more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we’ve built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles.” So not really a response but essentially they want to keep their players sticking to PlayStation.

Why did Sony do this?

The marketing answer is that Sony wants to focus on expanding their community. Fortnite recently reported that they have 125 million players. While the amount of each player per consoles remains to be seen, Fortnite is heavily promoted on the PlayStation Network and has been seen as the secondary platform to play it after PC.

Sony has a history of not allowing cross-platform for many of their games such as Rocket League and Minecraft. The business answer is Sony doesn’t want their player base to potentially switch to other platforms. By keeping their players to PlayStation consoles, they are less inclined to change over.

While Sony is stating this is for their community, it’s not good for consumers. Preventing players from playing with other consoles is harmful to their image especially if the Switch and Xbox One allow cross-platform play.

Sources:

BBC – Playstation statement

PSU – Fortnite Playercount

Reddit community backlashPolygon – Epic account locked due to PlayStation

E3 2018 Highlights

This year’s E3 was solid. Most of the conferences learned to just focus on showing games which led to less boring sections and dull moments in the conference. Personally, there wasn’t anything that blew me away. This is my favorite showings at this year’s E3.

Kingdom Hearts 3: January 29, 2019

I’m happy that Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally coming out. As a fan of the series, it’s great to see an actual launch date. The game looks absolutely gorgeous and the Pixar/Disney worlds are awesome. Having new Keyblade weapons for each world adds a lot of diversity into the gameplay. I only worry about the storyline and how it will connect everything. Nomura has stated this isn’t the last KH game so hopefully, I don’t have to wait 14 years for a sequel.

Super Smash Bros: Ultimate: December 7th, 2018

I like Smash Bros. Sakurai gave Smash fans every character that they asked for with Ridley and all returning past characters. (No Goku because that’s stupid) The game looks beautiful and I’m glad to have a new Smash game to play. All the gameplay changes look interesting for competitive but I’m more of a casual fan.

Daemon X Machina: 2019

I dunno what this game is about. It showcases awesome mecha action and the color palette is appealing.

Super Mario Party: October 5th, 2018

I’m excited to play a Mario Party on the go. It will be interesting to connect the Nintendo Switches to try out new mini-games. Thank god the cart is removed from the game and the new character-specific dices make playing your favorite Maro characters more interesting. There’s actually new strategies to the game and Stars return to the normal format. Yell at your friends again.

Overcooked 2: August 7th, 2018

When I play Overcooked, I understand why Gordan Ramsey yells at people in the kitchen. It’s so much fun as a couch co-op game but 2 brings online and wireless play (on the Switch). They improved the colors on the characters so that you stand out more and the kitchen environments have gotten even crazier.

The Last of Us Part 2: TBD

Finally gameplay footage. The gameplay shows that Ellie will be the main character which feels like the natural progression after the first game. She looks faster and just as brutal as Joel. All of the enemies are humans which are concerning because what happened to all of the infected? The story is still unclear but it looks like Ellie may be part of a surviving human faction and has a love interest.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: September 7th, 2018

I am a huge fan of Spider-Man and the game looks fantastic. The combat looks similar to the Batman Arkham games but that makes sense. The trailer shows more villains and the Sinister Six will be involved. Also, either Miles Morales or Venom is saving Spider-Man at the end of the trailer because you can hear the thwip noise.

We Happy Few: August 10th, 2018

A creepy dystopian world where people are intoxicated by joy. The story looks interesting and the gameplay confuses the player what is real and what is fake. The gameplay looks relatively slow but the environment and story are fascinating.

 

Nintendo begins selling Switchs’ without Docks

The Nintendo Switch is a unique console that acts as a video game system that can seamlessly switch (pun intended) into a handheld. Some people treat it as a handheld system and rarely place it on the dock or play it on the TV. Out of 148 participants on a GameFaq forum, 17 people would play the Switch without the dock. In Japan, Nintendo has recently been selling the Switch as a standalone handheld.
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The Nintendo Switch Second Set is selling at 24,980 yen which is about $250. You can charge the system with a USB-C adapter. No word on whether it will be released in the West.

Would you buy a Nintendo Switch Second Set?

Sources:

Eurogamer

Nintendo Japan Announcement

GameFaqs Forum