Guide: How to run open source software on your Nintendo DS

Many PSP owners have already benefitted from the dedicated community of coders that have opened up the system for user-created software and modifications.  What a lot of people don’t know is that the DS is just as capable of running homebrew software, and in fact enjoys certain advantages over its cousin the PSP.  In fact, with the right hardware adapter, the DS can be transformed into a very capable music and media playback machine.

This three-part guide will introduce you to the steps necessary in order to run homebrew software on your Nintendo DS. In this first part, we will explore some of the various options on the market available to homebrewers, as well as their relative strengths and weaknesses. Later on in part 2 we discuss how to get popular homebrew software such as DS Organize up and running, and in part 3 we describe how video playback works using the popular open-source media player Moonshell.

For this first installment we will be comparing three competing homebrew solutions for the DS:  The R4, the M3 Simply, and the DS Xtreme. Each of these options works with the majority of homebrew applications, but each have their particular quirks that are worth some attention.

The DS Xtreme

The DS Xtreme is a hardware adapter that plugs direcly into the DS game slot of your Nintendo DS.  At the back of the card you can see a USB connector which allows you to transfer files from your computer to the on-board memory of the card.  The card contains 512MB of storage which is not expandable.  This should be enough space for most games and applications, however users that want to take advantage of music and video playback on their DS might feel limited by the storage constraint.

A reviewer over at MetkuMods has favorable things to say about the DS Xtreme, noting its fast USB 2.0 transfer speeds and easy drag-and-drop file management.  When playing music, the DsXtreme can also be configured to put on an LED lightshow.  The two major drawbacks to the DS Xtreme are its high price and lack of expandable storage.

Price: $120

 

 The R4 DS

The R4 provides a simple and elegant solution to multimedia and homebrew applications for the DS.  Because it uss a Micro SD card (which actually fits inside the DS cartridge) users can expand their storage space and swap new SD cards when they need more space.  Micro SD cards are reasonably cheap and can be found in a variety of sizes.  The R4 comes with a basic but functional graphic user interface for navigating between the main features of the card: backups, video playback and music.  The R4 supports a range of video and audio formats through Moonshell, notably .Mp3 and .Jpeg image files

One potential drawback to the R4 solution is that it is not geared toward the hardcore homebrew community and is reported to have limited compatibility with certain homebrew applications such as DS Doom.

Price $40 plus a Micro SD card ($20 for 1 gb)

M3 and M3 Simply

The M3 comes in two configurations.  The older (M3) uses a 2-slot system which requires that a passcard be inserted into the NDS game slot in order for the system to run files from SD card which is plugged into slot 2.  The new “Simply” version simplifies this whole process by using a Micro SD solution in slot one.  The only palpable difference between the older 2-slot solution and the newer “Simply” is that the new “Simply” version will NOT play GBA games.  If that feature is unimportant to you, then the newer M3 Simply is a superior choice over the 2-slot model. 

The M3 Simply offers very similar features to the R4: Movie and Music playback, expandable storage via Micro SD card, and homebrew software support.  Certain forums have reported that the M3 has slightly better homebrew compatibility than the R4, while developers are working to make their software compatible on these new slot one cards. 

 Price:  $44 plus Micro SD card ($20 for 1 gb)

In summary, there are a number of highly attractive homebrew solutions on the market for the DS that make running homebrew convenient and affordable.  We advise that you do not spend more than $50 on a hardware solution.  Both the M3 and the R4 offer full-featured access to the benefits of open source software, and both for under 50 dollars. It seems as though most people are moving to these new slot-1 solutions, and the older slot-2 adapters are being phased out, except for those users who absolutely MUST have GBA game support.

We have decided to go with the R4 Revolution because of its low price, feature set, and availablility in our area.  We will have a full review at Portable Video Gamer when it arrives in our anxious little hands.