What Is MIG Switch For Nintendo, And How Does It Work?

Nintendo has always had a bit of an adversarial relationship with console and software modifications, let's say. The company is notorious for coming down hard on unsanctioned alterations to its products and doubly so on the usage of ROM files and game emulation. This is why, while the Nintendo Switch does feature both external storage functionality and a save data cloud back-up, neither format is designed to be easily interfaced with other devices. Let's just say what happens on the Switch stays on the Switch.

Those who prefer to take a more proactive approach to data management have created a variety of homebrew tools and gadgets to circumvent Nintendo's enclosed ecosystem. The newest of these tools is MIG Switch, which, as its official website explains, is a "back-up & development device for ALL Nintendo Switch consoles, regardless of their version, firmware, type."

Essentially, it's a portable tool for quickly and easily backing up all of the data on a Nintendo Switch console, whether Nintendo likes it or not. MIG Switch will be available via licensed distributors sometime this year for an as-of-yet undisclosed price. But how, exactly, does such a thing work, and more importantly, is it safe to use?

The way it works is that you stick a Switch game cartridge into the MIG Switch Dumper, then plug that into a PC to back up the data. You can then stick a regular microSD card into your PC, format it, load it with the proprietary MIG Switch software, and then add the game files to it. That modified microSD card can be plugged into the special MIG Switch Card, shaped like a Switch cartridge. Stick that card into your Switch's cartridge slot, and you can play the games you've loaded up. You can even load multiple games and swap between them by ejecting and re-inserting the card. MIG Switch claims this process can be performed on a completely vanilla Switch, with no hacks or modifications required, and that it would even keep working after Switch firmware updates.

The intention of this device is to more tangibly back up games and save data, though similar devices have been used instead to spread and play pirated games. In a warning that is displayed to visitors to the product's site, MIG Switch's developers stress that their device is not intended for this purpose.

"MIG Switch does not approve the use of its device with ROMs of games that you do not own, downloaded from the Internet or owned by a friend or any outside source," the warning reads. "Beside the fact that it is illegal, it will void our warranty and support."