The most widespread and famous portable console of the moment, the Nintendo DS (or Nintendo DS Lite) has a very large video game title park.
What not everyone knows is that it is also possible to run self-produced applications (also called homebrews ) or game roms, as well as view movies or listen to songs in mp3.
The main problem of the consoles is that they lack a hard disk and therefore we cannot, as we do with the PC, simply download the programs from the internet and save them on the physical disk. Unlike living room computers, however, we don't need to install programs or overcome complex protections. All we need is a particular card commonly called a " flashcard ".
There are various types of flashcards on the market, and their operating principle is quite simple and is the same for all of them: you copy the program onto a memory (of those commonly on the market, for cameras or mobile phones) that is inserted into the flashcard, loaded into the console as if it were a normal game . When the DS is turned on, it loads the card software, and allows you to start the programs loaded on it, including homebrew, rom, or programs to view movies or listen to songs. Using commercial memories up to 4 GB, it is possible to carry dozens of games on one card, leaving the originals at home.
Among the various models on the market, it is necessary to distinguish between the newer " slot-1 " models and the older " slot-2 " models .
The older flashcards must be inserted in the GBA games slot, so-called slot-2, but in order to run the games in the memory it is necessary to update the firmware of the console, an uncomplicated operation that requires removing the battery and making contact between two pins, or buy an adapter called " passkey " that fits into the top slot (slot-1)
The inconvenience of the operation, or the additional cost of the passkey, and the need to use a special program to "patch" the Roma before loading them on the card, have favored the spread of cards from slot-1
These new flashcard models are inserted in the upper compartment, as if they were a normal game for the Nintendo DS, without the need for a passkey or going to modify the firmware of the console; the roms must be loaded into the flashcard via an adapter cable to attach them to the computer, or via Micro SD.
The drawback of these modern cards is that they do not allow you to start games and homebrews designed for the GBA, and that they do not provide "rumble" options (provided by some slot-2 flashcards instead); they also usually use more expensive Micro SD memories. The cost of slot-1 cards, initially higher than those of slot-2, is going down over time and now it is not even economically convenient to use slot-2 flashcards
Almost all Roma are compatible with these flashcards, even if there are titles that for some arcane reason are not compatible with a certain specific model of flashcards. The list of the compatibility of the titles is a parameter to be taken into consideration when choosing which flashcard to buy, as well as which memory card it can use, or the capacity of its internal memory.
Given the popularity of these flashcards, Nintendo has said it will sue the flashcard retailers. It is not clear on what basis it can be declared "illegal" to use a device that does not alter the operation of the console, and at present no legal actions have been taken against the dealers; however it is becoming increasingly difficult to find them on the market or on ebay.
As far as game roms are concerned, the main flashcard manufacturers offer no information regarding where to download them; google and other search engines abundantly cover this gap.
On another article, for those who want to try the Nintendo DS, before buying it, the best nds emulators for Windows PC and for playing DS video games directly on the computer are reported.
For all the other problems, in the comments there are different solutions but the topic is still very open and I hope in everyone's support.
What not everyone knows is that it is also possible to run self-produced applications (also called homebrews ) or game roms, as well as view movies or listen to songs in mp3.
The main problem of the consoles is that they lack a hard disk and therefore we cannot, as we do with the PC, simply download the programs from the internet and save them on the physical disk. Unlike living room computers, however, we don't need to install programs or overcome complex protections. All we need is a particular card commonly called a " flashcard ".
There are various types of flashcards on the market, and their operating principle is quite simple and is the same for all of them: you copy the program onto a memory (of those commonly on the market, for cameras or mobile phones) that is inserted into the flashcard, loaded into the console as if it were a normal game . When the DS is turned on, it loads the card software, and allows you to start the programs loaded on it, including homebrew, rom, or programs to view movies or listen to songs. Using commercial memories up to 4 GB, it is possible to carry dozens of games on one card, leaving the originals at home.
Among the various models on the market, it is necessary to distinguish between the newer " slot-1 " models and the older " slot-2 " models .
The older flashcards must be inserted in the GBA games slot, so-called slot-2, but in order to run the games in the memory it is necessary to update the firmware of the console, an uncomplicated operation that requires removing the battery and making contact between two pins, or buy an adapter called " passkey " that fits into the top slot (slot-1)
The inconvenience of the operation, or the additional cost of the passkey, and the need to use a special program to "patch" the Roma before loading them on the card, have favored the spread of cards from slot-1
These new flashcard models are inserted in the upper compartment, as if they were a normal game for the Nintendo DS, without the need for a passkey or going to modify the firmware of the console; the roms must be loaded into the flashcard via an adapter cable to attach them to the computer, or via Micro SD.
The drawback of these modern cards is that they do not allow you to start games and homebrews designed for the GBA, and that they do not provide "rumble" options (provided by some slot-2 flashcards instead); they also usually use more expensive Micro SD memories. The cost of slot-1 cards, initially higher than those of slot-2, is going down over time and now it is not even economically convenient to use slot-2 flashcards
Almost all Roma are compatible with these flashcards, even if there are titles that for some arcane reason are not compatible with a certain specific model of flashcards. The list of the compatibility of the titles is a parameter to be taken into consideration when choosing which flashcard to buy, as well as which memory card it can use, or the capacity of its internal memory.
Given the popularity of these flashcards, Nintendo has said it will sue the flashcard retailers. It is not clear on what basis it can be declared "illegal" to use a device that does not alter the operation of the console, and at present no legal actions have been taken against the dealers; however it is becoming increasingly difficult to find them on the market or on ebay.
As far as game roms are concerned, the main flashcard manufacturers offer no information regarding where to download them; google and other search engines abundantly cover this gap.
On another article, for those who want to try the Nintendo DS, before buying it, the best nds emulators for Windows PC and for playing DS video games directly on the computer are reported.
For all the other problems, in the comments there are different solutions but the topic is still very open and I hope in everyone's support.
