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3DS

3DS Purportedly Hacked

by J.P. Corbran - September 16, 2011, 10:16 am EDT
Total comments: 22 Source: http://www.crown3ds.com/

New flash cartridge is able to run 3DS software.

The first flash cartridge capable of running 3DS software has been announced. The Crown3DS is tested to work under current 3DS firmware 2.1.0-4, and the developers are in the process of testing it with more games. There is currently no time-frame for its release, with the developers' web site only saying that more info will be released "sooner or later."

The Nintendo 3DS Operations Manual contains strong warnings about using such devices, going so far as to say that "the use of an unauthorized device in connection with your system, will render the system permanently unplayable."

Talkback

MorariSeptember 16, 2011

I didn't realize that there were even any games out for the 3DS to want on a flash cart... :P

Quote from: Morari

I didn't realize that there were even any games out for the 3DS to want on a flash cart... :P:


Maybe some DS or SNES games.

Chozo GhostSeptember 16, 2011

It begins.

leroypantweatherSeptember 16, 2011

good bye region locking fingers crossed

KeyBillySeptember 16, 2011

I'm hoping for a media player.  A better web browser would be great too, but seems less likely to come from the hacking community.  A nice alarm clock utility with more options than the DSiware stuff would be fun.

PraefectiaSeptember 16, 2011

Quote from: KeyBilly

I'm hoping for a media player.  A better web browser would be great too, but seems less likely to come from the hacking community.  A nice alarm clock utility with more options than the DSiware stuff would be fun.

Ah yes, an alarm clock.  That's why you want a flash kart.  ;)

Ian SaneSeptember 16, 2011

Quote from: Morari

I didn't realize that there were even any games out for the 3DS to want on a flash cart... :P

It's in anticipation of later releases.  This way you can get in on the piracy right from the get go and never bother with that annoying "buying games" bullshit. ;)

Chozo GhostSeptember 16, 2011

Maybe the reason why 3DS sales were so sluggish is because it hadn't been hacked yet? :P

BlackNMild2k1September 16, 2011

Maybe you're onto something.

Nintendo released the keys to 3DS on propose as the next step in their crusade to make sure the 3DS does not fail by any means necessary confirmed.

OblivionSeptember 16, 2011

And then software sales get flushed down the crapper?

ejamerSeptember 16, 2011

Without an install base there aren't any software sales anyway; no loss there.


So which happens first? Nintendo releases an automatic system update that bricks all systems using a flash card, or third parties start announcing that they are abandoning 3DS development since the system is already a hotbed of illegal piratical action?


Latest rumor: Nintendo is actually doing this just to clear out existing stock so that when they release the unhackable, totally incompatible Super 3DS Advanced in February 2012 they don't have to send obsolete systems to the landfill.




All kidding aside, I'm not really impressed. I've heard all the justifications but still don't believe that enabling (usually rampant) piracy is worth the benefits that come with hacking a system.

MorariSeptember 16, 2011

Neither happens.

Bricking systems would be idiotic give the rate of false positives inherent in any such detection system.

Developers could use piracy as an excuse to abandon the platform, but it'd be nothing more than a scapegoat. Piracy is rampant on all systems and always will be. It's better to appeal to actual customers than waste time and money worrying about potential sales.

:P

Chocobo_RiderSeptember 17, 2011

Perhaps I'm being naive here, but, aren't we getting waaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of ourselves?

This doesn't exactly sound like: "we've nailed it! games are now free!"

This sounds more like: "We mostly got one game to load up.  More coming ... later....? probably?"

Agree/disagree?

I mean, look, if it's true then so be it.  But until then, doesn't the 3DS have enough forces working against it that we don't need to throw rampant rumor/fear mongering on to the pile?

ejamerSeptember 17, 2011

Hard to say.


The website related to that product feels like they are planning to sell these cards as soon as (if?) they get everything working properly. Also, they are showing off the hardware by loading an ripped game instead of running custom code. Maybe that's just for convenience - but when the general public sees piracy as the example, most people don't think about the possibilities for homebrew as the reason to buy.



Obviously this technology isn't ready yet, and presumably it could be battled to some degree with firmware updates... but flash cards were a well-publicized problem on DS (or at the very least, perceived as a problem by both third party developers and Nintendo) so some level of concern is justified.




On the other hand the system would almost certainly be broken eventually anyway. Since we don't know how long it will take to ensure compatibility with other games, or what steps Nintendo can take with firmware updates to frustrate those efforts, maybe nobody should care that it took less than 6 months for videos of the first cards to start showing up online.

CericSeptember 17, 2011

I've posted my feeling on piracy and homebrew.  Also Region locking.

Sum it up conceptually I don't like any of them.

KDR_11kSeptember 17, 2011

I don't think this can really be defeated, unlike optical media the medium does not automatically reveal things about itself just due to its physical nature. A disc drive can tell whether it's dealing with a pressed disc or a burnt disc and some disc standards even have special sectors that must not be writable on a burnable disc so it's not possible to sell a standard compliant (and thus patent licensing) burner that can perfectly recreate a pressed disc. With flash drives there's no big manufacturing industry necessary to get everybody enough media for pirating anything they want, everybody needs only one flash drive and that's it. With discs you need enough writable discs for all the games.

I'd say Nintendo's biggest chance here is to make 3DS cart hold so much data that most games will just be gigantic and even if people can download them they can't fit more than 1-2 on a single flash cart.

OblivionSeptember 17, 2011

Why is it that the DS (and now 3DS) homebrew scene is always with flash carts? Why couldn't something be loaded into the SD card like with the Wii? I refuse to ever hack something unless it can be as easily hacked as a Wii.

Mop it upSeptember 17, 2011

I wonder how long it will take before counterfeit 3DS games start popping up on eBay, if they haven't already...

Chozo GhostSeptember 17, 2011

Quote from: Mop

I wonder how long it will take before counterfeit 3DS games start popping up on eBay, if they haven't already...

I accidentally bought a counterfeit Wii game on Ebay a few years ago. It didn't work, and I got my money back as well as reported him both to Ebay and to Nintendo, but my point is there are scammers who will sell counterfeit games on there even if they don't work at all. I don't know how they expect to get away with it, but apparently they are out there.

Mop it upSeptember 17, 2011

Just out of curiosity, what game was it, and how did you determine it was counterfeit?

I ask because it's possible for a game to have a factory defect. For example, most of the copies in the first run of the game Little King's Story didn't work.

Chozo GhostSeptember 17, 2011

It was Super Mario Galaxy. I knew immediately it was counterfeit. It didn't come in any case whatsoever, which alone would have been enough reason for me to be pissed off because it was supposed to be "Like New". It was also immediately obvious it was on a DVD-R as opposed to the real discs you'd expect, and the label thing on the disc was obviously printed on an inkjet printer as it was all washed out and it wasn't even the right logo anyway, although it was Mario. If I remember correctly there was also no manual or anything like that.

That was the first and only time I bought a counterfeit game. I think 99% of the time you can tell instantly if something is counterfeit, and you don't have to be an expert to figure it out. I don't know how people like that seller think they are going to get away with it. Ebay has a policy where you don't paid until 14 days later, which is plenty of time for someone to report you. So what is the point?

When I complained to the seller he gave me a refund immediately and told me to just throw the game in the trash, which I did, but I also reported him both to eBay and also to Nintendo.

KDR_11kSeptember 17, 2011

There's a difference between some idiot trying to make a counterfeit at home and the professional chinese counterfeiters who specialize in cartridge games.

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