jroc74

Member
Oct 27, 2017
29,371
Again, so people understand. It is burned deeply into your console if you ever patched a game. The same was done on WiiU. It has nothing to do with install data or save data. Even if you factory reset your console it will usually prompt you to update even if the console was never connected to the internet after the reset. People who buy the console second hand off you for example will be forced to install a game patch to play games you played in the past. This is done purely, same as preventing you to rollback firmware, to prevent exploits and homebrew. This is NOT done on PS4 and Nintendo implemented this after Twilight Princess was used as an entry point to homebrew Wii consoles. That is all there is to it.

Well damn, I thought something like this was taken care of with the update to the way Nintendo deals with users, accounts. As in not tied to the console anymore.

Wtf....

It's also not like this on XBO IIRC. They only thing on those systems that will stop you in your tracks is going on the store and the console needs an update. Or if in the middle of updating and you try to play a game you are updating. But then you could just delete and reinstall, keep it moving. This is in XBO, PS4 not sure.

I can't tell you how many times I skipped a GTA V update because it was so big. But I could still play, even a new game.
 

Oregano

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,878
Yeah, even on XBO, the only time this causes a similar issue is if you are in the middle of updating a game. Don't update and it's fine. There are plenty of times an update was available and I just ignored it and kept it moving.

And plenty of times my kids will delete a game for space. At long as the save is there I'm good.

A key difference to keep in mind with Switch vs PS4/XBO is the fact that you don't have to install retail Switch games at all, so for the vast majority of games you're going to be talking about MBs of data instead of GBs as on the other systems. There are of course some games like Ys 8 that have updates counted in single digit GBs. Overall though you probably gain very little space by deleting the update data for retail Switch games.

The ones that would be issues are stuff like Doom, Wolfenstein and LA Noire that require a download to boot at all. They're the ones taking up a significant amount of space and the ones you would most gain from deleting.

EDIT:
Well damn, I thought something like this was taken care of with the update to the way Nintendo deals with users, accounts. As in not tied to the console anymore.

Wtf....

It's also not like this on XBO IIRC. They only thing on those systems that will stop you in your tracks is going on the store and the console needs an update. Or if in the middle of updating and you try to play a game you are updating. But then you could just delete and reinstall, keep it moving. This is in XBO, PS4 not sure.

I can't tell you how many times I skipped a GTA V update because it was so big. But I could still play, even a new game.

You can skip patches on the Switch, and it has nothing to do with the account system...
 

nampad

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,238
Funny how the platform holder with the worst online service forces online indirectly.

What a shitty and anti consumer business practice.
 

krlitros87

Member
Oct 28, 2017
528
Quick question. If I archive a game, will this delete also the patch of the respective game? Because maybe this could be an issue considering that usually people prefer to archive an specific game to be able to download a new one.
 

ZeroDotFlow

Member
Oct 27, 2017
928
Surprise! It's almost like companies will put people through whatever anti-consumer practices they want under the guise of stopping piracy or homebrew.

Of course the side-effect is that once the servers go down in ten or so years a whole buncha games are gonna become unplayable unless Nintendo eases up these silly restrictions near EOL. For Nintendo that's probably a bonus considering it curbs the used game market they hate.
 

Oregano

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,878

dragonbane

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,594
Germany
It does differ from the WiiU, you don't even need to system reset. If you want to fix the issue, delete the save also. I have tested this with Fire Emblem Warriors.
Actually this might be game dependent? Cause someone in this thread said deleting his Bomberman save and patch didn't allow him to boot 1.0. Maybe the publisher can set a flag or something to control this aspect, but I'm sure Nintendo will always have it set for their games lol. And let's face it, they release most of the awesome stuff
 
Oct 25, 2017
658
Surprise! It's almost like companies will put people through whatever anti-consumer practices they want under the guise of stopping piracy or homebrew.

Of course the side-effect is that once the servers go down in ten or so years a whole buncha games are gonna become unplayable unless Nintendo eases up these silly restrictions near EOL. For Nintendo that's probably a bonus considering it curbs the used game market they hate.

not even close. Nothing about this would effect the used games market anymore than the retail games market.
 

Kandinsky

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,830
An update to this..
So um... I just tried it by deleting Mario+Rabbids, (save included) and indeed the game wont start unless I update it, so weeeeird.

Will try the cart on my nephew's switch later.
Yeah the game worked just fine on my nephews (airplane mode) Switch, so it's def related to the system not the cart.
So this..
Nope. You can buy a used cart and it will ask you to update if the previous owner has done so.
Is false.
 

Escalario

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,156
Good anti-piracy measure. It's your own fault if you delete the patches without a possibility of getting them again.
 

mutantmagnet

Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,401
Well yeah, that's how it's supposed to work. I'm very glad Nintendo is doing it that way.

If in the future the servers for down you either already have the patch (if you deleted it, then it's entirely your fault) or you never downloaded it. Neither of those possibilities will cause problems.

Good anti-piracy measure. It's your own fault if you delete the patches without a possibility of getting them again.

Having a hard limit on filespace is our fault.


ok bro.



It's the truth though.
Do you actually enthusiastically support not having the ability to own physical copies?

is this your personal belief?
 

Sorel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,519
WTF !? I just bought a switch and was thinking of making it my main platform well nope. On ps3 I was already able to play an unpatched game even if had saves on the system.
How can people defend that ?
 

jroc74

Member
Oct 27, 2017
29,371
A key difference to keep in mind with Switch vs PS4/XBO is the fact that you don't have to install retail Switch games at all, so for the vast majority of games you're going to be talking about MBs of data instead of GBs as on the other systems. There are of course some games like Ys 8 that have updates counted in single digit GBs. Overall though you probably gain very little space by deleting the update data for retail Switch games.

The ones that would be issues are stuff like Doom, Wolfenstein and LA Noire that require a download to boot at all. They're the ones taking up a significant amount of space and the ones you would most gain from deleting.

EDIT:


You can skip patches on the Switch, and it has nothing to do with the account system...
Yeah I know but if I'm in the middle of updating, I can delete and start over.

Granted I would have to reinstall the whole game, but it's like I never patched anything. On those systems I think you can set it to not auto update games to avoid what's happening in this topic. I have yet to run into a non boot or save issue involving game updates, even if in I'm the middle of updating and change my mind.
 

DDayton

Member
Oct 27, 2017
341
Edit: I tested, and the OP is correct. More info in my later post.

I feel like this is incorrect.

I believe if you delete your save data AND delete (not archive) the game's presence on your home menu, you should be fine. (Remove the cartridge. On the home menu, highlight the game, press +, Manage Software, Delete Software.)

I just borrowed a copy of Just Dance 2018 from the library -- I'm installing the update, then I'll test.
 
Last edited:

Oregano

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,878
Yeah I know but if I'm in the middle of updating, I can delete and start over.

Granted I would have to reinstall the whole game, but it's like I never patched anything. On those systems I think you can set it to not auto update games to avoid what's happening in this topic. I have yet to run into a non boot or save issue involving game updates, even if in I'm the middle of updating and change my mind.

You can turn off Automatic Software Updates on Switch in the system settings:
DjOYn5yVAAAiy8D.jpg:large


The issue here is you have already updated a game and then specifically delete the update data. You need to re-download the data before the game will start.
 

Ada

Member
Nov 28, 2017
3,758
...so has anyone actually tried testing this to see whether it's the save data, the cards themselves or another factor causing the issue? The OP has given no info outside of "I deleted my patch and now it won't work."
You'll have to delete your save to test it and without a current method of restoring said saves this is a bad idea.
 

cowbanana

Member
Feb 2, 2018
14,063
a Socialist Utopia
Since buying my Switch a couple of months ago I've been constantly "amazed" by how shitty a company Nintendo is. They're literally the worst piece of shit company in the console space. No way to back up save games, this garbage described here, no media apps or even a web browser in 2018. WTF is wrong with this insane, backwards company? I'm unlikely to ever buy another Nintendo console.
 

Deleted member 4886

Oct 25, 2017
135
I guess it also might be game dependent, but I'm fairly sure there's no way a cart will have the patch data automatically. Not sure what other game I can really try it with. Would do Xenoblade 2, but lol I'm not losing that data.
 

DDayton

Member
Oct 27, 2017
341
So I just tested this on the copy of Just Dance 2018 we borrowed from the library... and the OP is correct, as best as I can tell.

If you install an update, then delete the update, you can't play the game until you reinstall the update.

I deleted all local save data -and- the "system" data (via Home Menu > Manage Software > Delete Software.

When I plugged the cart back in and tried to play, it keeps prompting me to update first. ("A software update is required. Update data will be downloaded now.") You can't start the game first, as you can do to bypass updates in other cases.

I don't think I'm missing anything... it looks like once you install an update, you can't go back to playing the cart WITHOUT the update.

(What's weird is that I feel like I deleted an update and had no problems with some other title at some point in the past year. Now I can't remember.)
 

dragonbane

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,594
Germany
I feel like this is incorrect.

I believe if you delete your save data AND delete (not archive) the game's presence on your home menu, you should be fine. (Remove the cartridge. On the home menu, highlight the game, press +, Manage Software, Delete Software.)

I just borrowed a copy of Just Dance 2018 from the library -- I'm installing the update, then I'll test.
For Nintendo games, like Super Mario Odyssey, this is definitely not enough. You need to factory reset and never connect to the internet ever again to rollback a patch.


WTF !? I just bought a switch and was thinking of making it my main platform well nope. On ps3 I was already able to play an unpatched game even if had saves on the system.
How can people defend that ?
It is not defensible. Patch savegame incompatibility can be checked another way
 

Ghost250

Member
Mar 19, 2018
399
Okay, so I tried this with Mario Tennis ACES, I deleted the save data, deleted all the patches, turned off automatic updating, It still requires you to update the game to play it. Then I tried turning off the internet and also put my switch in just airplane mode to see if either those options work, but it still requires a patch to play. I'm not going any further with factory resetting my console.
 

Deleted member 3017

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,653
So I just tested this on the copy of Just Dance 2018 we borrowed from the library... and the OP is correct, as best as I can tell.

If you install an update, then delete the update, you can't play the game until you reinstall the update.

I deleted all local save data -and- the "system" data (via Home Menu > Manage Software > Delete Software.

When I plugged the cart back in and tried to play, it keeps prompting me to update first. ("A software update is required. Update data will be downloaded now.") You can't start the game first, as you can do to bypass updates in other cases.

I don't think I'm missing anything... it looks like once you install an update, you can't go back to playing the cart WITHOUT the update.

Yes, this has been known for months and I'm not sure why it's still being discussed.
 
Oct 27, 2017
5,969
Most devs lock out saves from later save file versions nowadays. Otherwise you've got to worry about how version 1.0 of your game deals with a version 1.5 save file.

Nintendo do it at a system level so they don't need to come up with unique implementations on each of their games.

I'm not saying it's right but I understand why they do it. They did the same on Wii U but no one noticed. The larger patches on Switch make it a bit more if an issue.

I'm not sure initializing the system allows you to boot the cart again or not.
 

dragonbane

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,594
Germany
Well, most of the folks in this thread seemed unsure about this, and no one appears to have tried fully deleting the data.

I'm assuming that removing one's account does no good.
Yeah that doesn't help either. Give little Jimmy your Switch and BotW physical card you deleted all the patches off to free space and he won't be able to play on his account until he either connects to the internet or factory resets your console to wipe everything (and you can't backup stuff beforehand). Hopefully little Jimmy is somewhere with good wifi!
 
Oct 25, 2017
658
Most devs lock out saves from later save file versions nowadays. Otherwise you've got to worry about how version 1.0 of your game deals with a version 1.5 save file.

Nintendo do it at a system level so they don't need to come up with unique implementations on each of their games.

I'm not saying it's right but I understand why they do it. They did the same on Wii U but no one noticed. The larger patches on Switch make it a bit more if an issue.

I'm not sure initializing the system allows you to boot the cart again or not.

this is the only important question right now
 
Oct 25, 2017
658
Yeah that doesn't help either. Give little Jimmy your Switch and BotW physical card you deleted all the patches off to free space and he won't be able to play on his account until he either connects to the internet or factory resets your console to wipe everything (and you can't backup stuff beforehand). Hopefully little Jimmy is somewhere with good wifi!

man you're really fucking with Jimmy for no reason
 

Deleted member 3017

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,653
Most devs lock out saves from later save file versions nowadays. Otherwise you've got to worry about how version 1.0 of your game deals with a version 1.5 save file.

Nintendo do it at a system level so they don't need to come up with unique implementations on each of their games.

I'm not saying it's right but I understand why they do it. They did the same on Wii U but no one noticed. The larger patches on Switch make it a bit more if an issue.

I'm not sure initializing the system allows you to boot the cart again or not.

Initializing apparently works if you don't take the console online afterwards . So this method will only be useful for most once the servers are down permanently in 10+ years.

I still don't get why anyone outside if speedrunners would desire to play unpatched games in the meantime.
 

-shadow-

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,110
Again, so people understand. It is burned deeply into your console if you ever patched a game. The same was done on WiiU. It has nothing to do with install data or save data. Even if you factory reset your console it will usually prompt you to update even if the console was never connected to the internet after the reset. People who buy the console second hand off you for example will be forced to install a game patch to play games you played in the past. This is done purely, same as preventing you to rollback firmware, to prevent exploits and homebrew. This is NOT done on PS4 and Nintendo implemented this after Twilight Princess was used as an entry point to homebrew Wii consoles. That is all there is to it.
Care to explain how I rolled Smash WiiU back to v1.0 then?
 

dragonbane

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,594
Germany
Care to explain how I rolled Smash WiiU back to v1.0 then?
In some scenarios it does seem to work if you factory reset and take care to not connect to Nintendo's servers ever again. Although with the discoveries in this thread there might be a chance all of this is controlled by the publisher with some kind of flag, so it isn't universal
 

MrConbon210

Member
Oct 31, 2017
7,664
This is such an incredibly convoluted reason to be mad. Just don't delete the patch? Wifi is only getting more and more prevalent. It's ridiculous to come up with the idea that so many people aren't able download a patch (which they somehow managed to do the first time) after deleting the updates for some bizarre reason.
 

dragonbane

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,594
Germany
Same. This is such a non issue for 99% of players.
It's still another issue other consoles are not suffering from. They add up. Even if it is just minor percentages on every one of these issues. Still, it could be better/less intrusive. Nintendo likes to make some things more annoying then they need to be, no need to get outraged about it, but it is still worth mentioning imo


This is such an incredibly convoluted reason to be mad. Just don't delete the patch? Wifi is only getting more and more prevalent. It's ridiculous to come up with the idea that so many people aren't able download a patch (which they somehow managed to do the first time) after deleting the updates for some bizarre reason.
It's equally ridiculous that Nintendo spent time and resources to intentionally prevent someone from doing it. Even after all the save data is deleted, so no incompatibility problem.
 

Lynd

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,455
Seems annoying. Maybe piracy will be needed to circumvent this issue in future years.

Would the big issue be if your system died and then u got another switch it may need update data? Then if the servers are gone it just won't work?