Nintendo Secretly Adds ‘Bricking’ Piracy Protection To The Switch

Nintendo Secretly Adds Bricking Feature As Piracy Protection On the Switch

It’s been a little over a year since the Nintendo Switch launched and I think it’s fairly safe to say that the console has been a huge hit. With massive game releases seen in its first 12 months, it has regularly been top of the console selling charts and looks to be every bit of the success that Nintendo needed.

Linux – Nintendo Edition

It seems, however, that the company is getting a little concerned with piracy. Reports have already come forward with people breaking the software on the system which has even allowed Linux to be installed. Nintendo may be finally set to crack down on that behaviour though and crack down hard.

In a report via Eurogamer, a security firm believes to have found new code in the Switch’s security which will effectively brick the console if pirated software is discovered.

What Is Bricking?

Bricking is a term when a product either by error or design becomes completely unresponsive. Bricking does, however, go a little further than that and should not be confused with a ‘soft-lock’. If your Nintendo Switch is Bricked, the theory is that it will become completely useless. It will not respond to command you will be unable to fix it.

Is This A Bit Harsh?

This hidden bricking update is believed to be a response to a hardware exploit which Nintendo cannot fix. It isn’t even the first time the company has done this with the 3DS also featuring forms of ‘bricking’ protection.

The simplest answer is that if you don’t hack or try to bypass the piracy protection on the system, the chances are you’ll never have a problem. Those that do though, you have been warned!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!