It has been seven years since the Nintendo Switch was first launched in 2017. According to the normal life cycle of most game consoles, the Switch is approaching retirement. Correspondingly, the relevant revelations about Switch 2 are becoming clearer. It is already in the news that Switch 2 will be compatible with old cartridges!
Switch 2 will be Compatible With Old Cartridges.
Game accessories vendors recently announced that the Nintendo Switch 2 will use a magnetic Joy-Con. More importantly, it will be compatible with the original Switch cartridges. This is undoubtedly good news for people who hold many Switch cartridges, which will greatly reduce the cost of purchasing game content after purchasing a new Switch.
However, Nintendo’s continued insistence on the physical game media model represented by cartridges and discs has suffered a blow due to interference from factors such as cracking and piracy. Hackers have cracked the Switch cartridges’ technical mechanism and publicly sell “burning card” devices.
In addition to fanning the flames of piracy, this behavior also challenges the physical cartridge model in game consoles. Nintendo is encountering a dilemma and a “cassette crisis.”
Will it be worth upgrading to Switch 2 if you own the original Switch?
According to the news, Switch 2 will be officially released in 2025. Regarding its specific configuration, it is certain that Switch 2 will use a more powerful chip, which Nvidia will still build.
The game’s performance is expected to reach the PS4 level. In other words, Switch 2 still does not follow the high-performance route. Compared with PS5 and Microsoft’s latest Xbox console, its game performance is not good enough.
However, this performance improvement is quite large as a handheld console, especially compared to the existing Switch. In addition, the screen on Switch 2 will also be upgraded, with the size increasing from 7 inches to 8 inches and the resolution changing from 720P to 1080P.
The Joy-con of Switch 2 is larger, and the connection method with the body has been changed from a slide rail to a magnetic suction type. In theory, it can avoid the wear problem of the old model, but it is doubtful whether the stability will be reduced.
In general, the upgrade of Switch 2 seems relatively routine, and the basic form of the old Switch handheld console 2-in-1 has not changed. Of course, the most important thing is that it will be compatible with old Switch cartridges. This is certainly good news for players, especially veteran players.
Will Switch 2 Games be Compatible with The Nintendo Switch Handheld Console?
First of all, since the release of the original Switch in 2017, Nintendo has launched many games in the past seven years, many of which have physical cartridges. Since Switch 2 can inherit the game lineup of the old Switch, there is no need to worry about the number of game content when Switch 2 is released.
Secondly, many users buy the cartridge version instead of the digital version of the game. A big reason is that the cartridge can regenerate profit. Many people sell cassettes to get back the money paid for it after clearing the game. After a healthy second-hand cassette market is formed, players can significantly reduce the game cost by purchasing and selling second-hand cassettes. In this way, even the newly released Switch 2 can allow players to obtain game resources at a low cost, which will naturally benefit the early sales of Switch 2.
However, the old Switch does not support Switch 2 cartridges. In other words, it is very likely that many of the future masterpieces that Nintendo will prepare for Switch 2, and even new games that will be launched, will no longer be compatible with older consoles.
Of course, some new works may be launched with two versions of cassettes at the beginning. Still, there is a high probability that they will gradually lose compatibility with older consoles.
This situation is very common in the field of consoles. In the case of Sony, PS5 is compatible with PS4 game discs, but PS4 cannot use PS5 discs. The new console is compatible with the previous generation, which is good. It can boost the new console’s sales and solve game content problems for players, making the transition from the old console to the new console painless and smooth.
From this point of view, the fact that Switch 2 is compatible with the old Switch is not unusual in the gaming industry. However, what is special this time is that the Switch cartridge is facing the crisis of being cracked, which is not good for Nintendo and many players.
Flashcards turn Players into “Genuine Victims.”
The crisis encountered by Switch cartridges is specifically the emergence of a product called “Mig Switch dumper” on the market. This product can simulate the insertion and removal of cartridges to play cracked games on Switch. Behind Mig Switch, a group of hackers controls and operates it.
When a Switch cartridge is cracked, a hacker can copy the cartridge sold by Nintendo into an intact counterfeit cassette. Then, this counterfeit cassette can deceive Nintendo’s verification mechanism, disguise itself as a genuine cassette, and successfully run on Switch.
Even more special is that this counterfeit cassette looks similar in size to the original cassette, but it contains a TF card. In other words, it can stuff a lot of game content into a pirated cartridge, and they will all be misjudged as genuine games by the Switch.
Has Nintendo Switch Ever been Cracked?
Some may be curious: If the Switch was not cracked long ago, why does it take so much trouble to crack the cartridge?
Indeed, the Switch was cracked a few years ago, and it was even possible to install Android. However, the cracking of the Switch itself is more complicated. It requires dismantling the machine and soldering a cracking chip on the motherboard, which requires high hands-on ability. Moreover, after the hardware is successfully cracked, users can install third-party systems (also known as “Atmosphere” launched by hackers) on the cracked version of Switch. At the same time, using a cracked version of Switch to play cracked games means you cannot access Nintendo’s regular Internet services. Once detected by Nintendo officials, you will be banned immediately. The issue only arises when 2 consoles run the same game data, so if 2 people use the same dump or someone uses the cartridge while you use the dump.
Why Is A Cracked Switch Unpopular?
Nintendo’s Legal Department struck hard against Team Xecuter, the most vocal Switch crackdown team, and jointly arrested its core personnel with the judicial department. Gary Bowser, responsible for operating the cracking website and selling cracking tools, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and had to pay Nintendo $14.5 million in compensation. The imprisonment of Team Xecuter team members has undoubtedly dealt a huge blow to the Switch hardware industry chain.
It is worth mentioning that in 2020, the Guangzhou Court issued the first domestic injunction on cracked Nintendo Switch cases at Tencent’s request, prohibiting the sale of cracked versions of Switch.
In general, cracking the Switch itself is more expensive, the experience after cracking is worse, and it will face higher legal risks. But this is not the case with Mig Switch. It only involves cracking the cassette copy and does not require cracking the Switch machine, making it more tricky.
How Can Using The Mig Switch Dumper Get Genuine Nintendo Users Banned?
More importantly, it may cause trouble for genuine players. According to the technical mechanism of Mig Switch, once a genuine cassette is copied, two or even more cassettes with the same genuine ID will appear on the market. Under Switch’s existing cartridge verification mechanism, Nintendo cannot determine which cartridge is genuine.” If two “identical” cartridges are online simultaneously, then who should the official give them to? Release and permit whom?
To put it bluntly, the early cracked version of Switch is only used by a few people. It does not interact much with the genuine player group and is not likely to affect the normal play of genuine players. However, the problems caused by Mig Switch are more difficult and will cause a huge blow to genuine cassettes, especially second-hand cassettes.
From the perspective of genuine players, when they purchase a second-hand cassette, they have no way of knowing whether it has been copied, let alone how many impostor copies there are on the market. The damage caused by Mig Swith is devastating, and the strongest legal department cannot solve all of the problems.
Players joke that Nintendo has “the strongest legal department in the Eastern Hemisphere.” Behind this is Nintendo’s resolute attitude towards copyright infringement, which strikes hard. Regarding the Switch cracking issue, Nintendo not only jailed members of Team Xecuter but also filed a lawsuit to kill the Switch emulator Yuzu this year. Not only did the Yuzu emulator stop updating, but the creator also paid US$2.4 million in compensation.
Why Can It Be Difficult For Nintendo To Take Down Mig Switch?
Theoretically, in the face of Mig Swicth’s rampant behavior, Nintendo can wield the legal stick again. However, this time, it’s not that simple. Its official website shows Mig Switch was produced and sold in Russia. Moreover, some players said the team behind Mig Switch would likely be Team Xecuter. Nintendo has already withdrawn from the Russian market.
It may be beyond its reach if it wants to use legal weapons to attack
How Can the Menance of Cracked Switch Cartridges Be Solved?
Mig Switch. Nintendo’s top priority should be closing the loophole exploited by Mig Swith. However, Switch cartridges were on the market as early as 2017, and many early second-hand cartridges must be circulating.
Even if Nintendo can upgrade the verification mechanism on new cartridges, it can’t do anything with old cartridges.
Of course, cracked game consoles and the prevalence of flashcards are nothing new in the gaming field. Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s 3DS both encountered similar situations back then. However, when these things happened, the corresponding game console products were withdrawn from the market, and their life cycles ended, so the negative impact was greatly reduced.
The Mig Switch, born more than seven years ago, has theoretically reached the end of its life cycle. With the release of Switch 2 and the completion of replacing the old Switch, a series of problems caused by the Mig Switch will gradually be solved.
However, since Switch 2 maintains compatibility with old cartridges, players will still be worried about copying cartridges for a long time. Moreover, as long as physical media such as game cartridges exist, they will always face the risk of being cracked.
Summary And Conclusion
Compared to Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are more willing to promote digital versions of games and subscription systems, gradually reducing the presence of game discs. For players, the biggest advantage of physical game media is that they can be replenished and traded second-hand, turning buying games into renting games. This has thereby significantly reduced the cost of purchasing content.
In this case, the subscription system promoted by console manufacturers is essentially a rental system. Players can use it for a certain period rather than ownership. Compared with the buying and selling game cartridges, the subscription system is more convenient and efficient and can also avoid the risk of cracking.
Hello Lemmy Morgan,
Came here by research, and as if you are aware on the release of Switch 2 on June 5, there were lots of reports where even a use of a single dumped cartridge can result in the Switch 2 being bricked as well (users are unlikely in most cases). We dunno where to find the unique ID inside each of the cartridges as a telltale (at least in our knowledge), but it is just as far as we’re concerned we were to keep ourselves vigilant and ensure safe gaming for everyone.