Is Homebrewing a DSi legal in Canada? I just want to cool legal things like playing ROM Hacks of games I own.

Marionerdio

New Member
OP
Newbie
Joined
Jan 3, 2022
Messages
2
Trophies
0
Age
24
XP
55
Country
Canada
Is Homebrewing a DSi legal in Canada? I just want to do cool legal things (like playing ROM Hacks of games I own, or DSi Ware titles I've already purchased on my 2DS) without doing anything illegal like pirating software.
 
Last edited by Marionerdio,

Plazorn

GBAtemp’s Dragon
Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
847
Trophies
0
Location
Ruins of Midgar
XP
2,025
Country
United States
This is legal everywhere, it just depends on how you use it. If you just do cheats then it would be legal. However, downloading roms are illegal. I have found that although some things are Illegal, no one has ever been arrested for them though.
 

Marionerdio

New Member
OP
Newbie
Joined
Jan 3, 2022
Messages
2
Trophies
0
Age
24
XP
55
Country
Canada
This is legal everywhere, it just depends on how you use it. If you just do cheats then it would be legal. However, downloading roms are illegal. I have found that although some things are Illegal, no one has ever been arrested for them though.
Sound good, All I'm doing is playing Roms and ROM hacks of games I own. Do you know if there's a certain kind of homebrew I can install that has no capabilities of illegal activity?
 

Plazorn

GBAtemp’s Dragon
Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
847
Trophies
0
Location
Ruins of Midgar
XP
2,025
Country
United States

FAST6191

Techromancer
Editorial Team
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
36,798
Trophies
3
XP
28,284
Country
United Kingdom
We figure for Canadian residents there is about a 2% chance per annum that the CSIS and CSE join up to kick in your front door if you so much as touch anything that messes with the software running of a DSi.

More seriously there is probably a lawsuit, historical or current, that slapped a mod chip maker/flash cart seller, possibly even one that was not selling ROMs or some piece of law some paid shills for tech companies shoved in during the 90s when most politicians were born in the 40s to give them all the power (I don't know for Canada but everywhere else in the world tends to get that, and harmonising trade with the US also tends to mean that). Unless you are selling flash carts or ROMs then nobody cares, people walk through airports all the time, I have not heard of anything being stopped in customs in years (and even then would probably only have been a crate of the things for a flash cart seller)... we would not advise it but you could probably go show a policeman and they are more likely to ask how you did that so they can do it for their kids than they are to slap the cuffs on (not to mention it is generally a civil affair anyway).

As far as "prevent me from doing illegal things" then that can mean a few things in flash cart and mod chip world. Traditionally that meant region free and homebrew (the PS1 having a few such chips), no means of running commercial ROMs/isos without further modding. Some may have also extended that to cheats. If you want to do ROM hacks that necessarily means commercial ROMs need to be run.
For the DS and DSi you are then going to be very limited*, especially if ROM hacks and cheats are your goal. Instead figure out your own morals and play to them instead -- don't download ROMs you don't own a copy of (indeed some would suggest you dump your own). Flash carts and hacked firmware being your choice for the DSi, personally I like flash carts but there is something to be said for hacked firmwares these days.

*technically there are one or two flash carts with no commercial abilities -- some things from datel (see games and music for one) and ironically enough supercard (who otherwise arguably have the best in class flash cart for the DS) in the iplayer. There are hacks for the former to do things. I also don't know if they will boot on a stock DSi, though I guess you could mod it to boot.
I don't know if there is a nerfed version of the DSi firmware hacks like we see for the 3ds and Switch at times, not to mention most laws tend to be phrased around bypassing protections which those will necessarily have done to boot in the first place and again if we are seeking the ability to do ROM hacks as part of this then that is going to be difficult to do anything there as the poor little cheat engine will not be able to keep up with the mountain of cheats needed to adapt the average hack to cheat format (if your cheat patch is measured in megabytes then the cheat format will probably be twice that at minimum... I would be mightily impressed with cheat engines that make it past about 100 lines of cheats per game, never mind the complicated extra setups that would likely be needed for that one), and nobody has yet done any file replacement stuff for the DSi that I have seen (some for the 3ds and switch).
 

raisinsinspace

Member
Newcomer
Joined
Jul 23, 2021
Messages
10
Trophies
0
Age
36
XP
212
Country
Canada
you could probably go show a policeman and they are more likely to ask how you did that so they can do it for their kids

I have had this exact experience. I was being arrested for public intoxication, had my CFW PSP with me and drunkenly decided to brag about all the illegal things I did with it. I could feel myself sobering up as his expression went from annoyed to intrigued.

Got a ride home after a short demonstration and instructions on what to Google.
 

CoolMe

That's the way she goes..
Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Messages
7,376
Trophies
1
Age
29
XP
32,421
Country
United States
Is Homebrewing a DSi legal in Canada? I just want to do cool legal things (like playing ROM Hacks of games I own, or DSi Ware titles I've already purchased on my 2DS) without doing anything illegal like pirating software.
Then you should follow this guide on how to install TWilightmenu++ in order to run DS/DSiWare games (unless you want to use an R4, then there's a guide for that as well). There is some emulators that come with it like GBARunner2 and others but the performance of these emus varies from game to game, and it's up to you if you want to use them or not.
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

Recent Content

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    [He will] only make $1.5 million per night after taxes. Poor guy
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    My stupid computer chair keeps slowly going down, but I don't notice it goes down, until I'm like reaching up to my desk. I just bought this f er last year.
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    Does Bruno Mars is gay?
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    K3nv2 would know...
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Only for Bakers
    +1
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    I heard he has a Wario fetish, but only if no Wizards are around.
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    jk with you Bakerman, much love. fist bump.
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    He really knows how to kneed the dough
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    Man. I can't wait til CTGP 8 comes out on Switch, been waiting forever.
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    Boners Makes me wanna play Duck Hunt NES
    +1
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Pooping nice
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    What is a "Poop de Boop"? I've heard it mentioned several times now but have no idea and can't find anything online bout it. Is it a British term for restroom/bathroom or something?
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    It is a perfume
    +1
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Why do we have virgin islands if it's populated
    +1
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    They should change the name to K3Nv2's Mom islands. (Or before he responds, My Wifeys Islands)
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Nah me saying that's more predictable than you talking about my mom
    +1
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Hence urewifes so predictable she'd buy every man on the virgin islands
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Or they buy her
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    true dat, on that note I'ma try go get some myself, peace!
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Guess she doesn't need to be bought she has your money
    +1
    K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2: https://youtube.com/shorts/-GDjDECLDG0?si=MNEjk8rkmioj1xE2