Former playing-card maker Nintendo’s legal attack dogs have persuaded GitHub to remove 144 repositories containing firmware for Switch modchips, extending the Japanese gaming outfit’s war on anyone who dares interfere with its hardware.
The latest Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice targets firmware used by Picofly, SX Core, SX Lite and HWFLY modchips. These devices let modified Switch consoles run software Nintendo has not authorised, including pirated games. Unfortunately for Nintendo, they can be used for legitimate homebrew projects too, which makes the company’s legal crusade somewhat more complicated.
The notice, dated 6 November and published by GitHub on 10 November, originally identified a repository called Ansem-SoD/Picofly. GitHub decided that the complaint covered the entire network of 144 repositories because Nintendo claimed that most of the forks contained the same offending material. One legal letter consequently removed a small mountain of code.
According to TorrentFreak, the targeted Picofly project provided firmware for modchips based on the inexpensive RP2040-Zero microcontroller board. The hardware uses voltage glitching during the console’s startup sequence to interfere with security checks and allow unauthorised software to run.
Earlier versions of Nintendo’s original Switch contained a hardware vulnerability that made running custom software comparatively straightforward. Nintendo subsequently closed that door in newer models, including the Switch Lite and OLED, forcing enthusiasts to use soldered modchips for similar access. Naturally, Nintendo would prefer that nobody touched its precious hardware without permission from headquarters.
In its complaint, Nintendo argues that the firmware circumvents the Switch’s technological protection measures by bypassing its boot sequence. The company claims this enables illegal copies of games to run, making distribution of the firmware unlawful trafficking in circumvention technology under Section 1201 of the DMCA.
The legal argument is familiar territory for the gaming giant, which has spent years chasing emulator developers, modchip sellers and websites distributing unauthorised copies of its games. Its lawyers have managed to make software preservation look like something requiring a witness protection programme.
Nintendo cited the criminal prosecution of Team-Xecuter, the outfit behind the SX Pro, SX Core and SX Lite products. Team-Xecuter member Gary Bowser pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2021 and was subsequently sentenced to 40 months in prison. The proceedings dealt a substantial blow to the group’s commercial modchip business.
However, Bowser’s conviction did not establish that every modchip or piece of firmware is automatically illegal. That is an important difference which tends to disappear whenever Nintendo’s lawyers start swinging their handbags. The company’s latest complaint relies on its interpretation of anti-circumvention law, and GitHub’s removal of the repositories does not constitute a court ruling on that interpretation.
The affected firmware has uses beyond running pirated games. Switch owners employ modified consoles to run homebrew applications, alternative operating systems and emulators, or to experiment with performance settings and custom interfaces. Nintendo’s complaint concentrates on copyright infringement, although the tools themselves can serve several purposes.
The takedown does not disable modchips already installed in consoles. Their existing firmware remains in place, but owners who need replacement files, updates or installation software may find their preferred GitHub repositories missing. Anyone preparing to install a new chip could have more trouble locating the necessary code.
Nintendo has not managed to eliminate the firmware from the internet. TorrentFreak found other Picofly and HWFLY repositories still available after the removals, including one users on the GBAtemp forum described as an original Picofly source. The company has therefore succeeded in making the software less accessible without making it disappear.
The gaming outfit sent three additional emulator-related notices on 6 November. One targeted Citron Neo, prompting GitHub to disable a network of 71 repositories, while two others concerned copies of the discontinued yuzu emulator. The latter repositories remained accessible, but their owners removed the code and replaced it with information pointing towards archived copies elsewhere.
For the moment, the 144 Picofly-related repositories remain unavailable. GitHub’s takedown procedure allows repository owners to submit counter-notices, although no such challenge had appeared in the public record when TorrentFreak checked. Nintendo has apparently discovered that removing software from GitHub is considerably easier than persuading the internet to forget it ever existed.
