Gaming fans burst with excitement earlier this week when it was revealed the Nintendo Switch has the 1984 NES Golf game hidden within its firmware.
Fans who discovered it claimed the game has even been updated to support motion controls – meaning it would work with the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers.
I did it, i got NES golf on my switch homescreen. pic.twitter.com/xIyxCpxh0i
— Wuff (@welshwuff) September 17, 2017
According to Switch-focused DIY software mining site SwitchBrew, among others, the game is embedded into the console’s firmware alongside an NES emulator – all of which are found in files labelled “flog”, or golf backwards.
Now it has even been suggested that the game has been programmed to only work on July 11 – the date when former Nintendo president and much-loved gaming figure Satoru Iwata died in 2015.
Golf is imbedded in the Switch firmware and JP internet is calling it an “omamori” or charm from Iwata (he coded the game himself)
— Justin Epperson (@sprsk) September 20, 2017
It’s also claimed that the game can only be unlocked on that date by making a motion with the Joy-Con controllers often used by Iwata in Nintendo Direct broadcasts.
But even though the game has been discovered, no official means of playing it have yet been found.
gonna try activating golf on my switch dev kit later cause i can override the time settings on it :0
— nikki lombardo (@charblar) September 20, 2017
The discovery of the game and the NES emulator is probably part of Nintendo’s testing and planning ahead of the introduction of a paid online service coming to the Switch next year, which is set to see other classic NES games including the original Super Mario Bros come to the console.
