DSi Prototypes

CPU-X4, formally known as the Japanese Nintendo DSi Prototype, is a prototype that was used for development of Nintendo DS or DSi software. This unit is completely different from a retail unit.

Discovery

The prototype was first found on December 18th 2018 when a user by the name of Trash_Bandatcoot started a conversation with a user by the name of ProtonX on NintendoAge. Trash_Bandatcoot asked about any DSi development units he owns or may have owned. ProtonX replied that he had 2 Panda DSi's and at the moment a "weird looking DSi".

Image of the front, turned on.

The back, with a yellow sticker translating to "For development only".

A day later, Trash_Bandatcoot released all the information he collected to GBAtemp.

Plastic Shell Differences

• The DSi shell has a glossy finish, similar to the back of the top screen of a Nintendo DSi XL, and similar to some Nintendo DSi non-working shelf units. Nintendo does this often on pre-production shells, but the overal look replicates a retail unit.
• The button prints are darker than the ones you can find on a white retail Nintendo DSi. They're black instead of grey.
• There are no prints for POWER, START, SELECT, or any of the icons for "on", "charging" or "wireless connections".
• There are no prints on the back, only a yellow sticker that says "Only for development" (as seen on the image above).

Unit settings

There are some settings that can be found on a retail Nintendo DSi, but there are some debugging settings.

• LANGUAGE - Changes the language. Depending on the console's region, there are 8 different languages. This specific unit was set to Japanese.
• DATE & TIME - Allows you to change the time & date of the unit.
• USER INFORMATION - Allows you to change user data, like the unit name, birthday and personal message.
• PARENTAL CONTROLS (Hidden) - Enables or disables Parental Controls, featuring a rating lock, target age, organization (CERO, PEGI or ESRB), set a password, a "Secret Question ID" and letting you change the secret question.
• COUNTRY SELECT (Hidden) - Lets you change the country you live in. You can select every single country availbile across all final system versions.
• TOUCH PANEL - Allows you to calibrate the touch screen. The test mode is also different. Rather then having 4 dots in the corners, you can drag a cursor around the screen.
• SOFT BOX (Hidden) - A debugging feature for the launcher, allowing you to change the amount of open application slots and filling them as well with a placeholder. On a retail DSi, there are 39 slots.
• WIRELESS - Allows you to turn on or off wireless connections, like Nintendo WFC or Download Play.
• EULA (Hidden) - Forces the unit to accept or deny the EULA without going online. You can also accept different EULA versions.
• MACHINE CLEAN UP (Hidden) - Clears the user settings and formats the unit.

Board revision

On December 18th 2018, ProtonX released photos from the inside, confirming this was a prototype.

• There is no sticker on the board. Instead, Nintendo used permanent marker with A-2 written on it.
• The board has CPU-X4 writen on it. A retail Nintendo DSi has CPU-01 writen on it. This is enough to confirm that this is a prototype, noted by Razor83:

  Actually Ninty always uses X to denote prototype motherboard revisions, so X4 means its the fourth prototype revision. When the motherboard is finished and final/retail they change it to 01.

Trading & dumping

Somewhere around May 2019, the console was traded off for $750 to an unknown seller on NintendoAge. ProtonX replied that he did not want to reveal the name of the seller, “unless he wants to be revealed”. Ever since then, more people started to talk about this unit, meaning that the unit is now worth a lot more.

In that same month, it was revealed that Voodooween, who was known for his other DSi contributions, has bought the unit and he was planning to dump it. The NAND and firmware were dumped 3 days later, with the NAND partly working on No$GBA and retail hardware.

Applications and software

The contents of the NAND is very spice, with only 2MB of data stored. A total of 4 prototype applications are on the NAND, known as

• WiFi Firmware (0003000f/484e4341),
• Nintendo DS Cart Whitelist (0003000f/484e4841),
• Settings (00030015/484e4241)
• and Launcher (00030017/484e4141)

The boot process is also simple. The Launcher checks for errors and tests itself before launching. If no cartridge is inserted and the unit tested itself good, it will boot the Settings app.

Unused data in the Launcher has also been found. A file named fanfare.32.wav is weirdly enough the Mario Kart Wii/Mario Kart: Double Dash!! "Race Starting" sound effect. Furthermore, there are 3 .bnr files, named Emptybanner.bnr, NoBanner.bnr and NoCardBanner.bnr . These files would probably be used in the future for a System Menu, as they show icons for no cartridge inserted, no banner made or shown or no banner found.

- EmptyBanner.bnr, probably used as a placeholder for prototype applications that didn't have their icons yet. However, this was quickly replaced with the Nintendo DSi™ Demonstration placeholder.

- NoBanner.bnr, probably used in a future prototype System Menu if no banner data was present.

- NoCardBanner.bnr, probably used in a future prototype System Menu when no cartridge was inserted.

And although it's not shown, the Launcher and Settings both have their own icons.

- Prototype Launcher icon, used as a concept for a System Menu.

- Prototype Settings icon.

Notes

• The prototype did not come with a special cartridge or SD Card, said ProtonX.
• This is what ProtonX had to say when asked how he got the unit:

  Yeah, I'm unlikely to do a NAND dump, as I've never been part of the missing scene. However, I did collect lots of development equipment at one point (I've got Wii U kits, GBA, DS, 3DS) which is where I got this.

• The battery that came with the unit was dead, so it had to be replaced with a retail one.