About a week ago, Habré published the news about the hacking of the Nintendo Game & Watch pocket console the day before its official release. Then a user with the nickname stacksmashing was able to download the Super Mario Bros. ROM. into the device's RAM.
“So we ended up bypassing the ROM Game & Watch encryption the day before the official release. In the next few days I will try to release a video with details on how it works! ”Wrote stacksmashing.
In September, it was reported that the device will cost $ 50, and its release took place yesterday. These consoles were dismantled so quickly that they are now out of stock at most points of sale and reseller sites. The advantage of the device is the color screen and three downloaded games, including Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels and Game & Watch: Ball. But today it became known that the same user mentioned was able not only to bypass the encryption system, but also to put Doom on the console .
By the way, the user’s name is Thomas Roth, he is an information security specialist.
At the moment it's not very comfortable to play. To demonstrate the process, textures, audio were removed from the game, and the screen resolution was also reduced. This is a proof of concept, but all the same, the very fact of such a hack speaks volumes - for example, that it will be possible to download additional games to the console.
The console cracker stated that he had found a way to replace the original firmware of the device with another, upgraded firmware. After revision, this method will make it possible to load full-fledged games, with texture and audio. Of course, something more or less modern is unlikely to work, since the hardware characteristics of the console are not very high. But classic games from old consoles are quite.
At the moment, hacking a set-top box requires specific tools and some experience with firmware. Even though the firmware is encrypted, the protection is not very strong. So you can load third-party code into the firmware - no problem.
Unfortunately, the author of the hack did not tell about when he will be able to release a tool that allows ordinary users to add new games to the console. But be that as it may, this prefix is completely customizable. Well, since it does not connect to the Internet, Nintendo is unlikely to be able to update the firmware by adding more serious protection.
So it remains to wait for the appearance of new tools that will allow you to add old and favorite games for everyone.
