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BibleMan
March 31st, 2009, 04:55
Is there a GBA emulator for the DS? It seems like it would be quite possible. I just haven't been able to find one. I'm thinking about getting a DSi when it comes out, and want to know if I should keep both systems, or sell my lite while I can get some cash.

I'm really sorry if this is a n00bish question that gets asked every day.

P.S. Does anyone know if the current TTDS will work with the DSi?
DanTheManMS
April 3rd, 2009, 20:21
No there isn't, no it's not possible, and we don't know anything about the possibilities for the DSi since we're still limited to DS mode only at this point.

The current TTDS will not work on a DSi. Even the DSi-compatible carts that came out recently don't work on the just-released European DSi units. You'd be best off waiting a few months until things stabilize a bit.
dreamboy19
April 4th, 2009, 15:34
No there isn't, no it's not possible, and we don't know anything about the possibilities for the DSi since we're still limited to DS mode only at this point.

The current TTDS will not work on a DSi. Even the DSi-compatible carts that came out recently don't work on the just-released European DSi units. You'd be best off waiting a few months until things stabilize a bit.

I have nintendo dsi european black version bought yestarday here in portugal. i updated to the last firmware 1.03E to go to dsishop and acekard 2i works great with me fully operational so dont say that about dsi european without testing it okay?:P
DanTheManMS
April 4th, 2009, 20:27
Apparently the Acekard 2i is the only cart to work on European DSi units, from what I've read. I was wrong, yes, but still partially correct.
BibleMan
April 17th, 2009, 01:35
Alright. So it's not possible to "emulate" GBA games, but how about "running" ROMS, homebrew apps, etc? It seems like a firmware mod would be able to "forward" -so to speak- the games from slot one to slot two. Could this be done?

Also, yes, I plan to wait before I even buy a DSi, just because so much changes in the first few months.
DanTheManMS
April 17th, 2009, 19:51
That's actually exactly what GBA ExpLoader and other similar tools already do. They copy the game from your slot-1 device to a slot-2 device and run it from there.

However, you're asking about doing this without a slot-2 device, right? The question then is, where are you going to store the GBA game? There's no form of storage on the entire unit aside from RAM, and the DS's 4 MB of RAM gets locked out once you launch GBA mode, and the GBA's 256 KB of RAM gets cleared out at launch. So you MUST have some slot-2 device to store the game for execution.

On the DSi, there's 16 MB of RAM that seems to operate much like current slot-2 devices. If we ever crack the DSi, and if it is indeed possible to run GBA games from that RAM (downloaded from the DSi store for example), then perhaps we can use that for GBA playback. Everything is still uncertain though.
BibleMan
April 17th, 2009, 22:41
Ahh. I see. You see, I was planning on storing them via my microSD card.

So there wouldn't be a way to continue to use the DS's RAM while using GBA mode?
DanTheManMS
April 20th, 2009, 19:47
Nope, once you go into GBA mode, all DS features get locked out, including the extra screen resolution, DS RAM, etc. Even if you could use the DS's RAM, it's only got 4 MB, which would only be enough for the very smallest commercial GBA games, trimmed to get them just under the 4 MB mark.
BibleMan
April 21st, 2009, 01:01
Hmmm.... would it be possible to convert the GBA files to .nds format? I'm just trying to consider all options.
DanTheManMS
April 24th, 2009, 04:06
No. GBA games run entirely differently than DS ones do.

Trust me, if it was possible, it would have been done by now.