Nintendo 3DS hacked by freelance developer

The Nintendo 3DS handheld console has grown tremendously popular the past few months and this might have something to do with the release of a number of well known, highly entertaining 3DS titles, such as Super Smash Bros and The Legend of Zelda. Approaching its four year anniversary, the 3DS is in the spotlight once again thanks to a 22 year old skilled developer going by the name of Jordan Rabet who managed to break the console’s security system using a surprisingly simple method. The exploit that made this possible is called NINJHAX and it does not involve any fancy programming skills. Thanks to this one of a kind hack (which is the first available for Nintendo 3DS, a handheld console otherwise considered unbreakable), players will now be able to load unofficial “homebrew” games on their 3DS devices. How? By getting a custom ‘baked’ copy of Cubic Ninja, an anonymous 3DS title developed by Ubisoft, which integrates the exploit.

A number of retailers, including Amazon, lured 3DS players in buying extremely rare copies of Cubic Ninja for prices ranging from $30 to $99, outlining that this is a hot item sought for hacking Nintendo 3DS consoles. Some of the luckiest buyers were able to snatch a copy from the 3DS eShop in Japan, as the game sold out within four hours of Rabet’s tweet.

“I expected attention but I guess not that much,” Rabet shared in an interview with Eurogamer. “The way the game has sold out, the way the price has raised so much, I didn’t expect that to happen so quickly. It’s insane.” Nintendo was quick to react upon learning about this special breakthrough, as Rabet, known online as Smealum is a notorious 3DS ‘homebrewer’. He developed many software exploits for Nintendo handhelds and a few ‘homebrew’ games. Rabet, currently studying computer science at Stanford University said he does not want to be made part of a large scale piracy. “I don’t care if people pirate in their private lives, but I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t want to release something others can use to steal someone else’s intellectual property. That’s not what I want. I wouldn’t release something that could be used for piracy… it’s just not something I want to do,” Rabet said.  

More details about NINJHAX can be found on Rabet’s website.