Nintendo 3DS/Development Hardware

Nintendo produced a range of hardware for developing and testing software for the Nintendo 3DS family.

The original Nintendo 3DS had multiple development kits (PARTNER-CTR, IS-CTR and IS-SPR), while the New Nintendo 3DS only had a single development kit, IS-SNAKE.

Nintendo also produced Test Units (also known as "Panda" units) for each Nintendo 3DS model, which could run development software stored on rewritable game cards known as flash cards.

Development Kits

Development kits are available with varying amounts of emulation memory. This memory is used by the card emulation hardware and determines the maximum size of an application that can be loaded. It is separate from the system RAM.

Original 3DS

PARTNER-CTR Debugger with dummy controller and debug controller connected

PARTNER-CTR

Main article: PARTNER-CTR

The PARTNER-CTR series was the primary development system for the original 3DS and was produced by Kyoto Microcomputer Co., Ltd. (KMC).

The PARTNER-CTR Debugger, available to developers from Q4 2010, combines the internal hardware of a 3DS with debugging and card emulation hardware into a single white box. It provides debugging capabilities, supports loading applications from a PC, and allows launching and writing to CTR flash cards. A "dummy" controller shaped like an original 3DS is provided. It has 2 GB of emulation memory.

The PARTNER-CTR Capture also contains the internal hardware of a 3DS, but replaces the debugging and card emulation hardware with video output hardware. It allows for screenshots and video capture, and provides DVI and AV video outputs.

The PARTNER-CTR Capture Debugger combines all the features of both the Capture and Debugger units into a single box.

Additionally, KMC also provided dedicated hardware to support CTR flash cards.

The PARTNER-CTR Writer allows writing up to 8 CTR flash cards simultaneously.

The PARTNER-CTR UIC-MIDI is a 2 GB CTR flash card equipped with a USB port for communication with a PC and a MIDI port for connecting MIDI-compatible equipment.

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  PARTNER-CTR Capture - back
• 
  PARTNER-CTR Capture Debugger
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  PARTNER-CTR Writer
• 
  PARTNER-CTR UIC-MIDI

IS-CTR

Front of an IS-CTR-BOX

Main article: IS-CTR

The IS-CTR was a secondary development system for the original 3DS and was produced by Intelligent Systems. Released shortly after the launch of the original 3DS, it takes the form of a compact green box.

The IS-CTR was available as 3 options:

• IS-CTR-BOX (MONOWRITER)
• IS-CTR-EMULATOR
• IS-CTR-DEBUGGER

Each option added additional functionality and was more expensive than the previous option.

• The IS-CTR-BOX, also known as the MONOWRITER option, has 2 GB of emulation memory and is only capable of writing to CTR, TWL and DS flash cards and sub-cards. It does not include a controller.
• The IS-CTR-EMULATOR includes all the features of the MONOWRITER and adds the ability to load applications from a PC, printf output, HostIO support, and a detachable controller in the form of an original 3DS system.
• The IS-CTR-DEBUGGER includes all the features of the EMULATOR and adds debugging and screenshot capture functionality.
• EMULATOR and DEBUGGER units were available with 2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB of emulation memory. Upgrades from BOX to EMULATOR, EMULATOR to DEBUGGER, and BOX to DEBUGGER were also available for purchase.

The key difference between the IS-CTR and the PARTNER-CTR is the controller hardware. Unlike the PARTNER-CTR, the 3DS hardware is housed inside the IS-CTR controller, allowing it to be detached from the box and used standalone.

The box itself was known as the IS-CTR-BOX, while the detachable controller was known as CTR for EMULATOR. Because the controller is detachable, developers could easily bring it to another person's desk for review.

In addition to the original 3DS controller, EMULATOR and DEBUGGER units were also available with a 3DS XL (SPR) controller. These variants were known as IS-CTR-EMULATOR w/ SPR and IS-CTR-DEBUGGER w/ SPR respectively, with the controller itself being referred to as SPR for EMULATOR.

Like the CTR for EMULATOR, the SPR for EMULATOR is detachable, allowing developers to test software on the 3DS XL's larger screen.

The CTR for EMULATOR and SPR for EMULATOR controllers could also be purchased separately. They are only compatible with the IS-CTR and cannot be used with the IS-SPR.

• 
  Sticker on an IS-CTR-BOX
• 
  CTR for EMULATOR controller - front
• 
  CTR for EMULATOR controller - back
• 
  Sticker on an IS-CTR-BOX (IS-CTR-DEBUGGER SPR variant)
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  SPR for EMULATOR controller - front
• 
  SPR for EMULATOR controller - back

IS-SPR

IS-SPR-BOX connected to its controller

Main article: IS-SPR

The IS-SPR-DEBUGGER & CAPTURE was a secondary development system for the original 3DS and was produced by Intelligent Systems. It combines debugging and capture functionality into a single unit and uses a non-detachable 3DS XL (SPR) as its controller.

Compared to the IS-CTR, the IS-SPR has the following differences:

• The main box, known as the IS-SPR-BOX, is larger than its predecessor, the IS-CTR-BOX
• The 3DS hardware is housed inside the box and not the controller
• The unit can launch applications from flash cards
• The unit supports HDMI video output
• The unit supports capturing image and video without affecting the performance of the running software

Aside from these, the IS-SPR supports all the features of the IS-CTR-DEBUGGER. It was available with 2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB of emulation memory.

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  IS-SPR-BOX controller - back

New 3DS

IS-SNAKE

IS-SNAKE-BOX connected to its controller

Main article: IS-SNAKE-BOX

The IS-SNAKE was the only development system for the New 3DS and was produced by Intelligent Systems.

Unlike earlier development kits which had different hardware depending on the model or option, every IS-SNAKE contains the same debugging, capture, video output and software testing hardware. Software licenses determine which functionalities are available.

There are 4 software licenses available:

• Debugger: Enables debugging functionality
• Capture: Enables image and video capture to a PC over USB
• Video: Enables HDMI video output
• Tester: Enables controller input playback and additional on-screen information when outputting video

Debugger, Capture and Video licenses were available as either 1 year or permanent licenses, while the Tester license was only available as a 1 year license. All IS-SNAKEs come with at least 1 permanent license and could be purchased with up to 3 permanent licenses.

Regardless, all IS-SNAKEs can:

• Load applications from PC
• Launch applications from flash cards
• Write to CTR, TWL and DS flash cards and sub-cards

IS-SNAKE units were available with 2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB of emulation memory.

The IS-SNAKE uses a controller resembling a non-XL New 3DS system that cannot be detached.

A controller based on the larger New 3DS XL, known as the IS-CLOSER-CTRL, also exists. However, it was never distributed to developers and the only mentions come from its FCC filing.

• 
  Sticker on an IS-SNAKE-BOX
• 
  IS-SNAKE-BOX controller - front
• 
  IS-SNAKE-BOX controller - back
• 
  IS-CLOSER-CTRL - front and back
• 
  IS-CLOSER-CTRL - opened

Flash Cards

Main article: Nintendo 3DS/Flash Cards

Flash cards are rewritable game cards used to store development software for use with development kits and test units. They can be written using a compatible development kit.

Several types of flash cards were produced throughout the Nintendo 3DS lifecycle.

• 
  CTR FLASH CARD 16Gbit
• 
  4GByte CTR Flash Card with 128KByte Backup
• 
  4GByte CTR Flash Card with 512KByte Backup

Sub-cards connect to compatible flash cards and provide flash memory to store save data.

• 
  CTR SUB CARD 1Mbit FLASH
• 
  CTR SUB CARD 4Mbit FLASH

Test Units

Test Units, also known as "Pandas", have the same form factor as retail systems but can only run development-signed software. This means that they will not play retail 3DS game cards.

Test units can launch software for any region by using the System Updater to install the corresponding region's firmware. For example, a USA test unit can test EU games by installing the EU firmware.

Game testers used test units to run game builds either from CTR flash cards (written using a development kit) or installed directly on the SD card.

Original 3DS

CTR (3DS)

Test units for the original 3DS typically feature a silver and black color scheme with red accents.

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  Front
• 
  Side
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  Back (US)
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  Back (EU)
  Serial begins with EEF1
• 
  Back (JP)

Some test units used by Nintendo of Europe or for events were instead fitted with retail 3DS shells.

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  Black shell - back
• 
  Blue shell - back

SPR (3DS XL)

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  Front
• 
  Back

FTR (2DS)

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  Front
• 
  Back
• 
  Back

New 3DS

KTR (New 3DS)

The back cover has a cutout allowing access to the microSD card without disassembling the system.

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  Front
• 
  Back

RED (New 3DS XL)

The back cover has a cutout allowing access to the microSD card without disassembling the system.

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  Front
• 
  Back
• 
  Back cover removed

JAN (New 2DS XL)

Early units used white/orange shells with a sticker on the back, while later units used black/turquoise shells.

The serial number begins with NW01.

• 
  Front
• 
  Back

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  Front
• 
  Back

Prototype Hardware

Before the finalized development systems were released, several prototype boards and development units were used during the hardware and software development process.

CTR-MG20

Main article: CTR-MG20

The MG20 is an SoC made by Nvidia and is the precursor to Tegra. Nintendo ultimately abandoned Nvidia in favor of the DMP PICA200 GPU. Mentions of the MG20 date back to 2006.

A board containing the MG20 was used with the PARTNER-Jet debugger developed by KMC.

CTR Target Board

Main article: CTR Target Board

The CTR Target Board was a board used for early 3DS development. It contains all the 3DS hardware (including the SoC, RAM, NAND, LCDs) laid out on a large board.

2 types of target boards are known to exist, using different SoCs:

• TEG2 (prototype TS)
• TS (final SoC)

The older TEG2 board is green, while the newer TS board is blue.

• 
  TEG2 target board
• 
  TS target board

PARTNER-CTR/S

Main article: PARTNER-CTR/S

The PARTNER-CTR/S was made by KMC and was available in early 2010. It connected to the CTR target board and a PC to provide debugging and ROM emulation functionality. This was the development environment used before the PARTNER-CTR Debugger box integrated all of these functions into a single unit.

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  PARTNER-CTR/S connected to a TS target board

PARTNER-CTR/J

Main article: PARTNER-CTR/J

Mentions of the PARTNER-CTR/J can be found in various pieces of documentation, although little is known about it.

ProtonX has shared pictures (shown below) of a previously undocumented PARTNER-CTR unit, stating only that it had been sold and providing no further context about its use. Based on the "JTAG" marking on the top cover, it is believed that this may be the PARTNER-CTR/J.

The upper board appears to serve a similar purpose to the CTR09A-EMU board, while the lower board resembles the CTR09A-CPU board in the final PARTNER-CTR Debugger.

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  Top
• 
  Bottom
• 
  Side
• 
  Top cover removed

IS-RAY

Main article: IS-RAY

The IS-RAY was the prototype version of the IS-SNAKE, made by Intelligent Systems. It was provided to developers early to allow software development for the New 3DS.

Alpha, Beta and Gamma versions of the IS-RAY are known to exist. The Beta version was mentioned in a System Updater dated January 2014.

Prototype Test Units

Main article: 3DS Prototypes

Original 3DS

• CTR-CPU-X1A (TS SoC, no game card slot)
• CTR-CPU-X1B (TS SoC)
• CTR-CPU-X2A
• CTR-CPU-X2B (existence unknown)
• CTR-CPU-X3 (unknown if used by game developers)
• CTR-CPU-X4