November 6th, 2008

Nintendo DSi Piracy

Before talking about Nintendo DSi piracy and hardware modding, let's see what can be done with the "old" Nintendo DS Lite, shall we? So, you get a new Nintendo DS Lite - or a used one, it only matters that the hardware and software are in their original "state of mind" or not. By using various software and hardware tricks, you can overclock your DS, turn it into a PDA, or even use it as a Wi-Fi scanner! Obviously, it doesn't stop here, but I will stop here, because we have to talk about Nintendo DSi piracy, remember?

Just as a reminder, let me tell you that the Nintendo DSi is currently available in Japan only, the rest of the world having to wait until mid-2009, probably, if we won't get a bad luck overflow and the new handheld from Nintendo will be delayed even more. What remains to be seen is how good Japanese hardware modders can be, since the story goes like this...

According to Nintendo, the DSi doesn't allow the use of the R4 or the M3, the most popular mod chips used with the DS Lite.

Obviously, opening up your handheld and messing with it will void your warranty, but I am sure this won't stop some people at least to try and make the DSi even better. The problem is that, if you succeed in creating a mod chip that works, you may have to face legal action from Nintendo. Another obvious thing is that can only happen if you also sell that chip on the open market.

Regarding the SD slot and the potential of this data transfer method for pirates, Nintendo was quiet as mouse. If they manage to come up with something to fight this threat, then Nintendo DSi piracy rate could be extremely low, but if they don't...you can figure it out for yourselves!