The World of DS Homebrew

Apps and Conclusions

...And that about wraps it up for games. True, there are an awful lot more out but we’ve shown you a fairly good cross section of them across multiple genres and given you a good starting point to work from.

But again, there’s still more that the DS can do in terms of homebrew and there are plenty of applications and extra programs to download, such as Comic Book DS, an application which lets you read downloaded comic books on your DS. Also of note is Colours, an advanced painting program which lets you mix colours on the touch screen and create some pretty little master pieces.

There also exist programs to run Linux off your DS or turn it into a customised PDA with full organiser, browser, IRC client and calculator functions – gee whizz!

There’s even programs for the most eclectic tastes – want to run your DS as an FTP server? No problem. Likewise, you can use homebrew to chat on MSN or stream music straight from Winamp.

You can even turn your DS into an old BBC Microcomputer and get it to run BASIC as an OS, though why you might want to is beyond us.


It’s weird then that the DS homebrew scene is still avoided by many, who fear that homebrew is blatantly illegal and tough to get working. With the hardware we’ve detailed above it’s merely a case of drag-and-drop and the homebrew community is just about large and friendly enough to help people with real problems through any problems crop up.

Plus, when used correctly homebrew development is a legal and useful thing for console gamers – indifferent in legality and benefits from running a mod for any PC game that you use. Who knows, with proper encouragement from companies like Nintendo it may even be possible for some homebrew developers to make it big, just like the makers of Counter-strike and Team Fortress did by modding already existing games.


It may take a fair deal of bravery to make the first plunge into ‘the homebrew scene’, but when the price of the homebrew hardware is so low almost anyone can make that leap – and why not? Homebrew is no different from any other software really and running it is a sure way to get some extra value out of your handheld, so why not pick up a Slot-1 card and get downloading?

Who knows, in a week or two I may well catch some of you in a WiFi game of QuakeDS...