Nintendo DS Demo Downloads straight from the net

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Saeid

Limp Gawd
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Aug 19, 2005
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Nintendo has recently launched a service for you to try out demo's for your Nintendo DS. You basically take your Nintendo DS to the closest location that is listed on their website (usually to the nearest EB store), and you can using the built in wifi you will see a list of available game demos to download. And once you have downloaded the game demo, you can play it as much as you want, but as soon as you power off your NDS the game is wiped off ur system.

I had several questions regarding this:

1. From the available specs of the NDS, it says that it has 8KB memory cache, and i doubt that the NDS has an internal storage. The NDS game cartridges can hold a maximum of around 1GB, so that would mean the games use quite a bit of space. So where exactly are the games downloaded? And why do they get wiped out once you switch it off?

2. If we can download the games from specified wifi hotspots, technically speaking, that means we can download the games through any wifi. Meaning that if Nintendo wanted they could release a the demo's that has an embedded program that would send the game via your home wireless connection. Now Nintendo doesnt want to do that :( but why cant we?

3. Why is Pict-o-chat only restricted to the area around you? Why doesnt Nintendo update it so that you can have access to online chats, with a parental control scheme.
 
I guess the games are just streamed into the RAM and because RAM looses its contents when it looses power, you loose the demos.
 
Saeid said:
Nintendo has recently launched a service for you to try out demo's for your Nintendo DS. You basically take your Nintendo DS to the closest location that is listed on their website (usually to the nearest EB store), and you can using the built in wifi you will see a list of available game demos to download. And once you have downloaded the game demo, you can play it as much as you want, but as soon as you power off your NDS the game is wiped off ur system.

I had several questions regarding this:

1. From the available specs of the NDS, it says that it has 8KB memory cache, and i doubt that the NDS has an internal storage. The NDS game cartridges can hold a maximum of around 1GB, so that would mean the games use quite a bit of space. So where exactly are the games downloaded? And why do they get wiped out once you switch it off?
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The NDS holds Downloaded data (say from a single card play session, or a demo) on memory as far as I know. Since there isn't any longterm storage on the thing, demo's go away on power off.

Saeid said:
2. If we can download the games from specified wifi hotspots, technically speaking, that means we can download the games through any wifi. Meaning that if Nintendo wanted they could release a the demo's that has an embedded program that would send the game via your home wireless connection. Now Nintendo doesnt want to do that :( but why cant we?
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The demo station probably consists of a DS with a special cartridge running said software (i'm totally speculating, someone can verify or correct this if they can). You're not connecting to the internet at all, if i understand your questions correctly. I've actually tried out the Download station once, and what happens is that first you download the Download station app using the Download play on the initial menu, then from there you can select a bunch of demos (At the time there was a demo of Brain age, mario kart, some other games, and I think a movie of metroid prime hunters but yea) after the thing downloads (which takes around a minute or two) the demo loads. close the ds to put it in sleep mode, and you're set to mess around with it when you have time. (Off topic: I picked up the Demo of brain age, and loved it, my roommate did too.)
Saeid said:
3. Why is Pict-o-chat only restricted to the area around you? Why doesnt Nintendo update it so that you can have access to online chats, with a parental control scheme.
Click to expand...

*shrug* my guess is that its a firmware issue. The DS was made before the age of WFC, and the DS alone doesn't have the right protocol to interact with Wi Fi (The game cards that have WFC do though)

Again, if anyone can clarify/correct this, feel free... sleepiness is getting to me :p
 
so you cant download a game demo, then play your own game later and then get back to the demo, youd have to go all the way back to the demo hub?
 
Couple of comments, since I've done this with homebrew myself (i.e. one of my PCs in the house can be considered a DS demo station... lol)

1) The demo is stored in RAM, which is why it gets wiped when the DS gets powered down

2) The demo station does indeed contain a server that streams the demos via 802.11. Mind you it's not a server in the sense that you may be used to, as it's designed to only interact with the DS via the said 802.11 wifi

3) Picto chat may eventually get updated, and it can, but I'm sure it's an issue of 2 things. First, privacy. If they make it into a DS-like MSN of sorts, there are issues of accounts to deal with, and that can be a huge hassle to setup an infrastructure like that. Second, with all the bad media surrounding video gaming, they would have to set up some kind of system to insure that privacy is extremely important. That's why friend codes were invented, for instance. They don't want pervs picking up little kids in Animal Crossing or Metroid chat... lol. Eventually, PictoChat upgrades might happen, but of course they have to fit the code in the available firmware space, which isn't much but may be enough. The biggest concern is privavy, though, which is their first stumbling block.

4) The DS was indeed designed for WiFi, as it has 802.11 built right into it from the start. It uses ad-hoc to communicate DS-to-DS an infrastructure to communicate with NWFC. The wifi setup stuff that you see actually *IS* built into the firmware (your firmware is upgraded when you play your first wifi game), but is not accessible through the main setup menu. Only through games that use wifi. Your guess is as good as mine why they did that, but the firmware does indeed have some free space. Rash, if you're not afraid of opening up your DS, you can make your own demo station ;)
 
steviep said:
Couple of comments, since I've done this with homebrew myself (i.e. one of my PCs in the house can be considered a DS demo station... lol)

1) The demo is stored in RAM, which is why it gets wiped when the DS gets powered down

2) The demo station does indeed contain a server that streams the demos via 802.11. Mind you it's not a server in the sense that you may be used to, as it's designed to only interact with the DS via the said 802.11 wifi

3) Picto chat may eventually get updated, and it can, but I'm sure it's an issue of 2 things. First, privacy. If they make it into a DS-like MSN of sorts, there are issues of accounts to deal with, and that can be a huge hassle to setup an infrastructure like that. Second, with all the bad media surrounding video gaming, they would have to set up some kind of system to insure that privacy is extremely important. That's why friend codes were invented, for instance. They don't want pervs picking up little kids in Animal Crossing or Metroid chat... lol. Eventually, PictoChat upgrades might happen, but of course they have to fit the code in the available firmware space, which isn't much but may be enough. The biggest concern is privavy, though, which is their first stumbling block.

4) The DS was indeed designed for WiFi, as it has 802.11 built right into it from the start. It uses ad-hoc to communicate DS-to-DS an infrastructure to communicate with NWFC. The wifi setup stuff that you see actually *IS* built into the firmware (your firmware is upgraded when you play your first wifi game), but is not accessible through the main setup menu. Only through games that use wifi. Your guess is as good as mine why they did that, but the firmware does indeed have some free space. Rash, if you're not afraid of opening up your DS, you can make your own demo station ;)
Click to expand...

Whe i eventually get it back off my neice i think i will, i dont mind if im unsuccessful and a break it as 1. the DS is a great price and 2. i want the DS lite!
 
Here's another weird thing about the DS...

The NDS has built wifi, we all know that.
Nintendo is going to release a cartridge made by Opera which allows you to browse the internet and what not. The weird thing is that the cartridge sticks out of the DS, and has built in WiFi..... here's the obvious question.... if the DS has built in wifi, why would they include another wifi module in the cartridge? :S

Their also planning a TV tuner.
 
It doesn't stick out of the DS... The unit has built in wifi, read the spec sheets.
 
Ya but why would they include "another" wifi module, when there already is one present in the DS. This would only increase the cost!
 
Saeid said:
Ya but why would they include "another" wifi module, when there already is one present in the DS. This would only increase the cost!
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Opera isn't another WiFi module, it's just a piece of software on a cart that uses the existing one.
 
oops my bad :)

it would be nice if Nintendo released a firmware update that included Opera internet browser. I mean i dont like to carry around several games as well as the opera cartridge.
If it was a firmware update, i couls just leave one game in my DS and be able to play the game and or browse the internet.

Another solution would be that they release the Opera software on a Gameboy Advance Cartridge, that way u can leave the opera cartridge inside the DS as well as having a game too.
 
Saeid said:
oops my bad :)

it would be nice if Nintendo released a firmware update that included Opera internet browser. I mean i dont like to carry around several games as well as the opera cartridge.
If it was a firmware update, i couls just leave one game in my DS and be able to play the game and or browse the internet.

Another solution would be that they release the Opera software on a Gameboy Advance Cartridge, that way u can leave the opera cartridge inside the DS as well as having a game too.
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i dont think there is enough room on the ds hardware to fit opera browser into it, if you go by the opera browser for windows mobile which is around 10meg, im not sure how big the ds operating chip is in megabytes, i sure hope they have a sd slot built into the next nintendo handheld whenever it comes.
 
If I recall correct, Opera's DS browser will use a GBA expansion module that will come with the browser.
 
R3dwiz said:
If I recall correct, Opera's DS browser will use a GBA expansion module that will come with the browser.
Click to expand...

both slots are used.

The DS-slot for the actual program (Opera, java, ???) the GBA is used as a memory-expansion to allow caching of pages
 
I believe this is what you are trying to do....

You CAN get the demos to transmit from YOUR computer to the DS. This was avalible since last E3 when all those DS demos came out. The only problem is, you have to use a custom driver,(which means reinstalling the old driver to surf the net again...) and it only works with certain wifi cards. (ralink mostly...)

This page is a list of mirrors to the various DS games Nintendo was broadcasting at E3 2005 to anyone who came by their booth with a DS, and has been expanded to include various other wifi demos that have been released. These games are distributed in .nds format, and can be multibooted to a DS via Firefly's wireless multiboot program if you have a compatible wifi card. They are RSA-signed so they can be wirelessly multibooted to an unmodified DS, and they can be used with the various loaders out there for those of you who don't have a compatible wifi card.
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heres the web address.
http://www.akkit.org/DS/E3/

they even got a wiki up! go to that page for the multiboot progie.
 
I can't be bothered reading, so I'm going to ask.

Can that multiboot thing work with the USB adapter?
 
One thing i didnt like about Nintendo's approch on the DS Lite, was the fact that they did not expand the memory and add the internet browser.

The only thing they did was use a better LCD screen, better battery and just a software tweak for the brightness level (they didnt even bother placing a adjustment button). They couldve done that, and the Old DS's would still run all the games, and if u want internet browsing u have to buy the Opera software.
 
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