Nintendo General Thread

[Hawq]

[Hawq]

[Hawq]

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Nintendo has taken Wii U games Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon offline for security reasons

The games are down for "extended maintenance" and it's not clear when they'll be online again



Nintendo has taken two of its most popular Wii U games offline to fix what is says is a security vulnerability.

Both games were taken offline at 8.30pm PT / 11.30pm ET on Thursday (4.30am GMT today) to fix the issue, and Nintendo suggests it may be days before they're back online.

"We have identified vulnerabilities with online play for [these] network [services] and have begun temporary emergency maintenance," a message on Nintendo's Network Maintenance site reads.

"We expect an extended maintenance duration while we address these issues and have not determined when online play will resume. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding."

Nintendo dataminer OatmealDome took to Twitter to note that the security issue in question is "almost certainly" an exploit called ENLBufferPwn, which allows an attacker to take over someone's console and execute code on it, just by playing against them online.

A recent YouTube video by PabloMK7 shows how the exploit could also be carried out on Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS (which has since been patched to prevent it).

In the video, the hacker's 3DS is shown connecting to another player's 3DS via the game's online multiplayer. The hacker is then able to take control of the other 3DS and forces it to install custom firmware.

PabloMK7 notes that "using the same techniques, it would be theoretically possible to steal account/credit card information or take unauthorised audio/video recordings using the consoles built-in mic/cameras."



As well as Mario Kart 7 on 3DS, several Switch games were also vulnerable to the exploit at one point, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario Maker 3, Nintendo Switch Sports, Arms and Splatoon 2 and 3.

These have all since been patched to protect players from the exploit, but Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon on Wii U weren't. It's believed, therefore, that this extended "emergency maintenance" is to finally close off the vulnerability on these two games.

Although the Wii U was considered a flop in general, Mario Kart 8 still sold more than 8.46 million copies worldwide, while the original Splatoon managed 4.95 million sales.

Source: VGC

[Dr. Zoidberg]

With recent next generation Nintendo hardware news last week - It's assumed that Nintendo will provide Switch backward compatibility for their next generation hardware. However, there are some technical hurdles that must be overcome. In this episode we discuss the concerns with backward compatibility and why I have some doubts that Nintendo will bring the entire Switch library to new hardware.

[pixel]

If there isn't backwards compatibility with software, Nintendo better have a really compelling reason why. The bigger issue for me is controller compatibility. Despite joystick drift, I do think the joycons are a pretty ingenious system with the newer pro-style models. Stick a Tegra X1 in there, get the specs up to full 60fps/1080p with 4K upscaling, and Nintendo will keep printing money for another 5-7 years.

[ian]

They'll make the cartridge physically smaller by 2mm (and change the pins around to stop people filing down their existing switch cards) and just put all the existing games as is on the new console to sell again... For full price of course.

[pixel]

They'll make the cartridge physically smaller by 2mm (and change the pins around to stop people filing down their existing switch cards) and just put all the existing games as is on the new console to sell again... For full price of course.

Stop giving them ideas! Although, there could be a market for some type of Gameshark/Action Replay-type conversion cart. Today's youth has been coddled by the lack of ugly, unsightly adapters on their handhelds ...

[pixel]

In the video, the hacker's 3DS is shown connecting to another player's 3DS via the game's online multiplayer. The hacker is then able to take control of the other 3DS and forces it to install custom firmware.

They shouldn't be using this maliciously, they should be doing everyone a favor and installing FBI on systems. If you're gaming on a Wii U/3DS these days, I feel like the statute of limitations has run out for piracy.

[pixel]

[Hawq]

[melancholy]

That’s nice and all, but I can’t see it ever being cheaper than a Picoboot, and it’s more difficult to install.

[Hawq]

[Hawq]

[Hawq]

[Hawq]

[pixel]

Good news everyone, now there's no moral reason to be against 3DS and Wii U piracy!

[Hawq]

[Hawq]

cant recall if that first ones in here but these fit neatly together

[Hawq]