The Nintendo Switch Online service is not even two days old, and a group of hackers have just confirmed that it is possible to add new NES ROMs to the emulator that comes with the service, in a process that they describe as trivial as long as, yes, you have a previously hacked Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo even released a new wireless version of the NES controls, to enjoy these games in a much more purist way.
For those who are not very familiar, on September 18 Nintendo officially launched its Nintendo Switch Online service, which for a fee of $ 20 per year, allows its subscribers to play online with people from all over the world in compatible video games, save your games in the cloud, and as a special bonus, have access to a virtual mini-console with a curated selection of 20 titles from the NES, which is the protagonist of this news.
As KapuccinoHeck commented in a series of tweets, the ROMs of the NES emulator for the Nintendo Switch Online are stored as simple .NES files, along with a small database, which is nothing more than a text file with a list of supported titles with the emulator, which can be easily manipulated to add more games to the list.
good lord # NintendoSwitchOnline’s NES games are plain .nes filesGUI appears to be entirely LUA much like the S / NES Classic so people are gonna be able to go to town on this
The “database” file that contains a listing of all valid games is plaintext, – pic.twitter.com/bO8M4B7U5e
– kapu | the Gay. (@KapuccinoHeck) September 19, 2018
Adding games to the emulator is easy, but hacking the console is another matter
In a small video clip published by KapuccinoHeck, he shows us how he could add the Kirby’s Adventure game, which is not part of the 20 titles that Nintendo made available in its initial installment. Although adding the game turned out to be very simple, the hacker cautions that hacking the console on the other hand is a much more tedious, complicated and risky process, as Nintendo can permanently ban your account, making it impossible to use the online service anymore.
ok sothis is incredibly basic but it shows that fully custom games ARE possible! hakchi for NES Nintendo Switch Online when? #NintendoSwitch #NintendoSwitchOnline #NES pic.twitter.com/OBYn3dLOtV
– kapu | the Gay. (@KapuccinoHeck) September 19, 2018
Although in a request for comment by Kotaku to Nintendo, the company declined to make any statement about it, it is highly likely that in a future firmware update Nintendo will take care of these vulnerabilities, while continuing to add new titles to the emulator. As an additional fun fact, this list of 20 titles is not fixed, and Nintendo announced that it will periodically be varying it, without (for now) giving subscribers the ability to keep the games they like permanently.
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