Homebrew & High Seas “Sustainability” in a Future With A Switch 2 Mod Chip Exploit

[cearp]

Let's start speculating about "switch 3" hacks too

 

[SylverReZ]

Let's start speculating about "switch 3" hacks too

Wait for a few more years, maybe? Next year we'll likely see the Switch 2 Lite get announced, so maybe speculate about ways to exploit that system as well.

 

[Skv0ra]

That's true. The lesson here, is that, piracy isn't going to go away. And even if it was banned, people will find loopholes to get around it via VPNs or through means of tunneling. We have P2P networks, file sharing sites like Archive, and other ways to push out releases that once on the internet can never be erased forever, as it will always remain there permanently.

On the Switch, Atmosphere already has built-in telemetry blocking that prevents you from going online and instantly banning your console from using pirated ROMs. It is effective enough to avoid accidental connections to Nintendo's servers and does not require having to manually turn ON/OFF your internet connection to do so.

My point was much moreso on price point. Swatch 2 is no longer that kiddy price like literally all prior N offerings and coupling that with the fact that far more robust equivalent products are already available just pull incentives away IMHO. More and more hoops to jump around, literally playing new Pokemon and Mario otherwise, and simultaneously cutting out online games that are becoming a staple. If I were a dev, I'd ignore Sw2 much, much moreso due to its redundancy and security being stacked up.

In SW1 days, there honestly weren't any systems like Steam Deck that were made to play AAA properly on the go, so it pioneered a movement, but now there are and way better alternatives that also just run full Win10 making them specialized, yet full laptops and getting Sw2 to that level will be damn near impractical.

 

[SylverReZ]

If I were a dev, I'd ignore Sw2 much, much moreso due to its redundancy and security being stacked up.

I would've done the same, too. Couldn't agree with you more. I feel that I have a right to even more than what the Switch is capable of doing. After all it's the same as a computer, and why can't I modify it the same way? It just doesn't make any sense, but greedy corporations are the reason.

The Switch 2 has beefed up security to the point that I cannot use a MIG without my console getting banned, and so far no exploits exist even after its release, but we may soon see one on the horizon. Nintendo feels like they have the right to brick my investment of a $450 console that I paid for with my hard earned money, and tearing down the console is a lot more difficult with how it is-everything with what the gaming industry has become is not looking that good.

Now, the developer part - if I was a developer working for a major game company, I feel like I would've deserved more than having the hard work that I've put into go to waste, so I'd ignore the Switch 2 and still continue developing for other platforms or the Switch 1 until they die.

all prior N offerings and coupling that with the fact that far more robust equivalent products are already available just pull incentives away IMHO. More and more hoops to jump around, literally playing new Pokemon and Mario otherwise, and simultaneously cutting out online games that are becoming a staple.

Most of their games lack any form of creativity and it's such a wasteful opportunity. Imagine paying $90 for a game that is exactly the same. Like yes, we'll re-use the same game that you've already played from several years prior by tweaking things up by adding new character rosters and new stages, and that's about it. I feel that Nintendo is becoming the next EA, and it sounds just about right as Doug Bowser used to work for EA before Nintendo.

With that aside, we need remasters from other franchises that don't have that much recognition to other audiences, such as Advance Wars or Golden Sun. Heck, even sequels to those games instead of the usual Mario and Pokemon series.

 

[Renos44]

In my opinion we won't see a traditional switch 2 modchip. If it ever gets hacked the process will likely be so complicated its not even worth it to most people. Likely won't even be a setup that fits in the console and works reliably.

Now when it comes to homebrew. Well its effectively already dead and we saw this with the switch 1. The moment emulators could run retail games well enough all anyone really cared about was piracy and graphics mods for emulators. Pair that with PC handhelds existing and your average smartphone being a really capable device on its own. Why even bother with homebrew on a console anymore.


It looks to be the same with the switch 2 where from what i've seen the only motivation on if it gets hacked or not is piracy.

 

[Skv0ra]

I would've done the same, too. Couldn't agree with you more. I feel that I have a right to even more than what the Switch is capable of doing. After all it's the same as a computer, and why can't I modify it the same way? It just doesn't make any sense, but greedy corporations are the reason.

The Switch 2 has beefed up security to the point that I have to own a license to use the console in the first place and have those silly key cards with the games linked up to my account to play them, not only that, but they can brick my $450 console that I paid for, making repairs much more difficult.

Now, the developer part - if I was a developer working for a major game company, I feel like I would've deserved more than having the hard work that I've put into go to waste, so I'd ignore the Switch 2 and still continue developing for other platforms or the Switch 1 until they die.


Most of their games lack any form of creativity and it's such a wasteful opportunity. Imagine paying $90 for a game that is exactly the same. Like yes, we'll re-use the same game that you've already played from several years prior by tweaking things up by adding new character rosters and new stages, and that's about it. I feel that Nintendo is becoming the next EA, and it sounds just about right as Doug Bowser used to work for EA before Nintendo.

With that aside, we need remasters from other franchises that don't have that much recognition to other audiences, such as Advance Wars or Golden Sun. Heck, even sequels to those games instead of the usual Mario and Pokemon series.

So, dev part I mentioned was more of homebrew perspective, like, why waste time writing something for a crippled custom PC when it's pretty much that as far as h/w goes? Sw2 just doubled down on the same old nonsense in the worst era for it - when it's no longer a unique, cheap piece of h/w and when online connectivity is the quintessential part of everything.

Like I wrote before - say with DS, we got like online chat with drawing feature that wasn't h/w accessible on much of anything of that price point BUT on the DS. What does Sw2 really bring over a Chromebook that's cheaper in terms of what homebrew would easily give Sw2 once it's modded?

So any and all scene stuff for Sw2 should be purely for piracy and however that would get achieved will be a giant-ass hurdle unlike before. Like, what real homebrew was there for PS1, realistically speaking?

 

[SylverReZ]

So any and all scene stuff for Sw2 should be purely for piracy and however that would get achieved will be a giant-ass hurdle unlike before. Like, what real homebrew was there for PS1, realistically speaking?

There wasn't much in terms of homebrew in the sense that everything was compiled using reverse engineered code or through a legal sense like open-source SDKs. Everybody used the leaked Psy-Q SDK from Psygnosis, which technically goes against the definition of "homebrew" and more-so a legal grey area, and even piracy because it uses copyrighted libraries, code, and other methods. Most of what the PS1 scene had before emulators or dare I say games in the 90's and early 00's were demoscene stuff coming from groups like Hitmen amongst others, showcasing what the hardware can do.

Like I wrote before - say with DS, we got like online chat with drawing feature that wasn't h/w accessible on much of anything of that price point BUT on the DS. What does Sw2 really bring over a Chromebook that's cheaper in terms of what homebrew would easily give Sw2 once it's modded?

I'm not sure. The likelihood of the Switch 2 becoming cheaper is by removing more extensive features like mouse capabilities, extra USB-C ports only sticking to one, and even region locking the console to only the region where this console originated like on the 3DS. Features are what define price points, and the more demand, the more expensive it is.

 

[ChibiMofo]

My point was much moreso on price point. Swatch 2 is no longer that kiddy price like literally all prior N offerings and coupling that with the fact that far more robust equivalent products are already available just pull incentives away IMHO. More and more hoops to jump around, literally playing new Pokemon and Mario otherwise, and simultaneously cutting out online games that are becoming a staple. If I were a dev, I'd ignore Sw2 much, much moreso due to its redundancy and security being stacked up.

In SW1 days, there honestly weren't any systems like Steam Deck that were made to play AAA properly on the go, so it pioneered a movement, but now there are and way better alternatives that also just run full Win10 making them specialized, yet full laptops and getting Sw2 to that level will be damn near impractical.

Another person who can't do the simple math of adjusting for inflation. Let me do the work for you, teenager:

Switch 2 shipped at $449.
Switch shipped at $299 in March of 2017 = $395 today.
Wii U shipped at $349 in November of 2012 = $488 today.
Wii shipped at $249 in November 2006 = $400 today.
Gamecube shipped at $199 in November of 2001 = $361 today.
N64 shipped at $199 in September of 1996 = $406 today.
SNES shipped at $199 in August of 1991 = $470 today.
NES shipped at $179 in October of 1985 = $531 today!
With the exception of the GameCube, all that were "cheaper" were within 10% of the price of the Switch 2 adjusted for inflation and the Wii U, the NES and the Super NES were MORE expensive. So which ones had "kiddy prices" again? You really don't know what you're talking about at all.

And there are ZERO "far more robust equivalent products" as none of them run the Switch library. And the Switch trashed the SteamDeck and Rog Ally in sales even late into its life while the Switch 2 is the fastest selling game machine in human history. It will continue to outsell PC handhelds 10 to 1 throughout its life.

So maybe learn a bit more before sharing your interesting theories with the rest of the class?

 

[Skv0ra]

Another person who can't do the simple math of adjusting for inflation. Let me do the work for you, teenager:

Switch 2 shipped at $449.
Switch shipped at $299 in March of 2017 = $395 today.
Wii U shipped at $349 in November of 2012 = $488 today.
Wii shipped at $249 in November 2006 = $400 today.
Gamecube shipped at $199 in November of 2001 = $361 today.
N64 shipped at $199 in September of 1996 = $406 today.
SNES shipped at $199 in August of 1991 = $470 today.
NES shipped at $179 in October of 1985 = $531 today!
With the exception of the GameCube, all that were "cheaper" were within 10% of the price of the Switch 2 adjusted for inflation and the Wii U, the NES and the Super NES were MORE expensive. So which ones had "kiddy prices" again? You really don't know what you're talking about at all.

And there are ZERO "far more robust equivalent products" as none of them run the Switch library. And the Switch trashed the SteamDeck and Rog Ally in sales even late into its life while the Switch 2 is the fastest selling game machine in human history. It will continue to outsell PC handhelds 10 to 1 throughout its life.

So maybe learn a bit more before sharing your interesting theories with the rest of the class?

PS2 launched at $299 vs 199 for Gamecube, PS3 was literally twice that of the Wii, and so on, but there were NO PC alternatives anywhere near console prices of their time unlike today. That's the difference, on top of hacking info being wildly more accessible and available today to push towards PC environment when it comes to piracy unlike the most software secured consoles of this era. With the PS1 era, Nintendo priced well below its growing competition, but especially at that old time, PCs were wildly more expensive to get and proverbially less info on superiority in piracy was widely available.

So for right now, Switch 2 is priced above its superior competitors, or very close to them without offering the software savings. That's the point.

Otherwise, the main point was that hacking and self-developing for Switch 2 being pretty moot considering better options being out to use as an all-in-one solution beyond simply gaming unlike before.

 

[Lumstar]

I've been saying this for a while. There's a reason nobody really looks at the Xbox One/S/X's at all. Originally for $20, you could get Developer Mode and install any homebrew you want. I did it. Now Developer Mode is free. I've got a bunch of emulators on there that work great, and I'm helping someone I know create a homebrew game using Unity.

I really wish Nintendo and Sony would figure this out. We'd quit exploiting their hardware and go hard at piracy and just have fun in homebrew. Might even create some game developers doing it this way.

For hardware designers, Xbox One is a valuable lesson. Competent security renders piracy inconsequential.

Given the mainstream lifespan of consoles, more than a decade with zero documented instances of a commercial retail game being pirated - is a win by any measure.

 

[SexiestXenoFan]

To bring things slightly back on track, what I didn’t even mention in the original post is the very real possibility that a mod chip exploit will not even happen at all. I’m fine waiting years for an exploit and for actual CFW and homebrew and installers to be developed, and obviously when you are working with the whole internal organs of the system open and on display the methods of a potential attack are much more numerous than the near non-existent chance of a software exploit. However, considering the skepticism from many people who know a lot more than me about the possibility of even a hardware mod, I’m worried. What I don’t want to happen is I end up waiting for years for an exploit that will never come, and suddenly I’ve wasted the majority of the console lifespan.

Very sorry for the sob story, but I’m poor—I’m disabled and I’ve never had a job in my entire life, unfortunately. Money for video games is very tight. I still live at home with my parents and as pathetic as it is, to be honest video games are my entire life. It took years for me to save up and buy a Switch 2 at launch in the first place. I just don’t have money to buy the video games I want to play in the first place, meaning the hacking/CFW and yar har scenes are very important to me. There are other ways for me to make money, of course, but it takes dozens of hours to make the amount I could make in a single day’s worth of work in some crap minimum wage job. But if the Switch 2 won’t get hacked, I will have no choice but to start buying games legitimately, and I would like to know that now so I can start saving up and doing what I can to earn money.

I hate nothing more than uncertainty. But what can you do…

 

[Dukenukemx]

For hardware designers, Xbox One is a valuable lesson. Competent security renders piracy inconsequential.

Given the mainstream lifespan of consoles, more than a decade with zero documented instances of a commercial retail game being pirated - is a win by any measure.

A consoles ability to get hacked is more on the demand from the community. How many people actually wanted a modded Xbox One? The Xbox One was the death of the Xbox brand, which is why Microsoft is now porting their games on PC and soon Playstation. What reason was there to hack the Xbox One? Lots of people want Switch 2's to get modded which means there's a financial incentive to do so. Team Xecuter did make money, despite actually be arrested. Despite all that happened, they might have been behind the MIG cartridge. Maybe...

Since Nintendo is currently the only company who refuses to port their games to PC and other competing consoles, then that means there's a financial incentive for others to... find a way. A Switch 2 mod is going to happen sooner than ten years. The question is, who's going to sell it? Even emulation is a financial incentive because there's big money in donations. How you think Yuzu got 2.4 million to give to Nintendo? They weren't living in moms basement and maxed out her credit cards.

 

[subcon959]

To bring things slightly back on track, what I didn’t even mention in the original post is the very real possibility that a mod chip exploit will not even happen at all. I’m fine waiting years for an exploit and for actual CFW and homebrew and installers to be developed, and obviously when you are working with the whole internal organs of the system open and on display the methods of a potential attack are much more numerous than the near non-existent chance of a software exploit. However, considering the skepticism from many people who know a lot more than me about the possibility of even a hardware mod, I’m worried. What I don’t want to happen is I end up waiting for years for an exploit that will never come, and suddenly I’ve wasted the majority of the console lifespan.

Very sorry for the sob story, but I’m poor—I’m disabled and I’ve never had a job in my entire life, unfortunately. Money for video games is very tight. I still live at home with my parents and as pathetic as it is, to be honest video games are my entire life. It took years for me to save up and buy a Switch 2 at launch in the first place. I just don’t have money to buy the video games I want to play in the first place, meaning the hacking/CFW and yar har scenes are very important to me. There are other ways for me to make money, of course, but it takes dozens of hours to make the amount I could make in a single day’s worth of work in some crap minimum wage job. But if the Switch 2 won’t get hacked, I will have no choice but to start buying games legitimately, and I would like to know that now so I can start saving up and doing what I can to earn money.

I hate nothing more than uncertainty. But what can you do…

I recommend selling your Switch 2 and getting a Steam Deck or similar. It makes no sense buying a console you can't afford to buy games for (especially
when there is no timeline for a hack.)

 

[Dukenukemx]

I recommend selling your Switch 2 and getting a Steam Deck or similar. It makes no sense buying a console you can't afford to buy games for (especially
when there is no timeline for a hack.)

The Steam Deck can legally play Switch games on it, as well as magnitude more games than the Switch 2. It also can technically play more Nintendo games than the Switch 2. The problem with the Steam Deck is price as it also falls out of the price range most people are willing to spend on a portable hand held. The Switch 1's price was really good, until Nintendo decided to bump the price. Who's going to buy an 8 year old game console for more than it's originally price in 2017?

 

[TPMJB]

Post automatically merged: Aug 11, 2025

PSJailbreak was the one. And prices were very steep at launch (roughly $100), to the point that word spread out on forums about how it worked, and then the clones had gotten more popular afterwards. Open-source alternatives were eventually released and ported to other devices like an iPhone or TI-84 calculator (you thought DOOM could run on just about anything). That was, until the exploit eventually got patched in 3.55.

The dongle basically emulated a factory service dongle that Sony used for repairing dead consoles to allow unsigned code to run. Apparently, they're still being used in repair stores in parts of Asia for fixing consoles, which I thought was really cool.


I wouldn't be surprised either if they went under another name just to push out a Switch 2 modchip. It's always a game of cat-and-mouse, and I don't think they're done yet.

Oh PSJailbreak was reverse engineered in like a week lol. Forgot about that one. My first PS3 YLOD on me (was a 60gb launch model, so I was sore) and I picked one up on CL that was backwards compatible. Pretty lucky find.

 

[ChibiMofo]

The Steam Deck can legally play Switch games on it, as well as magnitude more games than the Switch 2. It also can technically play more Nintendo games than the Switch 2. The problem with the Steam Deck is price as it also falls out of the price range most people are willing to spend on a portable hand held. The Switch 1's price was really good, until Nintendo decided to bump the price. Who's going to buy an 8 year old game console for more than it's originally price in 2017?

No it cannot. You need PROD.KEYS to do run Switch games, and the distribution of that is illegal. You will never, EVER see Valve claim that their product can run Switch games. So no, the SteamDeck cannot legally play Switch games on it.

The SteamDeck wasn't competitive with the Switch 1, it obviously has no chance against the Switch 2, which is the fast selling game machine of all-time. And regarding your last sentence, you need to adjust for inflation or you just sound ignorant. It's NOT the same price, it's much lower (even after the bump). I mean duh!

Those of you who think the S2 is doomed because an overpriced PC 720p handheld can run more games clearly haven't paid attention to why the underpowered Switch 1 outsold the SteamDeck 20 to one and is about to become the best selling game machine in history. The ability to natively run Nintendo's library is gold to 150 million Switch owners. And Switch 2 will outsell it thanks to the backwards compatibility of the Switch 2 and its incredible upgrade in graphics over the previous version.

The SteamDeck is already showing its age and cannot run the latest AAA games, such as Indiana Jones, at all under any circumstances, and has unacceptable framerates on other recent AAA games. I feel sorry for those that invested in that 720p dead end.

 

[Dukenukemx]

No it cannot. You need PROD.KEYS to do run Switch games, and the distribution of that is illegal.

Then get a Switch and dump them.

You will never, EVER see Valve claim that their product can run Switch games. So no, the SteamDeck cannot legally play Switch games on it.

Why do I need Valve's permission to run Switch games? Or anyone's for that matter?

The SteamDeck wasn't competitive with the Switch 1, it obviously has no chance against the Switch 2, which is the fast selling game machine of all-time.

The Steam Deck doesn't have to sell well to be competitive. The Steam Deck is an extension of Steam the store, which means it doesn't have to sell well to get working games on it. The Switch 2 on the other hand needs to sell hardware to get games on it. Last I heard, 3rd party games weren't sell to expectations on the Switch 2. Also, fast selling game machine is based on initial sales, which doesn't account for anything. Apple's Vision Pro had strong initial sales, which didn't indicate strong long term sales.

And regarding your last sentence, you need to adjust for inflation or you just sound ignorant. It's NOT the same price, it's much lower (even after the bump). I mean duh!

Inflation is a reason to increase prices and nothing more. Just like Nintendo's excuse for market conditions isn't holding up. Walmart was quick to discount Nintendo's Switch OLED after they raised the prices. By the way the Switch OLED is $300 at Walmart if anyone is interested.
https://www.ign.com/articles/ninten...ehow-100-off-at-walmart-after-price-increases
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nintendo-Switch-OLED-Model-with-White-Joy-Con/910582148

Those of you who think the S2 is doomed because an overpriced PC 720p handheld can run more games clearly haven't paid attention to why the underpowered Switch 1 outsold the SteamDeck 20 to one and is about to become the best selling game machine in history.

Technically, the Switch 1's initial sales were weaker than the Wii U. The Steam Deck is also only a few years old.

The SteamDeck is already showing its age and cannot run the latest AAA games, such as Indiana Jones, at all under any circumstances, and has unacceptable framerates on other recent AAA games. I feel sorry for those that invested in that 720p dead end.

Can the Switch 2 run Indiana Jones? See my point? Also, I would do more research on the Switch 2's performance compared to the Steam Deck. It maybe outdated but it's doing very well compared to the Switch 2's hand held mode.

Also, Indiana Jones seems to work just fine on the Seam Deck.

 

[emmauss]

Then get a Switch and dump them.

Thus, you need to buy your own switch 1. And the games you are going to play. Then you can say you can legally play switch 1 games on the Steam Deck. But then how would the experience be, compared to playing those same switch 1 games on the switch 2. You can see a demonstration of someone playing TOTK on the steam deck with a few performance mods. . Its hovers around 30-40fps on the overworld. The game is capped at 30fps on the switch 1, so you can see the steam deck won't be able to hit that frame rate if you use default yuzu settings with no mods. On the switch 2, it runs flawlessly.
The steam deck can handle switch 1 emulation if you go through a few hoops, but it will not beat the switch 2 on performance with switch games.

Also, I would do more research on the Switch 2's performance compared to the Steam Deck. It maybe outdated but it's doing very well compared to the Switch 2's hand held mode.

I watch through the whole video, and I'd say, at similar watt and resolution rating, the switch 2 beats the steam deck. In handheld mode, with both of them running at 810p, the switch still performs better than the steam deck, though not by a big margin. In docked, the steam deck pushes ahead pushes ahead due to it higher power draw, but the switch 2 still performs fairly good. Like, few will get bothered by it. Here's a more technical comparison by DF.


The TLDR of it all, people buy switch consoles to;
1. Play nintendo games while keeping access to online capabilities. People do want to play with their friends, you know. And with Nintendo potentially dropping support for the switch 1 in their main title releases, people will buy the switch 2 to keep up.
2. They don't want the hassle of configuring games just to get the best experience. They buy the game, install the game, start the game. the game runs well, thats all that matters to them. They also aren't focused on like top end graphics. If it's fun to play, then why hate. Moreover, any indie games that release on the steam will most like release on the switch, either switch 1 or 2.

Most people don't care about cost. They either have the money to buy, or not. Pretty much 90% of the people that bought the switch 2, also bought MKWorld. I'm sure as heaven don't think those people bought it because they want to pirate games.

 

[Dukenukemx]

Thus, you need to buy your own switch 1.

They're not expensive. I've bought two off Ebay for $80 each because family members wanted some Switch's. Mod chip is like $12 off AliExpress.

And the games you are going to play. Then you can say you can legally play switch 1 games on the Steam Deck. But then how would the experience be, compared to playing those same switch 1 games on the switch 2. You can see a demonstration of someone playing TOTK on the steam deck with a few performance mods. . Its hovers around 30-40fps on the overworld. The game is capped at 30fps on the switch 1, so you can see the steam deck won't be able to hit that frame rate if you use default yuzu settings with no mods.

Generally runs at 30-40fps. There are moments when the frame rate dips pretty hard.

On the switch 2, it runs flawlessly.
The steam deck can handle switch 1 emulation if you go through a few hoops, but it will not beat the switch 2 on performance with switch games.

Then get a Rog Ally for $500. It's a good deal faster and can play Switch games even better than a Steam Deck. You used to find them for a little over $400 "renewed" on Amazon but that price has gone beyond a new Rog Ally.

1. Play nintendo games while keeping access to online capabilities. People do want to play with their friends, you know.

The Switch 1 didn't even have a built in mic. The Switch 2 fixed that but you weren't playing with online friends with the Switch 1. You also gotta pay for that feature. You can also play online with emulators but your friends have to also be on emulators.

And with Nintendo potentially dropping support for the switch 1 in their main title releases, people will buy the switch 2 to keep up.

They just increased the price of Switch 1's so unlikely to be dropped. If anything Nintendo understands that even more people will buy Switch 1's due to lower cost. It's an eight year old console, so what business does Nintendo have at raising prices?

2. They don't want the hassle of configuring games just to get the best experience. They buy the game, install the game, start the game. the game runs well, thats all that matters to them.

PC Hand Helds also work like this, especially ones running SteamOS. Running Switch 1 games through an emulator does require knowledge.

Most people don't care about cost. They either have the money to buy, or not. Pretty much 90% of the people that bought the switch 2, also bought MKWorld. I'm sure as heaven don't think those people bought it because they want to pirate games.

Cost is always a major factor in a game consoles success. No game console has done extremely well while being expensive. The game industry is run buy idiots and they think gamers are an open wallet. They will learn.

 

[urherenow]

What’s the point of this thread ? A modchip being required won’t afffevt the homebrew scene one bit

For years the ps3 needed a hard mod, and that had plenty of homebrew and cheats

Xbox 360 as well…

Wii for a minute also only had mod chips..the list goes on

Huh? I didn’t even know a hard-mod existed for the PS3. Mine has had CFW on it forever, and all I ever used was a USB stick. No soldering required, ever.