If you're an experienced Nintendo Switch gamer, you may have heard of the MIG Switch and the revolution it promises to bring. This device was designed to be as practical (and usable) as the R4 on Nintendo DS, but this time with exclusive compatibility for all Nintendo Switch games. Unfortunately, this device may cause the death of the second-hand market.
A priori, there is no link between a cartridge allowing you to play several games and buying titles at a lower cost on resale sites. And yet, between the MIG Switch and the death of the second-hand market, there is only one step. The whole issue lies in the use that its users will make of it and the risks if the MIG Switch spreads in the general public spheres as a way to make money or play for free.
We are no longer in the era of the Nintendo DS
To put it simply, each cartridge has a serial number, a way to authenticate it in a unique way in the world, like a genetic code that is impossible to replicate naturally. When you dump your game, you artificially create a perfect copy of this imprint to deposit it on the MIG Switch cartridge. For completely personal use, each copy of this code remains in your possession, which is not really a problem.
The problems begin from the moment this code is released into the wild. When this is done via ROM sharing sites, users generally know what they are getting into. Piracy has actually been illegal for decades, so people who regularly use this type of service know the risks they run. But the MIG Switch is vicious enough to prey on innocent users.
As soon as a Nintendo Switch console is connected to the internet, it sends data to the company, including the authentication code of the game you are playing, or that you own, as well as the number of times a cartridge is inserted into the dedicated port. The consequences are quite clear. As soon as a copy is detected, your Nintendo Switch can be banned for life from using online services.
Reselling pirated copies or even “legitimate” duplicates is risky
This is where the second-hand market comes into play. So what happens if the original owner of the game decides to resell his second-hand cartridge for financial gain? The new buyer has no idea that he is buying a dumped copy, a duplicate of which has remained in the possession of the first owner. So he takes no precautions, inserts the cartridge into his Nintendo Switch connected to the Internet, and inadvertently sends a signal to Nintendo that a copy of the said game exists. Both accounts are then banned, and the second owner of the cartridge may never understand why.
The MIG Switch, or at least the use that can be made of it, therefore risks greatly harming the second-hand market by transforming it into a giant minefield. How can you recognize a dumped cartridge? There is currently no way of knowing and anyone can still be fooled. The situation gets even worse if the MIG Switch is used to sell pirated copies of a game, with the appearance of an official game from the outside. The only way to verify that it is an authentic cartridge would be to open it to see if the circuit board is that of a MIG Switch. But unless you are sensitized on the subject, no one will have this reflex.
The company exonerates itself, but will stop at nothing
Of course, the company that created MIG Switch defends itself from any illegal use of its product. It only verbally authorizes the copying of games that you own yourself, without reselling them afterwards. Despite everything, it must be recognized that the target of the product does not intend to limit itself to this sole use, thus risking the entire integrity of an economy already shaky with regard to physical games.
Because yes, the only way you will have to no longer be fooled as a scrupulous player will be to go through the official dematerialized, more expensive, but without danger for your account. Is this really what players want for the video game industry, given the criticism concerning all digital? The question arises.
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