# Nintendo to release 3DS transfer tool save app



## heartgold (Oct 4, 2012)

Nintendo has announced next year they will release an application that will allow users to transfer save data between their physical copies to digital copies. 

http://nintendo3dsblog.com/nintendo-to-release-transfer-tool-for-moving-save-data-between-physical-and-digital-versions-of-games/

Good going, now I can sell off my physical copies and download the digital ones once the tool is released.


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## Fear Zoa (Oct 4, 2012)

Well that sure is nice of them. Although in the long run I can't help but think this will help the piracy/backup scene which is ironic to say the least.


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## 1234turtles (Oct 4, 2012)

Fear Zoa said:


> Well that sure is nice of them. *Although in the long run I can't help but think this will help the piracy/backup scene which is ironic to say the least.*


Exactly my thoughts.


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## jonthedit (Oct 4, 2012)

1234turtles said:


> Fear Zoa said:
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> > Well that sure is nice of them. *Although in the long run I can't help but think this will help the piracy/backup scene which is ironic to say the least.*
> ...


I'd say it's more of a direct challenge to hackers and devs.

It's clear that we made no progress on DSi so they probably figured that the 3DS will take the same route. (not including sudoku hax)


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## GamerzHell9137 (Oct 4, 2012)

1234turtles said:


> Fear Zoa said:
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> > Well that sure is nice of them. *Although in the long run I can't help but think this will help the piracy/backup scene which is ironic to say the least.*
> ...



Isn't that.... good  ?? ......


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## RodrigoDavy (Oct 4, 2012)

Fear Zoa said:


> Well that sure is nice of them. Although in the long run I can't help but think this will help the piracy/backup scene which is ironic to say the least.



It won't, it's relatively easy to backup and share a save file from a physical copy since it uses weak encryption that is easy to break, as long as you have the necessary hardware which I bough for $10. As for eshop titles, the save files use the same encryption as the eshop game titles themselves so not much to do with them atm.


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## Foxi4 (Oct 4, 2012)

jonthedit said:


> 1234turtles said:
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No progress? You must be joking. Several exploits were found, one of them spawned the iEvo, but I'm pretty sure that WinterMute found more. Twiizers also released DSiHacks, which are worth mentioning because they did not require a flashcart to boot. We don't have a proper DSi hack available not because it's hard to pull off, but because of utter lack of interest of the developers. The advent of the DSTwo and the 3DS rendered the platform obsolete.


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## Rizsparky (Oct 4, 2012)

Hopefully this is the first step towards  accounts on the eshop..


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## loco365 (Oct 4, 2012)

It's all nice, but we still can't get a refund for any digital downloaded-copies. If I can get a refund on my digital copy of NSMB2, and use the transfer app, then I'll consider it.


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## Minox (Oct 4, 2012)

Just going to mention it here, but they could be performing checks on the saves before they are copied to make sure that only valid data gets passed along.


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## Gahars (Oct 4, 2012)

Fear Zoa said:


> Well that sure is nice of them. Although in the long run I can't help but think this will help the piracy/backup scene which is ironic to say the least.



They'll probably have some sort checking system on there to prevent this, like Minox was saying. I don't think they would make it that easy for people... well, at least, I assume they wouldn't.


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## jalaneme (Oct 4, 2012)

heartgold said:


> Good going, now I can sell off my physical copies and download the digital ones once the tool is released.



That's madness, it really is.


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## pasc (Oct 4, 2012)

Fear Zoa said:


> Well that sure is nice of them. Although in the long run I can't help but think this will help the piracy/backup scene which is ironic to say the least.



Nintendo is trying to lend the pirat0s a helping hand because they can't figure stuff out themselves ? Blasphemy !


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## Prof. 9 (Oct 4, 2012)

I can't find any such announcement. Anyone have a proper source?


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## shakirmoledina (Oct 4, 2012)

It's like they are saying: "try us, we are ready"


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## VMM (Oct 4, 2012)

This shouldn't come as an app, it should come with an system update.


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## SifJar (Oct 4, 2012)

I don't see why people seem to think this will benefit piracy in any way.


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## VMM (Oct 4, 2012)

SifJar said:


> I don't see why people seem to think this will benefit piracy in any way.



Many PSP exploits come from loading saves.


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## heartgold (Oct 4, 2012)

Prof. 9 said:


> I can't find any such announcement. Anyone have a proper source?


Japanese mini Nintendo direct.


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## duffmmann (Oct 4, 2012)

ooh, good call, I never would have thought of such a thing, but there certainly will be a market for it.  I like how Nintendo is embracing both digital and physical releases, thats how video games should stay if you ask me, because there will always be people that like having a physical copy to hold in their hands to say they own it, as well as for collecting purposes and the booklet art and whatnot. While digital games are just great too as you don't have to go out and buy them or switch cartridges or anything of the like.  Its great to have both options.


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## heartgold (Oct 4, 2012)

jalaneme said:


> heartgold said:
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> > Good going, now I can sell off my physical copies and download the digital ones once the tool is released.
> ...



ha' maybe so. I would love to put Zelda oot in my Zelda collection folder which already has zelda 1, zelda 2, links awakening, 4 swords and minish cap. Also Mario 3D land is a perfect fit.


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## Chary (Oct 4, 2012)

This, quite honestly, is a great idea.


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## emigre (Oct 4, 2012)

heartgold said:


> jalaneme said:
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> > heartgold said:
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Yeah, that's madness.


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## Hyro-Sama (Oct 4, 2012)

WOW You're really desperate if your hoping that this tool will lead to piracy.


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## SifJar (Oct 4, 2012)

VMM said:


> SifJar said:
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> > I don't see why people seem to think this will benefit piracy in any way.
> ...


Yes, but this requires ripping them from an original cart. Which means that to get the save onto the console, you'd have to already have the corresponding original cart and a means of getting exploited save data onto said cart. At which point, you could just run the exploit using the cart. This makes no difference.

Plus an exploit =/= ability to pirate. Many PSP save-based exploits only loaded HBL, i.e. only usermode homebrew, no ISO loading.


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## VMM (Oct 4, 2012)

SifJar said:


> VMM said:
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Dunno about you, but I would be pretty happy playing Super Mario World,
Donkey Kong Country and Zelda a Link to the past.


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## SifJar (Oct 4, 2012)

VMM said:


> SifJar said:
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And what on earth has that got to do with my post? Absolutely nothing.


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## VMM (Oct 4, 2012)

SifJar said:


> VMM said:
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You said that save exploits in PSP just enable usermode homebrew, then I said that I would love that, if the same could be done to 3DS, playing emulators and stuff.
I thought it was pretty obvious the connection


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## SifJar (Oct 4, 2012)

VMM said:


> You said that save exploits in PSP just enable usermode homebrew, then I said that I would love that, if the same could be done to 3DS, playing emulators and stuff.
> I thought it was pretty obvious the connection


But that wasn't the point of my post. That was just a side note.

My point was that this won't aid in exploits at all, as if there was such an exploit, to use it one would require the original cart and a method of getting the save onto it (as this thing just rips saves from the original cart), and so one could just run the exploit on the original cart. Therefore this is of absolutely NO benefit in terms of exploits.

I added the sidenote referring to usermode homebrew because people went further than simply saying this could help with exploits but said it would help piracy. I was pointing out that even if it _did _increase the possibility of an exploit (which it won't), it *definitely* wouldn't increase the possibility of piracy.


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## raulpica (Oct 4, 2012)

SifJar already said it, but I'll point it again:

This won't help homebrew or piracy as it just trasfers a save from a physical cart back to an eShop save. Now, if there was a savegame exploit it should work FIRST on a physical copy, and _only then_ it could be adapted to work also on a digital copy.

But since there isn't a SINGLE savegame exploit, nor we do know if it'll ever be one (iirc, 3DS is well-defended from buffer overflows and stuff) this tool has NOTHING to do with homebrewing purposes.


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## pwsincd (Oct 4, 2012)

I think what people are generally refering to is the fact that the more doors ninty open the more they will forget to close behind them , therefore more chances of finding a loophole if one exisits .. The higher the monkey climbs the tree , the more it shows its ass.


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## VMM (Oct 4, 2012)

SifJar said:


> VMM said:
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> > You said that save exploits in PSP just enable usermode homebrew, then I said that I would love that, if the same could be done to 3DS, playing emulators and stuff.
> ...



But there is already a way to transfer saves from a computer to the 3DS cartridge, it's called R4i Dongle.


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## jonthedit (Oct 5, 2012)

Foxi4 said:


> No progress? You must be joking. Several exploits were found, one of them spawned the iEvo, but I'm pretty sure that WinterMute found more. Twiizers also released DSiHacks, which are worth mentioning because they did not require a flashcart to boot. We don't have a proper DSi hack available not because it's hard to pull off, but because of utter lack of interest of the developers. The advent of the DSTwo and the 3DS rendered the platform obsolete.


When the system was of interest, nothing major was done.

I still doubt the 3DS to be of interest


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## chyyran (Oct 5, 2012)

Well, will it be able to transfer saves from digital to digital?

Meh, I prefer physical copies of my game anyways, but I see the 3DS going digital in the near-future



jonthedit said:


> Foxi4 said:
> 
> 
> > No progress? You must be joking. Several exploits were found, one of them spawned the iEvo, but I'm pretty sure that WinterMute found more. Twiizers also released DSiHacks, which are worth mentioning because they did not require a flashcart to boot. We don't have a proper DSi hack available not because it's hard to pull off, but because of utter lack of interest of the developers. The advent of the DSTwo and the 3DS rendered the platform obsolete.
> ...



19 million shipped units* (Thats 19 000 000), and still not of interest?

*Source: Wikipedia


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## The Milkman (Oct 5, 2012)

pwsincd said:


> I think what people are generally refering to is the fact that the more doors ninty open the more they will forget to close behind them , therefore more chances of finding a loophole if one exisits .. The higher the monkey climbs the tree , the more it shows its ass.



No it doesnt, its ass is covered with friggn fur. Thats a terrible anology!


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## shadow1w2 (Oct 5, 2012)

I don't see the point in this tool.
Its cheaper to buy the carts since they naturally go down in price.
The digital version, NEVER go down in price no matter what.
So this could only be useful if you want to copy a friend's game save.
Which again, would be useless as you'd probably buy the cart for twenty bucks less than it costs on the eshop.

So ya, just asking for hacker exploits.
Just begging for it.

I can't wait.


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## pwsincd (Oct 5, 2012)

Zantigo said:


> pwsincd said:
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> > I think what people are generally refering to is the fact that the more doors ninty open the more they will forget to close behind them , therefore more chances of finding a loophole if one exisits .. The higher the monkey climbs the tree , the more it shows its ass.
> ...


Are they ?#
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XzO8d8n292o/TCty9aOqWYI/AAAAAAAAErU/p6ybOf_LrgI/s1600/633692792613426410-MyAss.jpg


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## SifJar (Oct 5, 2012)

VMM said:


> SifJar said:
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I know, I am well aware of that. You're really not getting my point at all here. I'll try to make it real simple.

If you are able to use the piece of software Nintendo are releasing, *you already have the original game cartridge with the exploited save on the cart*. So you can_* run the exploit from the cart.*_ This won't magically make exploits work that wouldn't work on the original cart. There is *no* advantage to having the exploited save for use with a digital version over having the same save on the original cart.

Plus the digital versions of games can be patched. The original carts can't.


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## gamefan5 (Oct 5, 2012)

SifJar said:


> VMM said:
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Excuse me? Mario kart 7 says hi.


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## SifJar (Oct 5, 2012)

gamefan5 said:


> Excuse me? Mario kart 7 says hi.


I am unaware of whatever you're referring to, but what I mean is that the actual cart won't be patched. If there is some patch for some game, it'll be done on-the-fly by the system, meaning you should be able to avoid installing the patch if you desire. With a digital copy, unless you have the exploited game already, you won't be able to download an unpatched version; with a cart, you can just buy the cart in a shop and not install the patch (might require taking 3DS offline or whatever), and the cart will still be exploitable.


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## gamefan5 (Oct 5, 2012)

SifJar said:


> gamefan5 said:
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> > Excuse me? Mario kart 7 says hi.
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Ok point taken. Thx XD


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## YoshiKart (Oct 5, 2012)

Huh, I'm surprised Nintendo would do this. It'll prove useful if I ever want to side for a eShop version for on the go (because I actually want to play some MK7 or OoT on the go but I just can't because Kid Icarus is taking too much room in my cart slot).


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## 3DSGuy (Oct 6, 2012)

SifJar said:


> gamefan5 said:
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No not really. They way the currently have setup software on the SD card, makes on the fly patches of the original data hard to do, only because they aren't installing a title, they are decrypting the data on the SD Card patching it, taking hashes and recreating the .CMD file and editing title.db, and then finally re-encrypting it which can leave room for things to go wrong. They would either have to re-download an entire patched copy of the executable, and considering the sizes of digital downloads I doubt they get away with it. Or they issue one of those add-on update patches which is more likely.

If however on the odd occasion, that Nintendo goes ahead with it's messy file modification, to patch Digital downloads. One can always revert back to the un-patched version of the title, by making sure they have a backup of their title.db and the .app/.cmd for the title in question.

EDIT: Modifying the game code in a CXI requires many followup procedures to make the CXI valid again, which can get messy:

1/ Decrypt encrypted CXI
2/ Decrypt CXI components (ExHeader, AccessDesc, ExeFS, RomFS)
3/ Apply patches to code (maybe RomFS patches too)
4/ Correct ExHeader, with new ExeFS data
5/ Take Hashes again, because the ExeFS (and maybe RomFS) changed. Take hash of ExHeader
6/ Check AcccessDesc, to verify that the right RSA pubk, for the NCCH RSA keypair is there.
7/ Encrypt CXI components
8/ Sign NCCH header
9/ Encrypt CXI
10/ Re-create .CMD file, and edit .title.db, so the new CXI is acceptable

I understand that 2-8 could be done in one step by simply selecting a region of data where the modifications are to be made, and replace. But then you have the problem of multiple versions. Say you have more than one version, of a digital download. The process would have to be performed for each update of the code. And step 10 is particularly dangerous, because you are editing the title.db by creating values from the data on the SD card, this can run the risk of accidentally signing *tampered* CXI files. But there isn't anything stopping Nintendo from redesigning there title system to some how support or enforce quick patches.

It would be much more secure to force the user to download an updated version of the title (which they do for regular eShop apps), or make them download an 'Add-on' Update, which is much more practical.


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## The Milkman (Oct 6, 2012)

pwsincd said:


> Zantigo said:
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Thats a baboon! Its barely even related to monkeys!


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## narutofan777 (Oct 7, 2012)

They should've made it like the psp save system. They are slow.


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## JonnyPoots (Mar 27, 2013)

The app is now on the eshop! (I downloaded it yesterday) The eshop has not been updated to show this (I'm pretty sure it won't till Friday) but if you search "transfer" you will get the MH3U transfer tool and the 3ds save data transfer tool. When you start it up, after a very short download, you will be prompted to download some additional data before the program will work. However, I have not tested it yet as I have no use for it.


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