Hacking Gateway 3DS working on the New Nintendo 3DS.

[Wilhelm]

Oh, I feel dumb I always thought it was because a bunch of otakus wanted to play Japanese games or smth.

I used to think it was for weeaboos myself. But... I dunno, after seeing games I want that I can't get in the US back in the GBA/PS2 era, I changed my mind.

 

[KidIce]

SERIOUSLY?!? What gamer worth his salt doesn't want region free?!?

Not everything you would enjoy playing is released in your region. Whether you know this or not it is still fact. And it isn't even a matter of translation, many titles I want to play have been released in Europe (in English) and not the USA. Why the hell wouldn't I want to play them if I could? How can one not understand this?

 

[NutellaSwirl]

I used to think it was for weeaboos myself. But... I dunno, after seeing games I want that I can't get in the US back in the GBA/PS2 era, I changed my mind.

How do you manage playing those games though? Are there english patches, or do you just follow a translation script?

 

[Apache Thunder]

Think of it this way, when Gateway first released on 4.5 firmware and the next firmware that came out that blocked it, they updated their cart/software to enable emunand. This allowed future games to run on it without updating the system nand and to this day, there is still 4.5fw users who can still play all the latest games.

Now imagine if Sky3DS came around at the same time. It got blocked perhaps in v5.0 or v6.0. Now think about all the games that came out that required a firmware greater then what this imaginary Sky3DS of the past would work on and you will see how flawed the product design is. The concept of how it works isn't what the problem is. It's the fact that it can't be flashed with new software to get around future blocks.

It makes it no better then the original R4. It's an early adopter type of device that isn't fully flushed out feature wise. Sure it's cool to have one for the sake of bragging to others that you can pirate all the games with ease and be the first to do so on 9.x firmware 3DS consoles but it's a terrible investment for the price it retails at given that it becomes a disposable product once a firmware update blocks it. It's overpriced and has a severe limitation that I fell really makes it a really bad investment once an update blocks it. The only reason the R4 lasted as long as it did was merely because the security of the original DS is terrible. We don't live a world with a static console that doesn't get updates anymore. It's now a never ending cat and mouse game with Nintendo and being one step ahead by updating the flaschart to get around firmware blocks.

Any decent DS flashcart of the days of old added updateable firmware to their cartridges once the DSi hit the scene and introduced the concept of up-datable firmware via wifi/gamecard. The days of releasing fixed non updatable carts like the R4 and it's clones are over. Any product that does not feature updatable firmware at the hardware level (not the "menu" firmware you see when it boots up) should be avoided. It doesn't matter if it was a Gateway or something from another company. It's just a plum bad idea and the fact that a $100 device like the Sky3DS doesn't even have a method of updating it to get around firmware blocks is a **king disgrace.

If this thing retailed at $20 or $25 then perhaps a product this flawed can be justified as being a el-cheapo device to get a quick fix for playing games. But it's overpriced up the ass right now.

Saying that it's good to see flashcarts go back up in price is an assbackwords way of looking at the market. This device is step back in terms of technology compared to Gateway and it's clones. It only emulates cartridges and does so poorly. It clearly does not cost $80+ to mass produce it. If it was higher end and was flashable to get around updates, I can see the price making sense.. But as it is now...It's clearly an overpriced product designed to milk ignorant customers of their money and once an update comes to block it, they may release a new flashcart revision or just close up shop and run with the money.

I may have my own qualms with how Gateway does things (like the whole bricking incident). But they have a proven track record of updating the existing products they sold to work on future firmware releases. Both via updates to their exploit package and the internal firmware to their flashcart and despite that it still remains cheaper then a simple Sky3DS emulation cart.

 

[PokeBomb]

I have my hopes set on the 2nd. If it doesn't come out then, I'm just gonna give up and wait for March :/

Wait for March... You can't be serious... I'll just buy a 4.5 3ds if that's an option

 

[2Hack]

ranty rant rant rant

TL;DR: GW > Sky

I refuse to read all that

 

[NutellaSwirl]

Wait for March... You can't be serious... I'll just buy a 4.5 3ds if that's an option

Haha who am I kidding... I'll probably sit at my laptop refreshing the Gateway page every 5mins like I am right now, telling myself the update will come tomorrow.

 

[2Hack]

Haha who am I kidding... I'll probably sit at my laptop refreshing the Gateway page every 5mins like I am right now, telling myself the update will come tomorrow.

Give it at least until Monday night

 

[Sys7em]

I have my hopes set on the 2nd. If it doesn't come out then, I'm just gonna give up and wait for March :/

Where did March come from ? Speculation?!

 

[Wilhelm]

How do you manage playing those games though? Are there english patches, or do you just follow a translation script?

Like KidIce said, European games are multi-language and often include English. And yes, there are translation patches often for Japanese games. Final Fantasy Type-0, for example. Or going just slightly retro, the original Persona titles. Not to mention companies tend to edit US releases because many Americans (not all or even most, obviously) get get butthurt over having minor values offended, or the skill levels required to play are lowered for the US release because (and I don't totally disagree) they actually have to be. Not trying to offend anyone, obviously. But yeah, there are many many many reasons for region free.

 

[T1BillionX]

The hype is ruining y'alls lives

 

[Madao64]

My Gateway and my two 9.2 3ds have collected some serious dust after the past couple weeks. I haven't touched my 3ds because Gateway said the update is "just around the corner." Exactly how big is this damn corner. How long do I have to wait to use a product I paid $79 for? How soon is soon? Why do I still have all these unanswered questions? Gateway you are killing me with this delay man. You made a video of your flash card working on 9.2, so it me believe this is nearing completion. What's the hold up? Just release the 9.2 update and worry about all the other firm wares later.

The corner is as big as the galaxy. It'll take millions of light years before we can even catch a glimpse of the edge.

 

[Wilhelm]

The hype is ruining y'alls lives

There is no hype, only Zuul.

 

[NutellaSwirl]

Where did March come from ? Speculation?!

I think that's when 2.0 was released, after like a 7 month wait or something.

 

[Wilhelm]

I think that's when 2.0 was released, after like a 7 month wait or something.

Let's hope that doesn't happen again... >_<

 

[DarkShinigami]

welp my body is running very low on hype.

but when the update comes all i gotta say is my body is reggie.

 

[Madao64]

Why is region free such a big deal for so many people? Isn't it sort of pointless unless you understand Japanese?
Genuinely curious, because I feel I may be missing something.

Because of many Japan exclusive games that we'll miss out on since their Japan exclusive. And yeah, even though it is somewhat pointless without understanding Japanese, has that ever discouraged us? In fact, unless it's a heavy text based game or of the sort, action games like Monster Hunter and EX Troopers shouldn't be too hard to get by.

That and the PAL/US exclusives. Which for reasons I know not are not released in both regions even though English is used on both versions. -_-;

 

[Madao64]

How do you manage playing those games though? Are there english patches, or do you just follow a translation script?

A couple of methods:

1. Learn Japanese (Tricky business, but quite worth it)

2. Look online for translation guides. (English patches are not known of at the moment. Give it about a year or so to pop up.)

 

[DarkShinigami]

Because of many Japan exclusive games that we'll miss out on since their Japan exclusive. And yeah, even though it is somewhat pointless without understanding Japanese, has that ever discouraged us? In fact, unless it's a heavy text based game or of the sort, action games like Monster Hunter and EX Troopers shouldn't be too hard to get by.

me personally i like region free for rhythm games cause music is a universal language.

for example i played all the project diva games and not knowing japanese never took from the enjoyment. i mean the first time i played it it was trial and error to find out what does what.

 

[PLEYOR]

Give it at least until Monday night

Monday... Of which week? /sarcasm .