Difference between revisions of "Nintendo 3DS emulators"

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(Gosh, this page was out of date. I'm biased for Citra, but I think I've got it updated for an up-to-date *and* neutral representation~ neobrain)
(Emulation issues)
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The Nintendo 3DS '''currently has no functional emulators''' if you're looking for playing games; this is mainly because for a long time the hardware was documented only sparely, and homebrew code execution was hard to achieve. Nowadays, the hardware is better known and homebrew exploits are published. It will still take a while until emulators can be used to play games, however. Be prepared to wait.
 
The Nintendo 3DS '''currently has no functional emulators''' if you're looking for playing games; this is mainly because for a long time the hardware was documented only sparely, and homebrew code execution was hard to achieve. Nowadays, the hardware is better known and homebrew exploits are published. It will still take a while until emulators can be used to play games, however. Be prepared to wait.
  
Using other emulation scenes as a reference expect to wait 4-6 years for an emulator to play the majority of games, but it could take as long as 8-10. Buy a 3DS if you can't wait.
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Using other emulation scenes as a reference expect to wait 4-6 years for an emulator to play the majority of games, but it could take as long as 8-10. Buy a 3DS if you can't wait. sad
  
 
[[Category:Consoles]]
 
[[Category:Consoles]]

Revision as of 14:43, 6 January 2015

The Nintendo 3DS handheld console

The Nintendo 3DS is the latest handheld console by Nintendo, released in 2011. The most notable feature of this console is the use of autostereoscopic (i.e. without glasses) 3D, which can be configured using a slider.

Do not expect the 3DS to be anywhere near fully emulated for a long time. The system had only started getting hacked for homebrew quite recently, so reverse-engineering effort are still work in progress.

There are a lot of sites claiming to have a working 3DS emulator. Most of them are scams. Use common sense to distinguish the real ones from fakes. In particular, anything claiming to run commercial games should be considered malware until proven otherwise. A YouTube video is not a proof. Public source code and news sites reporting legitimacy are.

Emulators

Name Operating System(s) Latest Version Active Recommended
3dmoo Windows, Linux (nightly builds)
Citra Windows, Linux (nightly builds)
TronDS Windows, Linux 1.0.4 ?

Comparisons

  • Citra is an early in development open-source 3DS emulator, made by experienced emulator developers. It is considered experimental, and runs simple homebrew applications and is even able to render title screens of some retail games. It's not useful for actually playing games yet, however.
  • 3dmoo is another open-source 3DS emulator, made by experienced developers in the DS hacking scene. It was released shortly after Citra and has received similar progress since then.
  • TronDS is a closed-source 3DS emulator, presumably made by the iDeaS author. Little is known about it other than that it can run simple homebrew. It cannot be used for playing games.

Emulation issues

The Nintendo 3DS currently has no functional emulators if you're looking for playing games; this is mainly because for a long time the hardware was documented only sparely, and homebrew code execution was hard to achieve. Nowadays, the hardware is better known and homebrew exploits are published. It will still take a while until emulators can be used to play games, however. Be prepared to wait.

Using other emulation scenes as a reference expect to wait 4-6 years for an emulator to play the majority of games, but it could take as long as 8-10. Buy a 3DS if you can't wait. sad