You may have heard that Nintendo released an update (11.17.0-50 if you’re keeping a record) for its 3DS consoles this week. It was effectively an anti-hacking patch as it targeted a number of methods used to install custom firmware (or CFW) after Nintendo shut down their 3DS eShop.
Homebrewers and homebrewees alike took to Twitter to warn each other not to update their consoles before hacking them but within hours, the 3DS modding community had already found a workaround which works for EU and JP devices (a US update is in progress).
It’s amazing and pleasing to see the community get it done so quickly, as a middle finger up at the capitalists dictating how a “dead” console can be used by its owners. As people have rightfully pointed out, it’s overkill to prevent people from buying games at a set online price when they don’t make them anymore and then try to stop them from getting those games by any other means. If someone decides to fork over £100 for a 10 year-old 3DS game, the money is probably going to someone on eBay or Facebook Marketplace. Nintendo already got their money a decade ago. This isn’t about lost revenue; it’s about power, greed, and protection of a brand. They don’t want you to have the cake or any means of acquiring it, let alone eating it too.
