Hacking Is the GW card just an expensive DRM dongle?

[d0k3]

Someone here wrote that Gateway is 'just a dumb card', which got me thinking. It actually looks like all the brains and muscle of the GW is in its software nowadays. Rather than doing something actually useful, the GW card works as a DRM dongle for the GW software. Sure, you can load game backups from the GW card, but that's just one of two ways (the other being .CIA installation to internal SD), and not even the superior one. I'm pretty sure there's some stuff (downgrading, NAND backup, ...) you can do with GWs launcher dat without even needing the card now. I can't try, though, because all of their official mirrors are down now, and I haven't found any alternatives.

And, just for the protocol (and to prevent flaming): This is not my personal 'let's crack the GW software' thread. I'm just theoretically interested. I'm pretty sure, given what they did earlier they'll brick our precious little 3DS consoles into oblivion if we even so much as thought about that. Also, this is not a 'SKY3DS is superior to GW' thread. GWs software most definitely is superior to that of the SKY3DS, and, without team GWs efforts, the community wouldn't stand where it is now.

 

[nolimits59]

Someone here wrote that Gateway is 'just a dumb card', which got me thinking. It actually looks like all the brains and muscle of the GW is in its software nowadays. Rather than doing something actually useful, the GW card works as a DRM dongle for the GW software. Sure, you can load game backups from the GW card, but that's just one of two ways (the other being .CIA installation to internal SD), and not even the superior one.

Also, I'm pretty sure there's some stuff (downgrading, NAND backup, ...) you can do with GWs launcher dat without even needing the card now. I can't try, though, because all of their official mirrors are down now, and I haven't found any alternatives.

And, just for the protocol (and to prevent flaming): This is not my personal 'let's crack the GW software' thread. I'm just theoretically interested. I'm pretty sure, given what they did earlier they'll brick our precious little 3DS consoles into oblivion if we even so much as thought about that. Also, this is not a 'SKY3DS is superior to GW' thread. GWs software most definitely is superior to that of the SKY3DS, and, without team GWs efforts, the community wouldn't stand where it is now.

Regarding emunand stuff, i kinda agree, but i do prefer the way you load your backup with the gateway, avoiding the LONGGGG process of installing cia...

 

[OuahOuah]

Not a news : yes, the RED card is a DRM thing.
It would be possible to launch .3ds games from SD card instead.
You can launch .3dsx from SD, so would be possible to do the same for games.

 

[Leslie White]

For all the things GW card can do, I don't think it's that expensive !

 

[osm70]

The card is useless even if you use 3DS roms. It is possible to load them from SD card, but no one did it.

 

[Oishikatta]

Well it's already been reversed and published (excluding patches to allow piracy).

You would sooner see a non-gateway CFW than a cracked gateway though (and they exist!).

The main thing was until very recently that there wasn't any way to get .cias installed without a .cia installer. So even with gateway emunand you'd need the red card's microsd to run a .3ds of devmenu to install the .cia of devmenu. Now we have FBI that runs from ninjhax.

Anyone who can read enough ASM can have their own CFW now, and once one of them is released I think we might not see any more of gateway.

 

[guitarheroknight]

It is and it isn't. In the beginning you had to rely on the card since it did basically what Sky does now but as time passed they expanded and introduced some new features like cia installation and the multi-rom menu. If you're using only cia files like me than yes, it's a DRM, if you're using it for roms then I wouldn't just call it a DRM even though it's most likely possible for someone to make a ROM loader without the need of a card. But who knows, right?

 

[d0k3]

Well it's already been reversed and published (excluding patches to allow piracy).

So, is that the base of some of the CFWs we have now? Or is the reversed 'anti-piracy' GW software available from somewhere?

 

[koziakauzu]

In short, non-piracy developer knights are not defending ethics but maintaining their friends (GW team) business.
Or they are probably simply dumb.

 

[Oishikatta]

So, is that the base of some of the CFWs we have now? Or is the reversed 'anti-piracy' GW software available from somewhere?

No, the 4.x CFWs that are public are all the same leak.

yifan_lu did a very nice writeup on gateway's current exploits.

http://yifan.lu/2015/01/17/reversing-gateway-ultra-stage-3-owning-arm9-kernel/

In short, non-piracy developer knights are not defending ethics but maintaining their friends (GW team) business.
Or they are probably simply dumb.

The fact is that gateway has been very beneficial to 3ds development. Better to take from gateway and use privately than to release a public 9.x CFW and scare them off permanently.

 

[migles]

someone finally fired the shots!

how did people didn't realized that gateway card is just a way to get money from piracy. If people really tried, we already had ways to use hacks in much cheaper or even free ways..
come on.. the first exploit was abusing the DS profile, that could be done with a normal DS card.
later we get game save exploits, that are just like the ones we had on psp.. there was a time people where selling pandora batteries, but you could create your own...

gateway is only getting away because its the only thing we have...

Margen67
like this?

 

[Flayim]

I hope someone just butt-fucks gateway by hacking their launcher.dat and making it boot into "gateway" mode but with devmenu already installed. Then we can watch as they fall and die out.

 

[kheldar]

So kinda off-topic here, has anyone heard from GW team lately? I mean it's kinda suspicious all their official mirrors are down. One wonders if they are really leaving the scene.

 

[NicEXE]

Well it streams the ROM into your system so its not entirely software

 

[cearp]

how did people didn't realized that gateway card is just a way to sell piracy..

? basically everyone realize that gw is a card to provide piracy - it's the main reason most of us have bought it.

 

[Arkansaw]

gw is already dying as post 9.2 consoles becoming commonplace, maybe they are focusing on sky3ds which makes them more money now

 

[Deleted User]

I hope someone just butt-fucks gateway by hacking their launcher.dat and making it boot into "gateway" mode but with devmenu already installed. Then we can watch as they fall and die out.

Unfortunately if they die out, who will crack the 9.6 encryption for New 3DS? They're the only ones that can crack it. When we will start to see new 3ds games encrypted with the 9.6 new 3ds crypto, then you will cry out for a hero...

And incase you did not notice it yet, none of the 3ds devs are willing to release something piracy related...

 

[gamesquest1]

well at least its not a useless drm dongle like with the ps3 where the sole purpose of it was to lock it down, it does have its uses, despite people who like to be all "we should never have to pay for anything"....remember the hacking progress isnt cheap, so parts require funding, and look at what happened with the "community" driven attempts to get the 3DS decapped....yeah the money was stolen, so really GW is more of a forced donation to keep the scene going forwards rather than being stuck on 4.x with no 7.x keys and no n3DS support

 

[Arkansaw]

why release when there is nothing to be made? they will just make a deal with gw for a cut of the spoils probably

 

[zoogie]

So kinda off-topic here, has anyone heard from GW team lately? I mean it's kinda suspicious all their official mirrors are down. One wonders if they are really leaving the scene.

Garyopa says the big N is on a DMCA takedown blitz. He says not to worry they'll use .cn sites if they have to.