Nintendo is back at it again with their latest and most well known franchise, the DMCA, and this time they went after quite a handful of GitHub repositories with their DMCA strikes.

The latest and most notable repository attacked by Nintendo's DMCA is the "sigpatch-updater" homebrew application by iTotalJustice (alongside all of its forks) just a few days ago. This isn't the first time for iTotalJustice however, since he got another DMCA takedown previously for the standalone "sipatches" repository before back in 2022. The application worked as its title implies, by basically updating the signature patches from within the Nintendo Switch console itself. This seems like yet another instance of Nintendo trying to stomp on any kind of possibility to run unsigned software on a homebrewed Nintendo Switch, be it actual homebrew applications or pirated ones. Even though the source code is down, the patcher itself seems to still be hosted in other websites, alongside other DMCA taken-down tools.

Unfortunately, "sigpatch-updater" isn't the only software hit with the latest attacks by Nintendo and its crusade against copyright-circumvention tactics, as Incognito_RCM by ScandalUK (this one still being live at the time of writing), kezplez-nx by shchmue, and another fork of Lockpick_RCM by SpaceNX have also been the target for Nintendo's DMCA, adding up to the instances of Nintendo going after homebrew projects for the Nintendo Switch, with one of the first reported being the original Lockpick_RCM, which got being taken down last year with a DMCA notice by Nintendo's lawyers, claiming the same copyright circumvention tactic.

With all of the current legal events taking place in regards to Nintendo both in regards to homebrew apps and Switch emulator Yuzu, it's most likely that they will continue to scour the internet and GitHub repositories for any kind of semblance of alleged copyright-circumvention methods, applications, or even guides to dump Switch keys of any sort. The legal clarity regarding fair and personal use when it comes to copyright-protected technological devices are still unclear to make any kind of counter-claim against their DMCA notices.

iTotalJustice GitHub
DMCA notice for the "sigpatch-updater" repository
DMCA notices for Lockpick_RCM, Incognito_RCM and kezplez-nx
"sigpatch-updater" backup at Archive.org

 

[Armadillo]

You're not even allowed to discuss were to download roms anymore.
So I would say that it seems like the site owners wan't the site to be piracy free..
Otherwise they could have put it on the dark web or hosted it in Russia or something.

They stopped hosting roms because of site takedowns. Thats the whole reason it's called "gbatemp" because when it hosted roms it would get taken down and have to move, hence gbatemp as it was just temporary. Rom links stopped to make it a more
permanent home.

Even after the roms stopped being hosted, the site still had release lists so you knew when a game had a scene release and there were individual topics for each release where it was openly discussed, how to get it to work on your flashcart etc, the only thing not allowed was links to the roms.

Release lists and that sort of direct discussion went on into the DS era iirc.

Other than the release lists going, not much has changed there. Don't link to roms and you are ok.

It never turned into a pirate lair, it always attracted that sort of poster, even after the roms were gone. Anti-pirate/homebrew only people turned up later and started complaining about something that has always been part of the site.

 

[Bladexdsl]

man Nintendo hates everything related to homebrew lol

they hate everything except when you give them money..which you shouldn't

 

[smf]

You're not even allowed to discuss were to download roms anymore.
So I would say that it seems like the site owners wan't the site to be piracy free..
Otherwise they could have put it on the dark web or hosted it in Russia or something.

The site owners want to stay on the side of the law that allows them to make money from advertising.

Whether you violate copyright or not is a choice you should make on your own, if you need other people to pump you up about it by posting here, then you probably should choose not to.

Anti-pirate/homebrew only people turned up later and started complaining about something that has always been part of the site.

I don't pay much attention, so I am not an authority of what gets posted but I've not witnessed people complain about piracy.

I've been involved in debates about laws. There are a bunch of people who want to argue that things are legal, because they want to do them & I've disagreed with them. That isn't anti-piracy, that is pro reality. If you want to pirate then you should be fully aware of what you are doing.

Arguments like "piracy should be (or is) legal, because nintendo suck" etc

 

[DewPrism]

Good. If you can't take the heat, getcha butt out the kitchen.

Companies are always going to protect themselves.

Not doing so would be like seeing a squatter enter your home, and saying "welcome, we're having dinner soon, would you like to join us?".

 

[DaniPoo]

You people may think that I am the crybaby, but the fact is that it just make you look worse.
If I am a crybaby for stating the obvious that Nintendo has the right to protect themselves from piracy.
Then that makes you crybabies for crying about them taking away methods for you to suck on stolen lollipops.

I know which kind of crybaby I rather be. Cry all you want. I am not afraid to admit when I am wrong and I admitted that I was wrong about the origins of this site.

However the site has not hosted roms for like 20 years and you're not allowed to discuss where to obtain pirated files here anymore. So I really don't think this site qualifies as a site "for pirates".
Especially since there is there's so much more going on here.

And I am not backing off from my standpoint that piracy actually hurts the industry if it becomes too widespread.

It's not just the poor who are pirating and that's a fact. Many people just like not having to pay anything and spend money on other things that they can't pirate.

But no matter the reason, it's not right.. Games are not essential for survival for poor people, so I don't sympathise with them for pirating games. And people who have money but still pirate games are just cheap AF.
And even if you think you can justify it, how the hell do you justify bragging that you have so many pirated games that you don't have time playing them all (I heard that a lot, people with TB's of pirated games).

Perhaps if they didn't have that option, perhaps then they would save up for at least one good game and actually play it.
Then the people who work hard making the games could get payed and eventually perhaps they could lower the prices if enough people are actually buying games again. Not sure that would ever happen though.
Game development is getting more and more expensive, and then there's inflation.. So the best thing to hope for might be to slow down the rate at which games are getting more expensive.
It's possible that AI also will help pushing development costs down, But we'll see.

 

[Holybond]

Whenever one of these reports comes out. There's an influx of corporation shills that pose as "Realists". I never understood why someone would actively defend a corporation when they're so money grubbing and anti-consumer to the point where they'd step over corpses at the drop of a hat.

"Muh game company has rights." I truly don't believe anyone thinks that companies shouldn't have rights to defend their intellectual property. What's abhorrent is the practices to make acquiring games a hassle. Being forced to use legacy hardware and pay crazy fees for older games that are artificially made scarce to help fuel a resell market.

I hope that moral/ethical high ground keeps them dry during the poopstorm that will be the gaming industry in the future when it becomes one of the least fun avenues of entertainment left in an already boring timeline.

 

[gameboi478]

Things Nintendo could be doing
Following through on finishing Pokémon SV, something they promised would happen

What do you mean? I thought the DLC wrapped up scarlet and violet.

 

[The Catboy]

What do you mean? I thought the DLC wrapped up scarlet and violet.

The DLC literally only made the games more unstable and laggy. Worst of all, because they released the full DLC in an update (locking access to the DLC behind a key,) they made the games lag for people who didn’t buy the DLC.

 

[gameboi478]

The DLC literally only made the games more unstable and laggy. Worst of all, because they released the full DLC in an update (locking access to the DLC behind a key,) they made the games lag for people who didn’t buy the DLC.

Makes sense, but could you link to where nintendo/gamefreak said they'd fix DLC performance issues?

 

[The Catboy]

Makes sense, but could you link to where nintendo/gamefreak said they'd fix DLC performance issues?

Nintendo did say they would improve the game
https://x.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1598151413586173953
So they didn’t say they would for the DLC but one would expect the update/DLC not immediately reverse what little work they did

 

[MayorBryce]

Nintendo did say they would improve the game
https://x.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1598151413586173953
So they didn’t say they would for the DLC but one would expect the update/DLC not immediately reverse what little work they did

They had to say something to save face. Their definition of "improvements" is paid DLC that runs worse than the base game.

And then Nintendo gets mad when we pirate the game and hack our Switch's just to make the game playable.

 

[Armadillo]

I don't pay much attention, so I am not an authority of what gets posted but I've not witnessed people complain about piracy.

I've been involved in debates about laws. There are a bunch of people who want to argue that things are legal, because they want to do them & I've disagreed with them. That isn't anti-piracy, that is pro reality. If you want to pirate then you should be fully aware of what you are doing.

Arguments like "piracy should be (or is) legal, because nintendo suck" etc

Nah, I don't mean stuff like that.

There was a period (I want to say when the wii or maybe when slot1 ds card got popular) where people would ask for help with X game they downloaded or X release and instead of help you'd just get people posting shit like "buy the game" and complaining instead of just ignoring the topic if they don't like it.

Don't see it too much now, maybe the mods starting bonking people, but it was noticible at one time going from release lists and a nice community helping each other getting stuff working on whatever you had to posters just crapping up topics because they didn't like people downloading stuff.

 

[CaliousKai]

man Nintendo hates everything related to homebrew lol

obviously because its not legal

 

[raging_chaos]

obviously because its not legal

Bad take, for starters US law is not international law. It's potentially against whatever license agreement you've subscribed to depending on where you live in the world but homebrew code that doesn't borrow from someone else's code is completely legal.

 

[Noctosphere]

Bad take, for starters US law is not international law. It's potentially against whatever license agreement you've subscribed to depending on where you live in the world but homebrew code that doesn't borrow from someone else's code is completely legal.

in canada, you can hack your console legally, because when you buy the console, you dont "buy the right to use it", you buy it and it's yours, you can do whatever the hell you want with it

 

[smf]

Bad take, for starters US law is not international law. It's potentially against whatever license agreement you've subscribed to depending on where you live in the world but homebrew code that doesn't borrow from someone else's code is completely legal.

Selling something to run the homebrew on a games console is not legal though.

in canada, you can hack your console legally, because when you buy the console, you dont "buy the right to use it", you buy it and it's yours, you can do whatever the hell you want with it

Apparently not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Ac...t_Act_(39th_Canadian_Parliament,_2nd_Session)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Ac...t_Act_(40th_Canadian_Parliament,_3rd_Session)

 

[chrisrlink]

obviously because its not legal

you should read the dmca more closely as personal backups (ones YOU make) are not illegal




Under section 117, you or someone you authorize may make a copy of an original computer program if the new copy is being made for archival (i.e., backup) purposes only; you are the legal owner of the copy; and any copy made for archival purposes is either destroyed, or transferred with the original copy, once the ...

which ironicly IS Illegal if you need to circumvent security measures (ie even though section 117 permits it, ripping DVDS you own is still illegal if it has a security measure and that is a true what came first? paradox, honestly this in itself makes the dmca a legal mess in the first place (not to mention other provisions)

 

[raging_chaos]

Selling something to run the homebrew on a games console is not legal though.

This is a very ambiguous response considering all it takes is something as simple as a paperclip to hack a v1 switch or an OG Xbox from the early 2000s. It is also still a fact that whatever reasoning anyone comes up with does not apply across the entire globe. What could be considered illegal where you live might be perfectly legal halfway across the world. US law does not apply everywhere and no one has ever been threatened to be put in jail for selling paperclips.

FYI You might wanna look into all the early lawsuits between game publishers and Sega/Nintendo. Nintendo paid Tengen to stop selling games because they knew they couldn't stop them in court so they settled (copyright vs reverse engineering), EA slapped Sega around because there was nothing they could do to stop them from producing their yellow tab cartridge games after they reverse engineered their own Genesis dev kit, and Sega completely failed when they tried to sue Accolade for running software on the Genesis (trademark).

 

[CaliousKai]

they hate everything except when you give them money..which you shouldn't

i still will for games i like fire emblem, sinmegami tensei and indie games

 

[smf]

This is a very ambiguous response considering all it takes is something as simple as a paperclip to hack a v1 switch or an OG Xbox from the early 2000s.

Your response is ambiguous. Have you ever hacked an xbox or switch with just a paperclip & nothing else?

FYI You might wanna look into all the early lawsuits between game publishers and Sega/Nintendo. Nintendo paid Tengen to stop selling games because they knew they couldn't stop them in court so they settled (copyright vs reverse engineering), EA slapped Sega around because there was nothing they could do to stop them from producing their yellow tab cartridge games after they reverse engineered their own Genesis dev kit, and Sega completely failed when they tried to sue Accolade for running software on the Genesis (trademark).

All pre DMCA/EUCD/whatever it's called in the country you live (if it's a WIPO member country, which it most likely is).

So those lawsuits are irrelevant, it's a different world now.

Sega, Sony, Nintendo would all win their respective lawsuits today, the cases back then didn't set a precedent for all time.