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Just over a week ago, team Xecuter announced that they are working on a soon-to-be-revealed modchip for the Nintendo Switch. This was big news because modchip devices are usually used to circumvent anti-piracy measures on many digital platforms, but mainly gaming systems, and to see one already in the works for a machine that is only 10 months old is very rare.

Since then the team have been quiet, no one knows what the device will look like, how it will work, or when they can get their hands on one - but GBAtemp can exclusively reveal today that there will be BOTH a solder AND solderless option of team Xecuter's Nintendo Switch modchip.

Here is a direct quote from team Xecuter:

For now, I can tell you there is a solder and solderless version. We have quite a lot in the works, you will have more info soon.

The difference in pricing should be interesting in the two versions of the device, but at least you can now rest safely, knowing that the team will be providing options for whatever the Xecuter Switch modchip turns out to be.

Stay tuned to GBAtemp for more info in the upcoming weeks.

 

[Shadow#1]

Are you talking about a cable that goes from the dock to the switch and the switch sits on a different stand? Or a replacement dock...

Yes

 

[Soluble]

Yes

While inexpensive, that would not be in their style or their best interests.

 

[FAST6191]

why would it be that much? considering the price points for their other products, I do not see it being that much.

Why would their existing products have any great bearing on this?

Generally.
Something is worth what someone else is willing to pay. Mod device wise that can be quite a large number (see some of the neo geo stuff, or optical drive replacements for older devices).
If said someone is willing to pay a suitable amount to cover R&D, production, general overheads and give you a bit of profit then you may have a viable product on your hands.

There are other ways of doing business (loss leaders for a start) but they probably do not apply here.

If the soldered thing is basically a breakout board (or breakout plus a few passives and a basic clock or something boring) then that can be knocked out cheap. Though again if people are willing to pay up and you own the market then no need to cut your own throat.

If the solder free thing is like previous efforts and needs to be custom made chip covers (you don't buy them off the shelf as they are rarely used for anything really), extra ribbons/ribbon connectors, fancy pins and the like all in a truly custom routed PCB (as opposed to a breakout board which might well just be square) then cost of production can get quite high.

 

[weatMod]

Why would their existing products have any great bearing on this?

Generally.
Something is worth what someone else is willing to pay. Mod device wise that can be quite a large number (see some of the neo geo stuff, or optical drive replacements for older devices).
If said someone is willing to pay a suitable amount to cover R&D, production, general overheads and give you a bit of profit then you may have a viable product on your hands.

There are other ways of doing business (loss leaders for a start) but they probably do not apply here.

If the soldered thing is basically a breakout board (or breakout plus a few passives and a basic clock or something boring) then that can be knocked out cheap. Though again if people are willing to pay up and you own the market then no need to cut your own throat.

If the solder free thing is like previous efforts and needs to be custom made chip covers (you don't buy them off the shelf as they are rarely used for anything really), extra ribbons/ribbon connectors, fancy pins and the like all in a truly custom routed PCB (as opposed to a breakout board which might well just be square) then cost of production can get quite high.

i don't think they will price it that high
better for them get more customers before someone RE's it while people are in a dilema over a high price tag

 

[Soluble]

i don't think they will price it that high
better for them get more customers before someone RE's it while people are in a dilema over a high price tag

As he said R&D costs are quite high, so the first batch of orders needs to turn a profit. I would expect it to be priced accordingly. (Also they wouldn't have locked in pricing yet anyway)

 

[weatMod]

As he said R&D costs are quite high, so the first batch of orders needs to turn a profit. I would expect it to be priced accordingly.

how high could they be really the xbox and xbox one were out a lot longer than the switch, they got this done really quickly
it took them a lot longer for the 360 and the chips were not priced high , seems like they put a lot less time into this
unless they somehow expanded their team but i doubt that

also the secrecy suggests fear that this thing could be copied by Chinese or someone else ,it might use cheap and common chips

 

[_______]

how high could they be really the xbox and xbox one were out a lot longer than the switch, they got this done really quickly
it took them a lot longer for the 360 and the chips were not priced high , seems like they put a lot less time into this
unless they somehow expanded their team but i doubt that

also the secrecy suggests fear that this thing could be copied by Chinese or someone else ,it might use cheap and common chips

The so-called R&D cost here was not about the chip itself, but the exploits. Exploits worth more than those chips. You could have sell a 0day for millions but a chip to implement that cost ~$2 - 10 at top. It's not the Intel CPU or nVidia GPU we are talking here. It's more like big pharmaceutical companies, which has high R&D costs on knowledge but low on production costs.

 

[Soluble]

how high could they be really the xbox and xbox one were out a lot longer than the switch, they got this done really quickly
it took them a lot longer for the 360 and the chips were not priced high , seems like they put a lot less time into this
unless they somehow expanded their team but i doubt that

also the secrecy suggests fear that this thing could be copied by Chinese or someone else ,it might use cheap and common chips

My guess would be that the product isn't finished R&D yet, or even close. Everything gets copied by the chinese, it's only a matter of time. People didn't necessarily prefer TX's product in the 360 scene, but they were the best at saying they were the best. Their products will inevitably come from a factory, in China. So they will be cloned. Everybody cries 'Support the devs' buying clone products doesn't support the devs, neither does piracy.

Also, TX didn't invent the RGH. They improved on someone elses work. Again 360 drive FW was done without TX(Drilling found by someone else, probing found by someone else). All the work on the 360 was done without TX(They just improved what was already out there and made it easier.).

 

[weatMod]

The so-called R&D cost here was not about the chip itself, but the exploits. Exploits worth more than those chips. You could have sell a 0day for millions but a chip to implement that cost ~$2 - 10 at top. It's not the Intel CPU or nVidia GPU we are talking here. It's more like big pharmaceutical companies, which has high R&D costs on knowledge but low on production costs.

i know which is why i pointed out that the switch has not been out very long , they were not looking for that long
and others have apparently found it too ,see the latest tweet from F0F
they say it is non patchable w/o a hardware revision, does not need a mod chip ,
maybe it is a DRM chip? maybe it is a downgrader that uses the same exploit as F0F or maybe the exploit exists on all current FW's but nobody wanted to tip off N before TX announced

 

[ShadowOne333]

i know which is why i pointed out that the switch has not been out very long , they were not looking for that long
and others have apparently found it too ,see the latest tweet from F0F
they say it is non patchable w/o a hardware revision, does not need a mod chip ,
maybe it is a DRM chip? maybe it is a downgrader that uses the same exploit as F0F or maybe the exploit exists on all current FW's but nobody wanted to tip off N before TX announced

Don't rely on F0F for as good as their stuff might sound, they are known for not releasing jackshit, even after the console is long dead by the company.

 

[Hondyn]

Solderless? Fuck yeah!!!!!!

 

[jefffisher]

why is everyone assuming it's going to be so expensive, i can't remember any modchip for any console ever being $100 even on launch.
while flashcards have always been expensive modchips not so much, is it just that everyone here is from gb/ds and not ps/xbox.
i'm betting on $35-$50 with the solderless being $15-$35 more. $80 at the very most but probably not more than $60.
cheaply made clones will follow soon after so they'll want to get as many out there as fast as possible before they risk losing any market.

i wont even be considering getting one until after the switches end of life now being an adult who can actually afford the games i want to play, and not wanting to lose online like the xb360, ps3 and 3ds all did when modded.

 

[Soluble]

why is everyone assuming it's going to be so expensive, i can't remember any modchip for any console ever being $100 even on launch.
while flashcards have always been expensive modchips not so much, is it just that everyone here is from gb/ds and not ps/xbox.
i'm betting on $35-$50 with the solderless being $15-$35 more. $80 at the very most but probably not more than $60.
cheaply made clones will follow soon after so they'll want to get as many out there as fast as possible before they risk losing any market.

i wont even be considering getting one until after the switches end of life now being an adult who can actually afford the games i want to play, and not wanting to lose online like the xb360, ps3 and 3ds all did when modded.

Pretty sure my ViperGC would have been $100 in today's money. Also RGH from start to finish doing it all yourself with a band flasher and dual band setup would have been close to. Or the 360 drive board replacement was quite high. Or solderless X3 for the XBorig was also quite expensive(although cheaper solutions were available) It's not so much 'assuming' more speculating.

 

[Zonark]

Honestly with a mod chip even wouldn’t we still need modified media to use it? I mean it could enable usb i guess

 

[Don Jon]

i say 35-45 tops
if theyre smart

 

[TotalInsanity4]

i say 35-45 tops
if theyre smart

And probably ~60 for solderless

 

[Bladexdsl]

Honestly with a mod chip even wouldn’t we still need modified media to use it? I mean it could enable usb i guess

if it's a modified dock it could

 

[guily6669]

LOL, solderless version... there goes the 100$ for micro soldering LOL. But I bet there will be a lot of downsides on the solderless solution and a big price to it . If they later can OC Switch, I will call a guy on other forum to make me a full custom huge full copper cooler and some Artic MX-4 that I have here, that would make my day, specially tricking the console into docked state and I would make a homemade dock portable power station with the lipos I have here with no use since my RC planes don't fly...

 

[Captain_N]

If its a glitch type device exploiting something in the bootrom then Nintendo will correct the problem for future switch consoles. There will most likely be about 12 million vulnerable switches.... The value of those is gonna skyrocket. The team says its future proof but thats not so. There is nothing stopping Nintendo from fixing the hardware problem for newer manufactured switches. So only the 12 million or so switches will be "future proof" the rest of the 70 million will be fixed. thats not what i call future proof.
Better buy a switch now before the vulnerable ones are gone.......

 

[Soluble]

If its a glitch type device exploiting something in the bootrom then Nintendo will correct the problem for future switch consoles. There will most likely be about 12 million vulnerable switches.... The value of those is gonna skyrocket. The team says its future proof but thats not so. There is nothing stopping Nintendo from fixing the hardware problem for newer manufactured switches. So only the 12 million or so switches will be "future proof" the rest of the 70 million will be fixed. thats not what i call future proof.
Better buy a switch now before the vulnerable ones are gone.......

there would be a pretty serious lag time between a release and a fix. If/when it's fixed on a HW revision, stroll out and by some older consoles and life's good. Assuming there's no soft exploit released by then..