subject: The R4i Gold Puts Your DS Homebrew On The Nintendo 3DS System [print this page] The R4i Gold Puts Your DS Homebrew On The Nintendo 3DS System
There has been a lot of talk as of late about the new Nintendo 3DS system. Already released in Japan, and sold out on the first day of release, the North American debut comes at the end of March. The topic that getse covered most is whether or not this new hand held system will support the many homebrew ds flash cards that so many Nintendo DS owners have been using for a long time.
Ds flash cards like the r4 ds card have allowed DS owners a chance to try their hand not only at developing their own games or applications, but also to download and play freeware and homebrew games for this hand held system. It's no wonder, with several thousands freeware games and apps available online from hundreds of indie developers, that potential 3ds owners want to know whether or not they'll be able to continue to enjoy all of these features and functions on their new Nintendo 3DS.
In the last few days there have been some developments that would indicate that we will indeed be able to take all of our homebrew and freeware games, apps and multimedia and use them on day one, on the new 3DS. One of the very first ds flash cards that has now been updated with support for the new 3DS system is the R4i Gold card. It's the very first card that works perfectly on the new Nintendo 3DS system, in DS mode. Allowing people who have their homebrew on the DS, to now also be able to run them on the new system.
Keep in mind though, that the r4i gold works only in DS mode. This means that we can't expect any 3D homebrew games or apps to start popping up just yet. Though I am certain that the makers of these cards are hard at work doing their best to make their cards 100% compatible, and to also work in 3DS mode - in order to enable development of homebrew. And as in any type of industry, once one manufacturer is offering compatibility or something a little bit better than the others, everyone scrambles to out do each other. I am certain this will be the case, and more of the ds flash card makers will work to make their own product offerings compatible with the new Nintendo 3DS system as well.
As an indie game developer myself, I am going to be watching and waiting with anticipation for a fully 3DS compatible card that will actually enable me to create and re-create some of the applications I have published for the DS and DSi, as well as the games that so many people have downloaded and commented on. I can't wait to flex my coding muscles and create some fantastic 3D homebrew games. For now though, I am happy that the R4i Gold will enable all of us to at least carry our DS collection with us to the new Nintendo 3DS.
