A mere few hours after launching the Switch’s latest system patch, Nintendo temporarily pulls the plug on update 12.0.3.
In a historic first to the Switch, Nintendo had taken a bold move to suspend the rollout on its latest update. The action inevitably leading to speculations on what could have caused it. The most popular opinion of which is the likelihood that said update brought with it issues that may have eluded quality check. Possibly even serious enough to merit Nintendo’s immediate action to have the dissemination suddenly stopped on its tracks.
Update Description
Looking into the update itself according to the description, it doesn’t really tell much when all it states “general system stability improvements”. It is as vague as it gets and which has become a common practice in wanting to be obscure.
However, such a move would demand an explanation. On the part of Nintendo, it merely acknowledges the issue via a note in its support page. Specifically, stating:
As of June 8th, we have temporarily stopped distributing system update version 12.0.3 (released June 7th, 2021 at 5:00 PM PDT). This message will be updated when distribution is resumed.
Code Diggers
In Nintendo’s obliviousness over the matter, dataminers have been quick at their feet in solving the little mystery. One such curious individual comes with Twitter user OatmealDome who came up with some interesting finds within 12.0.3’s contents. In particular, he found out the following: OS kernel and key services-containing Package2, SSL, and a list of “bad words”.
現在、Nintendo Switchのシステムバージョン12.0.3の配信を一時的に見合わせております。
12.0.3に更新済みの本体をお使いの場合、環境によってはネットワーク接続ができなくなる状況を確認しています。
現在、対応を検討しておりますので、誠に申し訳ございませんが続報をお待ちください。
— 任天堂サポート (@nintendo_cs) June 9, 2021
The notion that the update causes issues with the Switch turns out to not be off-based, however. According to Nintendo’s Japanese Twitter account, there were complaints regarding users who made the jump to the update as it got launched. Specifically, they encounter issues with the network connection and an issue with micro-SD cards when used for the first time.
Faulty Trend
System consoles receiving a faulty update is nothing new. Time and time again, there appears updates that carry with them errors, instead of just fixes. In those cases, a follow-up patch would soon be released, often in the form of a hotfix to the problems established. But a supposed system improvement to contain a serious glitch is also bound for a more immediate response as stopping the rollout altogether.
Nintendo apparently has the issue under its control and is already working on the issue. Players can anticipate the issue to have been resolved when a new update arrives.
Image used courtesy of IGN/YouTube Screenshot