3DS Flashcart Available Soon
The 3DS has been out for over two years now, and has yet to succumb to the wave of piracy that the R4 and similar devices brought to the DS. That is about to change very shortly, as a new 3DS flashcart is to be released that will allow users to play 3DS roms on their system.
The Gateway 3DS Flashcart promises an awful lot.
Gateway 3DS is the world’s first 3DS flash card!The GATEWAY 3DS TEAM proudly presents the first ever video proof that many thought impossible. Below we show an unedited video of the device booting 3 different backed up 3DS ROMS consecutively which are loaded on the GATEWAY 3DS device via microSD cards. We hope you are as excited as we are!
They have also provided video evidence:
There are a few complications. The first is that you won’t be able to update your system past firmware 4.5. The software that is used to play roms can only currently work with 4.5, anything beyond that will cause you problems. Secondly, this new device requires two pieces of kit to work. Like the R4, you place what is effectively an SD-card converter into the 3DS game slot on the console. On top of that, you’ll also need another card that slips into the DS slot.
They’ll only work together.
Thirdly, because of the second part, the Gateway 3DS Flashcart is a little more expensive than the R4 devices ever were, ranging within the £50-70 range.
Not all games are supported yet either, as some will force an update and others (Animal Crossing specifically) use special cards that must be worked around. These games will be handled on a one-by-one basis in future firmware updates for the Gateway 3DS Flashcart.
Whatever your views on piracy, this definitely isn’t a good thing for Nintendo. While the slightly more complicated procedure and higher price will bar many casual gamers from making the plunge, it’ll still enable a very specific subset of people to play games without actually paying for them. No doubt they’ll do everything in their power to make life as difficult for those people as they possibly can.
Article By Mat Growcott
Mat Growcott has been a long-time member of the gaming press. He's written two books and a web series, and doesn't have nearly enough time to play the games he writes about.
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