Nintendo Switch update 4.0.0 removes hidden tribute to Satoru Iwata

Months after the Nintendo Switch released, it was discovered that NES Golf had been hidden on every copy of the Nintendo Switch. This hidden game, coded as FLOG in the Switch (backward for Golf), had been considered to be a tribute to the late Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.

At the time, the game could only be accessed if the Nintendo Switch was set to the date of Iwata’s passing, July 11th. To boot up the game, the user performing would need to perform the same gesture that the late Nintendo President did during Nintendo Directs while holding Joy-Cons.

Datamining Nintendo Switch users have found that the latest update for the handheld console hybrid, Firmware Update 4.0.0, has removed the hidden firmware. It is now impossible to launch the game, the tribute has been removed.

Update 4.0.0 has removed the official code to launch NES Golf and has replaced all the code with “garbage,” according to SwitchBrew.

There are several options as to why Nintendo removed the hidden game. The update’s erasing of the game might have been an accident or Nintendo may have removed the firmware in order to remove potential exploits that the hidden item brought.

NES Golf might have been added in secret, by a developer at Nintendo who did not have permission and upon discovery, the game was removed.

Some users believe that the hidden game was an ‘Omamori,’ which is a charm meant to bring luck or protection. Omamari are not meant to be opened, with the game being known to be hidden in the hybrid console, Nintendo could have removed it.