The beginning of the end for freeShop - first party titles no longer downloadable

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Much to the dismay of pirates everywhere, It appears that Nintendo is finally rolling out the infrastructure changes to their Content Delivery Network to put an end to apps like freeShop, Villain3DS, TikDevil, and FunKeyCIA, among others.

For those of you that missed out, in the recent 11.8.0-41 update for the Nintendo 3DS, several changes to how the NIM service handles downloading Nintendo 3DS software from the eShop were made. The main change involves sending an encrypted copy of the user's game ticket to their server for authentication. If the server finds the ticket is invalid, or no ticket is provided, the server could deny you access to the content files you are trying to retrieve.


This level of granular per-title validation will effectively put an end to any software that relies on the open availability of content files on the Nintendo CDN to function, including freeShop, CIAngel, TikDevil, and even PC based clients such as Villain3DS, PlaiCDN, and FunKeyCIA to name a few.

However, up until earlier today, the server wasn't denying anyone downloads at all. However, multiple reputable sources have stated that the changes have begun to roll out and that it is unlikely that any workarounds will be found.

Because this followup round of changes is server side, this effects all firmware and all devices trying to download from the Nintendo CDN. Staying on 11.7 or below will not make freeShop continue to work, and before you ask, yes, software you already pirated is safe. (for now, anyway.)


At this time, it seems only various first-party Nintendo titles are affected, but it's probable that these changes will begin rolling out to all 3DS titles on the Nintendo CDN over time.

As of approximately 1 AM EST, August 22, 2018, the Nintendo CDN has applied this ticket validation method to over 2800 titles on their network.

:arrow: Source and Ongoing Discussion
:arrow: Related 3DBrew Page
Q: Will Staying on 11.7 help in any substantial way?
A: Not really. The bulk of the changes made are server side, meaning that they apply to all firmware, all platforms, everything trying to download 3DS content from the Nintendo CDN. I don't recommend updating on principle but that choice is yours to make.

Q: Do I have to delete the games I downloaded from freeShop to avoid being banned?
A: No. This ticket check is done only when downloading titles through the NIM Service on the 3DS. Not when launching games. Not when going online in games. Not when downloading or installing games through other means.

Q: What uses the NIM service to download from the Nintendo CDN?
A: The Official 3DS eShop, Official 3DS eShop Sleep Mode Downloads, and freeShop Sleep Mode Downloads. That last one is the only wild card here. We don't know what Nintendo might do if you upload an invalid game ticket to them through NIM. They could possibly use this ban you, but as of now, it doesn't seem like they are.

Q: Will there be a workaround for this in the future?
A: Almost certainly not. Don't count on it.

Q: Can you still download non-first-party 3DS games?
A: No, as of August 22, 2018, nearly all titles are requiring valid tickets to download. A complete list of titles that are blocked is available courtesy of @DMSalesman, here.

Q: Does any of this apply to Wii U content on the Nintendo CDN?
A: No. Nintendo hasn't updated the Wii U with any of this security, which they would have to do to implement this.
 
Last edited by CheatFreak47,

Ryccardo

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Freeshop shouldn't have existed.

Ever. This was one of the biggest failures on Nintendo's part. I'm glad this tool existed, though. The ease of what Freeshop offered was revolutionary. RIP.
Perhaps the funniest part of your post is that nobody had the idea in the Wii/DSi days (for which it's still viable to date)
 
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AdenTheThird

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Nooo, how am I i going to get my games i love that are so obscure its nearly impossible to get anywhere else??!
Right? This is worse than when they shut down Miiverse...
Dont judge me just because I actually used that :P

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Perhaps the funniest part of your post is that nobody had the idea in the Wii/DSi days (for which it's still viable to date)
Well, there wasn't really much profit then...
 

CheatFreak47

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It's been blow after blow this week for Piracy. Oh well, at least I'm prepared for this.
Did they fix Wii U eshop too?
Nah, Wii U is still all open download, I doubt they care enough to update that because that'd mean updating the Wii U and that's like, the biggest waste of effort and money ever at this point.
 

DarthDub

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It's been blow after blow this week for Piracy. Oh well, at least I'm prepared for this.

Nah, Wii U is still all open download, I doubt they care enough to update that because that'd mean updating the Wii U and that's like, the biggest waste of effort and moYney ever at this point.
Yet another middle finger to the 15 million Wii U owners..
 

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