When will Switch 2 games be dumpable?

[TehLexinator]

already dumped in private circles

Claimed to be dumped. Nothing from a reputable source.

 

[FernandoRocker]

i was able to dump on switch 1

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2 Edition physical game cards have firmware 19.0.1 on it
The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch 2 Edition physical game cards have firmware 19.0.1 on it
Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma Nintendo Switch 2 Edition physical game cards have firmware 19.0.1 on it

That's useless.

Check the serial numbers on the cards. Those games should start with LN. Those games are basically Switch 1 games with the Switch 2 update included in the cartridge.

LN cards work in both Switch 1 and Switch 2 systems. You basically dumped Switch 1 games (expected behavior).

 

[RyanTheArchivist]

I recently picked up a Switch 2 along with Mario Kart World, and I’ve got to say - it’s pretty solid.

Now, I’m not trying to spark any piracy talk here, but I haven’t seen much info on whether game carts for it can be dumped yet. Has anyone heard anything?

I saw someone on Reddit claim that Mario Kart World was already dumped and posted on some sketchy Chinese site, but honestly, that seems unlikely.

DarkMatterCore mentioned that the Lotus ASIC firmware (which I’m not too familiar with) prevents access to the data, but he did say he’s planning to update the app so that Switch 2 games like Zelda can be dumped

I mean dumping raw cartridge data isnt exactly a complex process. The problem is decrypting the data. Anyone with enough knowledge can dump the raw data.

 

[CosasLocas]

Stupid question:

Has anybody tried to read a S2 cartridge on the MIG-DUMP device?

 

[RyanTheArchivist]

Stupid question:

Has anybody tried to read a S2 cartridge on the MIG-DUMP device?

I wouldnt be shocked if it can read it but dumping data on these cards is not a hard process with enough technical knowledge. its just all the data is encrypted and can't be bypassed.

 

[EmanueleBGN]

Has anybody tried to read a S2 cartridge on the MIG-DUMP device?

Someone tried, somewhere [here] but the cards weren't read

 

[PureFallen]

Stupid question:

Has anybody tried to read a S2 cartridge on the MIG-DUMP device?

Not sure but we already know that the cards read differently. That is what the little notch on Switch 2 Cartridges is for.
Nintendo will argue that this has something to do with the "reading method" used but it shouldn't surprise if that is just another effort to slow down dumps.

 

[Jayro]

The MIG team just needs to update the firmware on it, and then you'll get Switch 2 games dumpable.

 

[UltraHurricane]

Honestly whenever and wherever it is, I hope better people get hold of things, it's a disgrace how the switch scene was

PS2, PS3, X360, Wii, NDS, 3DS, PC, all scenes I've seen as the years go, games and everything else available with ease but these private discord shops are a disgrace and a joke

oh god... don't get me started on the Switch scene. It was full of NEETs with egos and people that needed to learn how to keep their mouths shut

it was the epitome of ruining it for everyone

 

[retrospect]

I mean you can just connect it up with wires to like an raspberry pi or something in those lines and do a raw dump. But it is just that, a raw dump. Nothing of value really.

Why is it not of value?

 

[FernandoRocker]

Why is it not of value?

Because it's useless data. Can't do anything with the raw dumps without the decryption keys.

 

[retrospect]

Because it's useless data. Can't do anything with the raw dumps without the decryption keys.

So it can be dumped now, and decrypted later? That doesn't sound "useless" it sounds like preparation.

Or did I misunderstand?

 

[l7777]

So it can be dumped now, and decrypted later? That doesn't sound "useless" it sounds like preparation.

Or did I misunderstand?

If you got the dump right. Without the keys to test you can't even tell if you got it right. That's the point of encryption. Without the keys it's random gibberish.

 

[FernandoRocker]

So it can be dumped now, and decrypted later? That doesn't sound "useless" it sounds like preparation.

Or did I misunderstand?

Because dumping games is trivial when an exploit happens. You gain nothing dumping the games right now.

 

[RyanTheArchivist]

So it can be dumped now, and decrypted later? That doesn't sound "useless" it sounds like preparation.

Or did I misunderstand?

I mean technically yes you can save it until it can be decrypted but there isnt much point. Cracking that decryption requires modding the console. Pretty sure that's a 128-bit encryption key meaning we can't bruteforce it. Bruteforcing an AES key that long is assumed to take upwards of a billion years lol.

 

[Dausone]

Because it's useless data. Can't do anything with the raw dumps without the decryption keys.

For S1 carts, MigFlash stores the raw encrypted files and they are decoded by switch 1 & 2. No need to decrypt prior.

Also as others have said, the cart format of S2 is just wildly different than S1. MigFlash and TotalJustice are probably the closest at getting dumps, and I am sure they are testing now. If everything stays the same between S1 and S2 in terms of how the cart data is being read by the system, then all that is needed is a raw encrypted dump. But until we get a real S2-native dump, we don’t know:

If there's a new filesystem layout
If there’s a new cart init protocol
If game content is decryptable by the system or locked differently

D.

 

[l7777]

For S1 carts, MigFlash stores the raw encrypted files and they are decoded by switch 1 & 2. No need to decrypt prior.

Also as others have said, the cart format of S2 is just wildly different than S1. MigFlash and TotalJustice are probably the closest at getting dumps, and I am sure they are testing now. If everything stays the same between S1 and S2 in terms of how the cart data is being read by the system, then all that is needed is a raw encrypted dump. But until we get a real S2-native dump, we don’t know:

If there's a new filesystem layout
If there’s a new cart init protocol
If game content is decryptable by the system or locked differently

D.

More specifically, Mig dumps and uses the encrypted XCI files. I could be wrong but i think there are multiple layers of encryption at play here. One that makes it impossible to read the file system on the cartridge, and one that decrypt the files themselves. Without the first, you can't even get the encrypted XCI (or whatever they call it now) files for a flash cart to pass along to the Switch. This is where we are with the Switch 2. I believe that for the Switch 1 the card reader keys are out there and that is why certificates and XCI files can be dumped from them. The keys for the Switch 2 card reader have not been exposed and therefore all you get is a raw binary blob and no files to work with. This is why we say that "dumping" now is pretty useless.

 

[Dausone]

More specifically, Mig dumps and uses the encrypted XCI files. I could be wrong but i think there are multiple layers of encryption at play here. One that makes it impossible to read the file system on the cartridge, and one that decrypt the files themselves. Without the first, you can't even get the encrypted XCI (or whatever they call it now) files for a flash cart to pass along to the Switch. This is where we are with the Switch 2. I believe that for the Switch 1 the card reader keys are out there and that is why certificates and XCI files can be dumped from them. The keys for the Switch 2 card reader have not been exposed and therefore all you get is a raw binary blob and no files to work with. This is why we say that "dumping" now is pretty useless.

One just needs to know the cart interface (likely new protocol (Lotus3+ or similar), to dump not necessarily any 'keys'. The switch will handle any decryption. Once dumped, then the real work begins to find out if the files use XCI2 or some new structure or if there is some new encryption being enforced, or if the files require a new loader behavior from previous S1. If the behavior is exactly the same as S1, then in theory, everything would just work and you wouldn't need to hack the S2 at all. But if there are any changes that I mentioned above, it is going to take a lot more work to get the files playable.

 

[l7777]

One just needs to know the cart interface (likely new protocol (Lotus3+ or similar), to dump not necessarily any 'keys'.

I don't think this is accurate. If it were, we'd likely already see XCI files from Switch 2 games. It would also mean that Nintendo didn't implement any type of full disk encryption. My understanding is that the card reader handles the full disk encryption on the cart and the Switch handles the decryption of the game (XCI) files.

 

[Viri]

Give me a few hours.