Hacking Pokemon Diamond Officially Patched by Nintendo (J)

[leetdude_007]

Is it therefore possible that Nintendo can throw out firmware updates? How the hell do games get patched officially?

Somebody has got to have read this already. This is strange and exciting at the same time. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Japan had bugs in the game, and it was fixed via DS Download station by Nintendo. IGN and Gamespot were some of the people that reported this official patch by Nintendo:

Japanese Patching Instructions (lost in translation-eruu)
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6160484.html
http://ds.ign.com/articles/741/741366p1.html

October 24, 2006 - Nintendo has issued an official statement on a couple of tiny bugs gamers have been discovering in Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, the latest entry in the zillion selling Pokemon series.

Following the Japanese release of the games two weeks back, Nintendo states that two bugs have been reported. This will only make sense if you've actually played the games (and seeing as how Diamond & Pearl have only been released in Japan so far, we're sure that means just a few of you), but here are the specifics.

A: After entering the Union Room from the second floor of the Pokemon League, when you try to go up to the second floor of the Pokemon Center, you get stuck in a wall never to return.

B: In a special room in the Pokemon League, if you face the automatic entrance and use the "Naminori" skill, you get stuck in a wall never to return. Nintendo warns that you shouldn't do this, as it could lead to a loss of data.

Nintendo has posted solutions to both bugs. They're pretty specific, so for the few who actually imported the Japanese versions of these games, we'll point you in the direction of Nintendo's official Q&A page.

One of Nintendo's solutions, for those silly enough to have saved their game while stuck in a wall, suggests that players take the DS to a retail DS Station, which, starting 10/27, will be able to fix the problem. That's a first for the service!

The US versions of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, due out next year, should have these problems fixed.

 

[danielmakana]

it sounds like the ds download station is only altering the save so that you can continue your game.

 

[leetdude_007]

it sounds like the ds download station is only altering the save so that you can continue your game.


Read this from gamespot, I think you misinterpreted...

QUOTEPokémon Diamond, Pearl get patched
Minor flaw spotted in top-selling DS games; NCL says a patch is on the way.
By Walt Wyman, GameSpot
Posted Oct 25, 2006 1:09 pm PT

TOKYO--Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are the hottest-selling games in Japan at the moment. The games sold an unprecedented 1.6 million copies their first week and have since gone on to ship around 2.5 million units in Japan.

The official Pokémon Web site issued a statement yesterday regarding a problem in the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl software.

Although occurring only rarely under special conditions, according to Nintendo, the bug causes players to become stuck in walls in certain rooms. In some instances it can even lead to the malfunctioning or loss of saved game data. The games' Web site gives instructions on how to get around these issues.

In addition, it was announced that a patch will be distributed through DS Stations at participating stores throughout Japan and at all Pokémon Center branches on October 27.

It seems unlikely that these problems will affect North American or European gamers, because the fixes will almost certainly be added to the games before they go on sale.

 

[Ryoku]

Wow o.o.

Nintendo's stepping it up. Weird. This is pretty old news, but I've never read this article before.

 

[H8TR]

Games can be patched. It's as simple as updating a program you may use. Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire were also patched but through link cable. The FireRed/LeafGreen cart had the patch and you patched with two GBAs and a link cable. Those who are avid fans of the series (like me) heard about this along time ago with Ruby/Sapphire so this comes as no surprise.

 

[leetdude_007]

Does this mean that firmware patches can happen??

 

[H8TR]

Does this mean that firmware patches can happen??

Yes, but what does Nintendo have to patch exactly? NDS(L) has no exploits.

 

[imgod22222]

Yeah, i think they just write more to a writeable section of the cart (probably save section, but what do i know) And i think the 5 month release difference (i think) between the J and U release is because of two bugs like that, and changing how long names can be.

 

[FAST6191]

What normally happens in these situations is a v1.1 game is issued. As for store GBA titles tended to come with a rollback/backup save that is actually the one before you last saved.
Or they do what danielmakana said, if it is just a simple location problem it would not be hard to do.

 

[MaHe]

I presume that the patch is permanently stored in the save-data (you could remove it with a tool like REIN, but in-game format won't delete it).

 

[slvrdrgn123]

Just as long as the US version doesn't have those bugs, I'm happy.