Nintendo has deployed Nintendo Switch System Update 17.0.0, further improving the platform's system stability, but also packing some under-the-hood changes.
The new firmware version is available now and should download automatically if this feature has been enabled. Unfortunately, Nintendo's official release notes for this, what is supposed to be a major update going by the numbering, are once again almost absent. In the update notes, Nintendo only mentions system stability improvements - something that Nintendo has been mentioning in almost every firmware update ever since the platform's release back in 2017.
As always with system updates, however, there are some under-the-hood changes included with this update that haven't been detailed. As posted by Nintendo Switch dataminer 'OatMealDome' on Twitter, this new firmware version updates plenty of system components, which appears to be common for major system updates. "Pretty much every system component was updated", the tweet from 'OatMealDome' reads. "This is normal for major updates, as the entire OS is rebuilt with a newer SDK version. It’ll probably take a bit for those smarter than me to investigate the exact changes."
In addition to updating the Switch's system components, this new firmware version includes new error code messages, changes to HOME menu messages as well changes to some graphical user interface files. Also, time zone data appears to have been updated alongside changes to the 'bad words' lists.
Other than that, here’s what I can obviously see:
- New error code messages were added.
- Various HOME menu messages were changed. A bunch of its GUI files were also changed for whatever reason.
- Time zone data was updated.— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) October 11, 2023
[Nintendo Switch Firmware Update]
17.0.0 made some changes to the bad words lists.
“thot” and “reeee” were banned in all languages.
Various censor-evading slang for testicles in Japanese were blocked.
Other offensive terms were added for all languages as well.
— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) October 11, 2023
Although this appears to be a major system update, the changes and improvements appear to be minimal on the front. We'll update you as soon as we learn more about the undocumented changes included with this new firmware version.
The Nintendo Switch is available worldwide now. Nintendo launched the platform back in 2017, and recent rumors appear to suggest that the company is planning to launch a successor, possibly a Switch 2, somewhere next year. As pointed out recently by Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawam the company will keep focusing on the 'current' Switch business through March 2024, but will also keep supporting the platform through March 2025.
About the author: Passionate gamer since the NES era and begun writing about games in 2014. Joined Wccftech gaming section in 2015. Has owned every console since then. Can never make up his mind on what console to play. Weird sense of humor but can be funny from time to time.
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