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Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with Switch

(www.videogameschronicle.com)
285 points ashitlerferad | 3 comments | 06 Nov 24 14:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.466s | source
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bladderlover21 ◴[06 Nov 24 15:28 UTC] No.42063777[source]▶
And this reveals the real reason Nintendo came after Switch emulators - to buy some extra time before Switch 2 gets properly emulated.
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jsheard ◴[06 Nov 24 15:44 UTC] No.42064022[source]▶
The hard part of emulating the Switch 2 probably isn't going to be the actual emulation, but breaking the security so that the games and firmware can be extracted and decrypted. Nintendo pretty much nailed their software security with the Switch 1 but were undone by catastrophic hardware bugs, so we'll have to see how well they learned their lesson on the hardware front next time.

Microsoft and Sony have demonstrated that hardware security can be more or less perfected, neither of their systems have been compromised via hardware attacks for several generations now.

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kregasaurusrex ◴[06 Nov 24 16:42 UTC] No.42064979[source]▶
The main hardware security bugs[0] were very low hanging fruit associated with taking over the boot chain at ring 0- it's more likely that Nintendo themselves were in a rush to get the product on the market after the perceived failure of the Wii U. Even with a secure software stack, people found a way to defeat the Xbox 360 hardware[1] by physically drilling into a chip that enforced a software lock, and George Hotz became known for his work in finding ECDSA flaws in the PS3. Companies can design these locks to last for a few years of a console's lifespan, but I think people now are determined enough to dive into these difficult problems that they're unlikely to be secured forever.

[0] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/unpatchable-hardware-exploit-l...

[1] https://gbatemp.net/threads/scanned-drilling-template-16d4s-...

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blharr ◴[06 Nov 24 16:59 UTC] No.42065276[source]▶
I mean, it is a classic example. If you have access to the hardware and the dedication to do so, you could break almost any security. That's a hilarious example to physically drill into a chip, though
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1. audunw ◴[06 Nov 24 17:33 UTC] No.42065880[source]▶
This could be “famous last words”, but as someone who has worked with chip security I’d be very surprised if anyone breaks this generation of hardware at the chip level.

A decade ago the engineers designing these chips knew there were several angles of attack but there just wasn’t enough resources put into closing these holes.

Now every know angle of attack is closed. Even if you delid the chip and reverse engineer every single gate and can probe individual metal wires on the chip, it’ll still be nearly impossible to break the hardware security. Power supply and EM glitching is also protected against (can’t speak for Switch 2 but I’m speaking in general about chips going forward)

Could be bugs and mistakes that allows someone to bypass security, of course. Both in hardware and software. But I don’t think there will be general purpose angles of attack that can be used to bypass security going forward.

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2. jsheard ◴[06 Nov 24 17:38 UTC] No.42065978[source]▶
> Power supply and EM glitching is also protected against (can’t speak for Switch 2 but I’m speaking in general about chips going forward)

Microsoft talked openly about implementing those safeguards in the Xbox One, and they've held up for a decade or so now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7VwtOrwceo

3. ls612 ◴[06 Nov 24 23:12 UTC] No.42071030[source]▶
I think it is less that such a thing isn't possible and more that it isn't possible on "guy alone in his basement" resource and expertise constraints. And because of awful laws like DMCA 1201 if you get beyond that, or if your work becomes widely known, you will become Nintendo's new lifetime indentured servant courtesy of Uncle Sam.