Posted in: Games, Nintendo, Video Games | Tagged: 3DS, hackers, nintendo, nintendo switch

Nintendo Is Monitoring Hackers In New Leaked Documents

Published Mon, 28 Dec 2020 21:55:38 -0600

if you thought Nintendo didn't care about who was hacking their games, think again, as they are well aware of it. While all their court battles over intellectual property and the way they treat esports organizations may not put them in the best light, for the most part, Nintendo comes off as one of the better gaming companies on the planet. They're not cranking out useless sequels to games you despise, they're not crunching their workforce to get games out on specific dates, and they're not actively breaking their own games. (Well, Smash Bros. players may disagree with that last one.) No company is perfect, but it's not like we're writing about how cruel, dumb, or malicious the company is every three days, compared to others we cover on a regular basis. But some newly leaked documents may make you look at the Big N in a new light.

Of course, Nintendo is paying attention to who is hacking their games online. Why wouldn't they?

A PDF was loaded up online from a 2013 internal document about Nintendo's Hacker Enforcement Program. According to the PDF, it reveals that Nintendo isn't just aware of your hacking decisions, they are actively monitoring people on a case-by-case basis. One disturbing page even details that they had info on a 3DS modder named Neimod, which included his age, location, the fact he was living with his parents, his typical workweek schedule, and surveillance from an investigator detailing whether or not people visited and what other activities he did beyond work and home. That's some deep-state documentation for a game company over the hacking of their hardware.

Keep in mind, this is from 2013. Imagine what info they have on people who are currently hacking the Nintendo Switch and its games in 2020. And on top of that, what are they using that information for if they're not taking you to court? As scary as that part is, another part of the document shows they might have enlisted him in a bounty program where he would be paid by Nintendo to find hacks, exploits, and other issues so they could fix them. The company reserves the right to do as they wish since the man in question (who apparently worked something out with the company rather than going to court) was messing with their property. However, it might just make you second guess whether or not to use your Switch for ROM hacks or any kind of third-party content ever.

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