A challenger approaches, as a possible imitation product based on Team Xecuter's SX Core modchip has surfaced online. The discovery was initially posted to Chinese webforum Baidu, in which two images were uploaded, with claims of them being clones of SX Core. Supposedly, this knockoff chip would support Atmosphere CFW for the mariko and ipatched Nintendo Switch variants by soldering it exactly like you would with the SX Core. These clones have already appeared on Taobao and Xianyu, though they're currently priced at 700 Yuan ($108 USD) at the cheapest. While they may have "secretly shipped" off to various retailers to sell, it's still unknown as to whether or not these chips work, or if they're reliable. No word has been made as to whether or not the same mystery team has also cloned the SX Lite chips that have Switch Lite support, either.

New chips have appeared. Recently, Xianyu (Chinese retailer) has a batch of chips that can be bought in large quantities, which only support atmosphere, which is different from the previous tx chips. The imitated chips have already been secretly shipped.

​

Source
GBAtemp Discussion Thread

 

[djpannda]

Yes, I WAS HAVING BAD CASE OF FOMO

 

[Deleted member 534570]

team sx made a modchip for the patched switches so you can run sx os as you could with unpatched models and I think this is supposed to be a clone and achieve the same thing

So it allows the console to run dumped games and emulators or something?

 

[pustal]

Nintendo can't touch china.

Even if they could, US law doesn't apply outside US so it would be something else. Although it wouldn't be the first time something as fucked up as the US trying to extradite a non-US citizen that never laid foot on the US that wasn't even violating local laws happened.

No extradition treaty with China though.

 

[leapingliger]

Anyone know how someone from the US would go about buying this?

 

[Cha0tic]

So it allows the console to run dumped games and emulators or something?

Yes in a nutshell just like you would on a unpatch switch running sxos or atomosphere. You can run homebrew, emulators, dumps etc.. Doing everything you could normally do. The only difference is patched switches need the modchip made by team sx or possibly in this case this new clone

 

[fvig2001]

Ooohh, at least this will drive prices down since the modded lite is expensive now ($400 but limited quanitities). I hope it's real just because I want more people to mod their systems.

Btw, are modded V2s able to overclock/use the power of the new chip on Android/L4T? I know Horizon blocks it and needs additional CFW mods to get higher clock speeds that V1 doesn't support.

 

[pustal]

Anyone know how someone from the US would go about buying this?

I searched Taobao for "switch sx" and I think it's the second result. There are guides like this on how to buy from Taobao. Either way, if you do it you are at your own risk. I suggest waiting a bit and see what this actually is and if it appears on Aliexpress.

 

[Risingdawn]

Even if they could, US law doesn't apply outside US so it would be something else. Although it wouldn't be the first time something as fucked up as the US trying to extradite a non-US citizen that never laid foot on the US that wasn't even violating local laws happened.

No extradition treaty with China though.

Chinese manufacturing is centralised too; it's kind of hard to appeal to a Communist regime about the illegality of the industries they are technically the owners of. I could be wrong though

 

[pustal]

Chinese manufacturing is centralised too; it's kind of hard to appeal to a Communist regime about the illegality of the industries they are technically the owners of. I could be wrong though

They are most certainly produced on Shenzhen, one of the special economic zones, so the government doesn't own or have involvement of the industry. There were some victories in the past like the Lego victory over Lepin, but that had to do with trademarks rather than copyright, and copyright laws are really weak in China. But Nintendo really hasn't a copyright case here even, if anyone had would be Xecuter. The Nintendo vs Xecuter case has to do with the circumvention of copyright protection which isn't even copyright violation, which isn't a thing in China and mostly everywhere else

 

[HarveyHouston]

Well, looks like we have a copycat out there somewhere. I knew this wouldn't end, and people here are already begging for it to be true.

I think this may have been posted in defiance of what Nintendo did with Team Xecuters. While mod chips themselves aren't a bad thing (if installed correctly), what Team Xecuter's mod chips allowed was quite questionable. According to ZDNet, Team Xecuters was directly involved with piracy:

"To support this illegal activity, Team Xecuter allegedly helped create and support online libraries of pirated videogames for its customers, and several of the enterprise's devices came preloaded with numerous pirated videogames," prosecutors say. "Team Xecuter was so brazen that it even required customers to purchase a "license" to unlock the full features of its custom firmware, the SX OS, in order to enable the ability to play pirated videogames."

So, they weren't selling pirated games, as I had previously thought. However, it's just as bad - requiring users to purchase a license? Really?!? That's wrong on so many levels.

Hopefully, these Chinese copycats will only allow this modchip for homebrew and modifications of legally bought video games that you yourself have on your Switch, or dumped from another console, instead of a pirate library and a paywall for extended features.

 

[Deleted member 534570]

Yes in a nutshell just like you would on a unpatch switch running sxos or atomosphere. You can run homebrew, emulators, dumps etc.. Doing everything you could normally do. The only difference is patched switches need the modchip made by team sx or possibly in this case this new clone

Ah, gotcha.

 

[Inaki]

Well, looks like we have a copycat out there somewhere. I knew this wouldn't end, and people here are already begging for it to be true.

I think this may have been posted in defiance of what Nintendo did with Team Xecuters. While mod chips themselves aren't a bad thing (if installed correctly), what Team Xecuter's mod chips allowed was quite questionable. According to ZDNet, Team Xecuters was directly involved with piracy:



So, they weren't selling pirated games, as I had previously thought. However, it's just as bad - requiring users to purchase a license? Really?!? That's wrong on so many levels.

Hopefully, these Chinese copycats will only allow this modchip for homebrew and modifications of legally bought video games that you yourself have on your Switch, or dumped from another console, instead of a pirate library and a paywall for extended features.

It doesn't work that way... it will allow everything; even in the very unprobable case of it not comming with spacecraft-NX or TX firmware, you will be able to flash it. Also, most people wouldn't buy a limited modchip.

 

[Risingdawn]

They are most certainly produced on Shenzhen, one of the special economic zones, so the government doesn't own or have involvement of the industry. There were some victories in the past like the Lego victory over Lepin, but that had to do with trademarks rather than copyright, and copyright laws are really weak in China. But Nintendo really hasn't a copyright case here even, if anyone had would be Xecuter. The Nintendo vs Xecuter case has to do with the circumvention of copyright protection which isn't even copyright violation, which isn't a thing in China and mostly everywhere else

That's really interesting, I should learn some more about how China's economy works. I had always assumed they used the Soviet model of centralisation

 

[digipimp75]

Yes. Bring on the clones!

 

[pustal]

That's really interesting, I should learn some more about how China's economy works. I had always assumed they used the Soviet model of centralisation

They adopted this model where certain areas were made free-market capitalist in order to promote firstly foreign investment then competitively and technological development. They kinda made copyright laws lax on purpose for them to replicate technological advancements and improve on them. These areas mark an extreme opposite to their supposed communism as they are probably one of the least regulated markets in the World or at least are the biggest. There is some strong regulation that has been gaining traction however, like environmental regulations (they had this strategy where for a time there was few limits on climate impact on order for them to speed inner development and green development to be able to be less impactful on the long term) and security regulations (as of a near future a certain percentage of inland computer chips and parts used by companies have to be designed and produced in China).

Shenzhen is the central industrial area of China, and it has created the greatest proximity economy in the World. If you want to produce something there, you are usually always at a short distance of a factory that produces your components, being extremely easy to develop a project. Costs are low because everything is near and usually produced under highly automated factories.

 

[Risingdawn]

They adopted this model where certain areas were made free-market capitalist in order to promote firstly foreign investment then competitively and technological development. They kinda made copyright laws lax on purpose for them to replicate technological advancements and improve on them. These areas mark an extreme opposite to their supposed communism as they are probably one of the least regulated markets in the World or at least are the biggest. There is some strong regulation that has been gaining traction however, like environmental regulations (they had this strategy where for a time there was few limits on climate impact on order for them to speed inner development and green development to be able to be less impactful on the long term) and security regulations (as of a near future a certain percentage of inland computer chips and parts used by companies have to be designed and produced in China).

Shenzhen is the central industrial area of China, and it has created the greatest proximity economy in the World. If you want to produce something there, you are usually always at a short distance of a factory that produces your components, being extremely easy to develop a project. Costs are low because everything is near and usually produced under highly automated factories.

Awesome, that's really interesting.

 

[OrGoN3]

Incoming DMCA!

Who are they going to DMCA? China ignores those.

 

[nl255]

Well, looks like we have a copycat out there somewhere. I knew this wouldn't end, and people here are already begging for it to be true.

I think this may have been posted in defiance of what Nintendo did with Team Xecuters. While mod chips themselves aren't a bad thing (if installed correctly), what Team Xecuter's mod chips allowed was quite questionable. According to ZDNet, Team Xecuters was directly involved with piracy:



So, they weren't selling pirated games, as I had previously thought. However, it's just as bad - requiring users to purchase a license? Really?!? That's wrong on so many levels.

Hopefully, these Chinese copycats will only allow this modchip for homebrew and modifications of legally bought video games that you yourself have on your Switch, or dumped from another console, instead of a pirate library and a paywall for extended features.

I don't see how they can restrict piracy unless they come out with their own CFW rather than just booting standard payloads like Atmosphere which is how these modchips work from what I have read. Yes, you will have to either add your own sigpatches and pirate "store" or use an all in one package that has them included but those are widely available already.

 

[HarveyHouston]

I don't see how they can restrict piracy unless they come out with their own CFW rather than just booting standard payloads like Atmosphere which is how these modchips work from what I have read. Yes, you will have to either add your own sigpatches and pirate "store" or use an all in one package that has them included but those are widely available already.

That would be up to the user of the modchip, not the manufacturer. That's my point - the manufacturer should not promote piracy. It's up to the consumer to decide what to use the modchip for. If they want to pirate, then let them - and they can have the same legal problems that Team Xecuters got into. If not, then good for them!

 

[zackszacks]

This chip should not come from China. I searched hwfly. Find the official website of this chip. You can have a look if you are interested.
hwfly.my-free.website/