Nintendo Switch homebrew is evolving quickly - SNES, GBA as well as classic Doom already playable

N00MKRAD · Jan 26, 2018

So, it looks like the homebrew community beat Nintendo when it comes to VC.

Currently, NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA and a few more platforms can already be emulated at full speed.

As well as classic Doom:

Here's an overview for current Retroarch status.

Currently, Firmware 3.0 is mainly used, so far there are no hax on 4.x, however, Team Xecuter announced that they are releasing a modchip soon which is supposed to be version-independent. A hardware revision is likely the only thing that Nintendo could do against this. Also, fail0verflow demonstrated that they have a working hack as well.

The current hack is mostly the work of the Reswitched team.

Another interesting thing is that yuzu, the Switch emulator, can already run homebrew. Yes, you can emulate games with retroarch on an emulated Switch on your PC and yes, it has been done.

So far, neither copying save files nor loading games work, but I guess it's good that piracy is not a thing yet, regardless of how big the actual impact of it would be.

N00MKRAD · Jan 26, 2018

Also, a ton of ReSwitched's work is now open-source:

https://github.com/reswitched

Iori Fuyusaka · Jan 26, 2018

RockyMin · Jan 26, 2018

I wonder if there will eventually be a flashcart for Switch, like DS/3DS had.

maximumzero · Jan 26, 2018

Nice, finally the proper Doom on the go.

RockyMin said:
I wonder if there will eventually be a flashcart for Switch, like DS/3DS had.

I feel like it's only a matter of time.

L.O.R.D · Jan 26, 2018

oh man, i can't wait to see how it play PS1/PSP games on it.

N00MKRAD · Jan 26, 2018

maximumzero said:
Nice, finally the proper Doom on the go.

You know what's best?

DOOM 3 is open source and has been ported to Android. Also, the BFG edition is on the Shield TV (Tegra X1 as well).

With a bit of luck, Switch will eventually be able to play the entire Doom series portably.

shotgunbob04 · Jan 26, 2018

Well, it's nice to know that if Nintendo ends up not letting me play my old games on my Switch, there are still ways. I'm most excited for GameCube and Wii games running on Switch.

Deleted member 11008 · Jan 26, 2018

Modchips are not so popular as before, and it's not so accesible like software. But it will be a interesting alternative in the future, when the Switch will be cheaper.

Elfotografoalocado · Jan 26, 2018

Jesus, I hope it doesn't get pirated that soon.
Is there data that proves easily pirateable consoles sell and receive less games?
Edit: For preservation purposes, I hope the Switch and its iterations end up being cracked or emulated, but not before they've sold all they have to sell.

maximumzero · Jan 26, 2018

Elfotografoalocado said:
Jesus, I hope it doesn't get pirated that soon.
Is there data that proves easily pirateable consoles sell and receive less games?

I feel like the Nintendo DS suffered heavily from piracy from about 2007/2008 on, but I'm not sure if there's any proper research done on the matter.

I'm sure the 3DS suffered a bit as well, though not as heavily.

TimeFire · Jan 26, 2018

Elfotografoalocado said:
Jesus, I hope it doesn't get pirated that soon.
Is there data that proves easily pirateable consoles sell and receive less games?
Edit: For preservation purposes, I hope the Switch and its iterations end up being cracked or emulated, but not before they've sold all they have to sell.

Anecdotal, but the PS2 became as huge as it was here in South America because it was easily piratable. So did the DS for that matter.

But anyway, I hope we're still far away from Switch piracy. May scare off third-parties.

Asterikolt · Jan 26, 2018

I'd personally find it more interesting when there's homebrew that's not just ported emulators and Doom, but that's nice for those devs.

wwm0nkey · Jan 26, 2018

Man now I just want Bethesda to release Doom 1 and 2 classic on Switch

RedAhmed · Jan 26, 2018

Elfotografoalocado said:
Jesus, I hope it doesn't get pirated that soon.
Is there data that proves easily pirateable consoles sell and receive less games?
Edit: For preservation purposes, I hope the Switch and its iterations end up being cracked or emulated, but not before they've sold all they have to sell.

There is no proof for that, companies haven't been able to prove that piracy is resulting into less sales.

The PS2 was a piracy paradise where I came from. All consoles were sold with a chip that enables piracy, and all games available for sale were pirated and dirt cheap. But no games/consoles were ever sold officially, so they were all imports.

And I don't have to tell you how much the PS2 and DS sold worldwide, despite being known for piracy. Nobody can say if there would be more games sold if there was no piracy involved.

Aprikurt · Jan 26, 2018

The lack of a Virtual Console or Classic Doom is tempting me... but don't want my NNID banned this early in the system's life.

Thatguy · Jan 26, 2018

shotgunbob04 said:
Well, it's nice to know that if Nintendo ends up not letting me play my old games on my Switch, there are still ways. I'm most excited for GameCube and Wii games running on Switch.

Same. I have the SNES and NES classic for the old games, or just my phone. I'm most interested in Gamecube/Wii emulation right now. I want to play Metroid Prime 1-3 and F-Zero and Rogue Squadron and give Skyward Sword a shot.

jon bones · Jan 26, 2018

RockyMin said:
I wonder if there will eventually be a flashcart for Switch, like DS/3DS had.

lets hope not

Vena · Jan 26, 2018

maximumzero said:
I feel like it's only a matter of time.

RockyMin said:
I wonder if there will eventually be a flashcart for Switch, like DS/3DS had.

Impossible. The cart-authentication system would requires national funding in investment to reverse engineer their two-way authentication system.

N00MKRAD said:
Here's an overview for current Retroarch status.

Currently, Firmware 3.0 is mainly used, so far there are no hax on 4.x, however, Team Xecuter announced that they are releasing a modchip soon which is supposed to be version-independent. A hardware revision is likely the only thing that Nintendo could do against this. Also, fail0verflow demonstrated that they have a working hack as well.

Hardware revision is not the only answer.

passepied joe · Jan 26, 2018

Thank god for homebrew.

BreakAtmo · Jan 26, 2018

wwm0nkey said:
Man now I just want Bethesda to release Doom 1 and 2 classic on Switch

They should go further. Full-blown id Old-School collection with The Ultimate DOOM, DOOM 2, Master Levels for DOOM 2, Final DOOM, DOOM 64, and the Hexen/Heretic games, all in one little cart.

Kouriozan · Jan 26, 2018

Nintendo please, what are you doing with your VC.

N00MKRAD · Jan 26, 2018

BreakAtmo said:
They should go further. Full-blown id Old-School collection with The Ultimate DOOM, DOOM 2, Master Levels for DOOM 2, Final DOOM, DOOM 64, and the Hexen/Heretic games, all in one little cart.

I'd be ok with D3 BFG Edition, I think it includes ultimate Doom.

StrapOnFetus · Jan 26, 2018

L.O.R.D said:
oh man, i can't wait to see how it play PS1/PSP games on it.

For real though. PS1 and PSP are gonna be good. I cant wait to play Chrono Cross and FF7. Maybe we will get some oldschool MAME.

How is PS2 emulation these days?

BreakAtmo · Jan 26, 2018

N00MKRAD said:
I'd be ok with D3 BFG Edition, I think it includes ultimate Doom.

DOOM 3 BFG Edition would be a solid inclusion as well, actually.

N00MKRAD · Jan 26, 2018

StrapOnFetus said:
For real though. PS1 and PSP are gonna be good. I cant wait to play Chrono Cross and FF7. Maybe we will get some oldschool MAME.

How is PS2 emulation these days?

PS2 on ARM isn't going anywhere soon, it's making progress, but very slowly.

But yeah, PSX/PSP will be great.

ApeEscaper · Jan 26, 2018

Amazing progress very fascinating stuff

FantaSoda · Jan 26, 2018

Does this allow you to back up your saves?

Ashler · Jan 26, 2018

That's more retro action on the switch than we've seen on VC thus far... :(

Deleted member 5545 · Jan 26, 2018

Wonder how GBA compatibility is. To this day it's a bitch to get some popular games running flawlessly off a flash cart on native hardware.

Deleted member 3010 · Jan 26, 2018

I love how Doom is a homebrew staple that basically represents "You got hacked fam".

Best game, too.

RROCKMAN · Jan 26, 2018

SRB2 Switch plz

MoonFrog · Jan 26, 2018

Should add a classic PC VC, clearly, when/if they do bring VC.

That might help Switch in the west/help encourage playing western games on the device.

Ororo · Jan 26, 2018

At least someone is working on VC.

NoKisum · Jan 26, 2018

Now I'm at a crossroads.

Do I invest in a second Switch just for homebrew so I can finally have GBA/SNES/Genesis (hopefully) games on it? Or do I just wait for Virtual Console to go into effect?

Gabora · Jan 26, 2018

MoonFrog said:
Should add a classic PC VC, clearly, when/if they do bring VC.

That might help Switch in the west/help encourage playing western games on the device.

Only if they also emulate the problems DOS games had, because those were 50% of the experience lol

SinCityAssassin · Jan 26, 2018

I still ain't trusting Team Xecuter with hardmodding a Switch.

Kyzer · Jan 26, 2018

Focke need a revision to come out so I have more justification to have two switches. My 3DS is currently my favorite classic games system of all time, but the switch with hybrid design might be goat

Jessie · Jan 26, 2018

Not gonna lie, I'm excited for Homebrew during EOL.

Maximo · Jan 26, 2018

I assume 3.0 switches are impossible to get now?

Hieroph · Jan 26, 2018

Is there any chance of Wii emulation? That would be huge.

somerandomweirdguy · Jan 26, 2018

Goddamn I hope they get it working on current software soon. I had already updated my switch when news of the hack first got out.

I want to emulate on the switch so bad. So many options for emulation don't have the power to do certain systems, or don't have good buttons, and the switch has all that plus an amazing form factor. Fuck. Gba, SNES, PS1, maybe N64. I can't wait for this shit

headspawn · Jan 26, 2018

Goddamn, there's a Switch emulator already? What the hell, lol.

Get team CEMU working on it, please.

KDR_11k · Jan 26, 2018

Gabora said:
Only if they also emulate the problems DOS games had, because those were 50% of the experience lol

The C64 VC didn't have the problems you'd usually have with that system...

BLLYjoe25 · Jan 26, 2018

that's crazy.

nintendo could've put out VC but if they aren't gonna do it then someone else will. will i don't like pirating i love seeing this happen. it's amazing what people can do.

Fatmanp · Jan 26, 2018

Watching that first video really annoys me as to why I cannot play my Pokemon Gen 1 and Gen 2 VC games on my switch. Hopefully Nintendo sort this out.

anf · Jan 26, 2018

headspawn said:
Goddamn, there's a Switch emulator already? What the hell, lol.

Get team CEMU working on it, please.

They are the one building it :D

ss_lemonade · Jan 26, 2018

L.O.R.D said:
oh man, i can't wait to see how it play PS1/PSP games on it.

Seeing as how the Nvidia Shield TV's predecessors (eg. Shield Portable) could handle PS1/PSP emulation just fine, I don't see why these platforms would give the X1 hardware, which should be many times more powerful than the Portable's Tegra 4, a tough time.

FlaygletheBagel · Jan 26, 2018

Well, the onus is on Nintendo to make these games accessible the official way, and they haven't done that. Grateful for the work that's being done here, but damn if it isn't a huge bummer that it takes homebrew to get these games running on Switch at all.

rzmunch · Jan 26, 2018

RedAhmed said:
There is no proof for that, companies haven't been able to prove that piracy is resulting into less sales.

The PS2 was a piracy paradise where I came from. All consoles were sold with a chip that enables piracy, and all games available for sale were pirated and dirt cheap. But no games/consoles were ever sold officially, so they were all imports.

And I don't have to tell you how much the PS2 and DS sold worldwide, despite being known for piracy. Nobody can say if there would be more games sold if there was no piracy involved.

Maybe this is true in the EU/Na, but in South America I think there will be more software sold withouth piracy.
In the end, the problem are prices, nowadays with digital shop you can reduce the price for a country and region, and that really helps.

Nintendo Switch homebrew is evolving quickly - SNES, GBA as well as classic Doom already playable

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