You’ve got all these computers, do something cool with them

Most of us have at least some form of gaming device, be it a dedicated console or a handheld. More often than not, it’s been locked down by its manufacturer, to prevent the user from using it as what it is – a computer. There’s a rich community built around homebrewing, or breaking those boundaries, giving fun new uses for your old (and newer) systems, and the main draw: piracy! This article intends to be a cursory overview of some of the coolest things you can do. These are just starting points – I suggest going to gbatemp.net to learn more about how each system works, and as always, Google is your friend. Think creatively! I have a friend who used a Nintendo DS as an offline PDA and a VOIP phone. Why buy a Palm Pilot when you can use DSOrganize?

Nintendo DS

Using a DS for homebrew is as easy as buying a Chinese flash cartridge off the net, meaning it’s pretty much the easiest system to tinker around with.

Flash cards – available in two varieties, Slot-1 and Slot-2 (for original and DS Lite). Use them to play ROMs and run homebrew applications. Because of their comparability and extended features, I recommend the Supercard DS One for Slot-1 (DS mode), and the Supercard CF/Mini SD for Slot-2 (for GBA mode), the reason being that the DS One can use the CF as a RAM expansion, and serves as a No-Pass. Supercards have the most features and widest compatibility – get one. Other options are the R4 and CycloDS, but they’re not as cool.

Passme/NoPass is the name of the protocol which runs off a Slot-1 card, to boot homebrew from Slot-2. If you want to use a Slot-2 card, you’ll first need a Slot-1 that supports booting, such as an R4, a Superkey, or any Slot-1 Supercard. Fun fact: Action Replay DS has a hidden key command at boot to launch NoPass.

Flashme¹ – use a Passme/NoPass card to install custom firmware to the DS. Lets you launch Slot-2 carts from the main menu, and speeds up your boot time.

GBAccelerator DS² – a small modchip to overclock your DS, for shits and giggles.

Recommended applications – Moonshell media player, DSOrganize, DSLinux, lameboy, snes9x, SvSIP (turn your DS into a VOIP phone!).

PSP

Hacking a PSP is a bit harder, the idea is to flash custom firmware in order to load homebrew. Your success will vary depending on the model you have. In general, the original 1000-series is the easiest to modify, followed by early 2000 models, which vary based upon the motherboard inside. Follow this guide³ as your choice of firmware and model will vary based on your circumstance.

There are a ton of well-made emulators for the PSP, making it one of the best portable emulation platforms out there. Some suggestions: Snes9x, gpSP kai, PSPKVM. There’s also a Cave Story port.

Playing PS1 games. Because the PSP has a builtin PS1 emulator, you can feed it PS1 ISOs with varying results. There are a lot of PS1 games you can run flawlessly on the PSP which haven’t been officially ported, see this guide⁴ for more info or grab some of the PSX2PSP EBOOT files off emuparadise.org.

3DS

There are a few flash cards out for the 3DS, the AceKard and Sky3ds for example, but the leader is definitely Gateway. You can play 3DS and DS ROMs off it, as well as run basic programs to manipulate the emuNAND and system firmware. The scene’s still evolving, so there aren’t as many good homebrew applications out. However, many DS homebrew applications will also run on the 3DS in DS mode, and it’s hard to beat free stuff.

At the time of writing, systems with the newest firmware will need to downgrade using the exploit found in Cubic Ninja to use Gateway 3.1, either through the physical game, or a ROM on a Sky3DS. Still, I think the 3DS has a promising future, both as an emulation platform, and also as an NFC reader (in the new 3DS/XL models).

Wii

Softmodding a Wii is pretty damn easy, but it can get surprisingly complex once you really start messing with the internals, and it’s easy to wind up with a brick. Ask yourself what you want to do, and follow some of the tutorials on GBATemp to help guide you through the process of getting there. Most Wii’s nowadays will use System Menu version 4.3, which requires an exploit to load unsigned code, and install the Homebrew Channel from there. I suggest using Letterbomb to load the HackMii installer.

After that, you’ll want to enable fake signing homebrew, a la the Trucha bug. To do this, you need to install some form of custom IOS, such as d2x. After that, the gate lies open…

Some homebrew highlights: DVDX (lets your Wii play DVD movies), USB Loader GX, Triiforce (for installing channels to flash drive emuNAND), Project M (awesome Smash Bros mod), Wii Web Server, WiiBrator (I’m sure you’ll find a use), Ocarina/GeckoOS (cheating in games), DIOSMIOS (load Gamecube games off an SD card). There’s also a slew of emulators for just about any system you could ever want – the Wii is definitely the go-to emulation center.

PS3

Hacking a PS3 is problematic, because you’ll need one with a firmware of version 3.55 or lower. There’s a good chance that any one you buy at the store or anywhere else will have been updated to a newer one. Unless you want to spend money on an E3 Flasher, or pay someone to downgrade an existing console, I suggest you buy a fresh 3.55 system off Ebay, and install custom firmware from there. Still, if you get it running, then you’ll have a decently powerful device under your control, which makes a great server or media center.

Fun things to do. Mine bitcoins with cellminer.⁵ Get rid of your cable and/or Netflix subscriptions, and stream anime and movies with Showtime through Navi-X. Play Metal Gear Online.⁶ Install Multiman, run FTP and web servers, and play pirated games.