Rumor: DSi hacked, world surprised it took so long
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Nov 4th 2008 at 4:55PM }
Just imagine how annoyed you would be if the planet's numerous hackers, modders and programmers sought to address you every time they wanted to prove the effectiveness of a piece of code. The "Hello World" proof of concept is customary, but oh so rude. People always leave poor World hanging after that.
In any case, it would appear that the latest voice to join the choir of electronic greetings is Nintendo's newest portable wonder, the DSi. According to an unverified Youtube video, provided by one "Yasusoft" (developer of the YSMenu custom DSTT menu) and embedded after the break, the camera-equipped device has already fallen prey to software tinkering. Posters on GBATemp speculate that the hack sore used a modified TIFF image file to cause a buffer overflow.
Well, obviously. We totally knew that. Didn't we, World? Hello?
[Via GBATemp, DS Fanboy]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Khan @ Nov 4th 2008 4:59PM
With straight-up SD compatibility, i'm not surprised.
Though it probably has tougher firmware to crack
Schoon @ Nov 4th 2008 7:35PM
It's funny, the buffer overflow exploit is one of the oldest, and yet Nintendo has fallen for it several times... (see Twilight Princess hack)
I don't think that will change. Check your damn pointers, Nintendo.
Erik Stroud @ Nov 4th 2008 5:03PM
Not surprised. I figured the TIFF image thing would happen, but not this early. I was expecting around December. I still wont buy this though, just because of a lack of a GBA slot.
JSG @ Nov 5th 2008 11:37AM
You are missing the genius potential of the DSi.
Since they gutted the GBA slot... and put in on-board memory... what do you think manages the onboard memory? Very likely, the same processes which managed the GBA!
So a hack, IMO, can have great potential, allowing a DSi Slot-1 device not only direct access to the onboard memory, but also allowing GBA Roms to be run from the onboard memory space.
Erik Stroud @ Nov 5th 2008 3:07PM
I doubt it. It would take lot of modifiction to the firmware to enable that. The onlyway I see GBA on DSi is through an emulator. Which won't run full speed for all games.
reign-♥-of-♥-love @ Nov 4th 2008 5:17PM
awesome! i mean ill give money to nintendo to buy the thing, but buying cartridges for 40 bucks is where i draw the line. piratebay here i come!
Bigfoot @ Nov 4th 2008 5:25PM
Oh no, $40?!?! Noooooooooo!
uranutan3 @ Nov 5th 2008 8:34PM
Compared to zero dollars, that's quite a lot of money for some people.
The Fatass of Kickassness @ Nov 4th 2008 9:14PM
#1 - You only pay $40 for shitty Square Enix remakes.
#2 - ThePirateBay sucks. Megaupload link sites + Cryptload or jDownloader = bliss.
Lavat @ Nov 4th 2008 5:23PM
Rrrrrrr.....The pirates have landed and they have come to take yer booty.
BlaqueBeird @ Nov 4th 2008 5:42PM
My firmware brings all the pirate to the yard, and they're like, it's easier to crack than yours.
TheOverlord#2 @ Nov 4th 2008 5:26PM
Nice tags. :P
Jody Anthony (gamertag and psn: JodyAnthony) @ Nov 4th 2008 5:27PM
why is it always a modified tiff image causing a buffer overflow?
Zertoss @ Nov 4th 2008 5:32PM
http://www.absoluteanime.com/kirby/tiff.htm
?
aliquis @ Nov 5th 2008 1:41PM
Check the thread on gbatemp about the video, somewhere among the first 5 or so pages there is a link and some quote about how tiff uses pointers within the file for it's data or something such. So I guess as long as you trust the file to be valid you'll get into troubles.
And libtiff has had multiple buffer overflows so if they use that instead of implementing their own I guess they will all be affected once someone find a bug.
Ridgecity @ Nov 4th 2008 5:28PM
I guess homebrewers will be happy. And probably Nintendo made the firmware upgradable now.
zombiejesus @ Nov 4th 2008 5:31PM
Will this new Ds have firmware updates? If not then HURR HURR HURR
KeenCommander @ Nov 4th 2008 5:32PM
Everyone who thinks this is "just for piracy" must not have ever used DS homebrew. There's a lot of good homebrew games for it. AmplituDS is quite possibly the best game for the system...though it needs more songs.
zombiejesus @ Nov 4th 2008 5:41PM
I used the homebrew emulator to emulate pirated roms. Homebrew is usually not that amazing unless your talking about the iphone homebrew scene then yes it's amazing.
Mr Khan @ Nov 4th 2008 5:42PM
Mother 3 English can be used via DS homebrew also, right?
zombiejesus @ Nov 4th 2008 5:44PM
The psp can emulate it but not the ds.
AmishPhysicist @ Nov 4th 2008 6:10PM
Yeah. I think you've got to use the GBA slot to play mother 3 on the DS. No SD slot GBA (yet).
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Nov 5th 2008 12:31AM
Mr. Khan:
Yes, you can play modified GBA games on a DS.
You'll either need a Slot-2 flashcart (which usually has a GBA mode to run in as well as DS mode), or a slot-2 accessory (such as the EZ Flash 3-in-1) to go along with a slot-1 flashcart.
Wes @ Nov 4th 2008 6:12PM
In response to Zombie Jesus...
If you can't find high quality DS homebrew its because you are not looking.
Just a few Amazing Ds Homebrew not found on other hand helds off the top of my head :
Colors!
LoneWolf DS Book 1 and 2.. ( 3 in developement )
Mario Paint Composer
Still Alive DS
Pocket Physics
All of these are arguably commercial quality and not available elsewhere.
Premature ejaculation man @ Nov 4th 2008 6:12PM
If TIFF's are so exploitable (PSP, iPhone, iPod Touch, now this), why do these products support them?
Josh (be logical; vote for Obama) @ Nov 4th 2008 6:30PM
Go ahead and hack your DSi all you want, but don't even think about playing pirated DS games on it. I'd say that Game Boy games are fair game (maybe even Advance now that the slot is gone), but don't ever pirate modern games.
Homebrew's A-OK, though.
uranutan3 @ Nov 4th 2008 7:28PM
thank you oh great god of morals
Josh (be logical; vote for Obama) @ Nov 4th 2008 7:31PM
My morals are right and you know it.
And even when it comes to old games, pirate those with caution. It's still piracy, after all.
uranutan3 @ Nov 4th 2008 7:36PM
I'm not saying they're not. I'm pointing out how silly you seem posting that.
Josh (be logical; vote for Obama) @ Nov 4th 2008 8:27PM
Yeah but it's the Internet, so seeming silly is sometimes the point.
Pedobear @ Nov 5th 2008 3:25AM
Maybe I would care about buying games for the DS, but I don't. I simply don't have the cash to go out and buy the games that come out for the thing when I'm already buying games for my PS3 and 360. I've purchased like 10 DS games in my lifetime. I'm pretty sure 10 games is higher than the average attach right so I figure I've done my part for Nintendo.
Pedobear @ Nov 5th 2008 3:26AM
rate*...
Chris @ Nov 4th 2008 7:12PM
Hang on, I have had every gameboy (and still do) but what I don't understand is why people think nintendo sees a difference in homebrew games, and piracy. I mean from a marketing standpoint there is no difference. You're playing a homebrew game in replacement of buying a game, or you're downloading a game in replacement of buying the game. Both equal lost sales to nintendo...
007craft @ Nov 4th 2008 7:32PM
$40 x 20 games a year + tax = ~$900 a year to play some games. noooo indeed, piracy FTW.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Nov 5th 2008 12:33AM
Very few DS games are $40... most are $30 or $35, some are even cheaper.
shinmai @ Nov 5th 2008 6:22AM
Some people would argue that playing those games is not some sort of undeniable right you magically have, but rather a privilege, that you can earn by trading some money for.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a self-proclaimed pirate and have bought a grand total of 6 games for my DS, but it's laughable to justify pirating with lack of money, or the high cost of software, as piracy is the #1 excuse software companies use to increase prices.
Mr Khan @ Nov 5th 2008 8:38AM
20 games a year?
Shoot. I usually only pull half of that for my total combined purchases
Darth Pedo @ Nov 5th 2008 1:23AM
FREE GAMES FOR EVERYONE! WHORAY BEER!
shinmai @ Nov 5th 2008 6:17AM
Chris: What the hell are you smoking? Piracy, and certainly not homebrew, IS NOT LOST SALES.
Of the people who pirate software not even a percentage would buy the same software were it not available illegally. This has been the result of countless studies, and is accepted by even the most delirious software developers.
People who buy software buy it, people who don't either pirate it or don't get it at all.