Simple Hack Brings Nintendo Zone Content Home

[Earnest Cavalli]

Simple Hack Brings Nintendo Zone Content Home


Problem: You can only get Nintendo Zone downloadable content at participating retailers. Solution: Hack your router.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Nintendo Zone, it's essentially a downloadable content delivery service that allows the Nintendo 3DS to pull down videos and game demos. In a bafflingly capitalistic move however, Nintendo only allows people to access the Nintendo Zone from places like Best Buy and McDonalds. Apparently watching Pokémon episodes while guzzling unidentifiable, deep-fried chicken bits is good for the company's bottom line somehow.

Fortunately for those of us who abhor sunlight, public interaction and milkshakes in which the word "milk" is purely theoretical, one intrepid 'net denizen has unveiled a simple hack that cracks the system wide open, allowing 3DS owners to access the Nintendo Zone content from the comfort of their own homes.

NeoGAF user "DarkWish" explains:

If you set your wireless network to be named attwifi and make it unsecured, then add that network on your 3DS... you can access the Nintendo Zone from home! So whatever demos (right now it's just Mario & Sonic), Pokémon TV show episodes, and other content they have on there is now accessible from home.

Mr. Wish likewise posted a video tutorial of the process, which you can find embedded above.

Granted, this loophole isn't exactly a crack for the Enigma machine, but it should prove useful to some 3DS owners. Perhaps those who really, really enjoy the Team Rocket theme song, or wish they could recite all the words to the Pokérap but refuse to turn on an actual television.

Point being: This is a thing we didn't know about, and now we do. At least until Nintendo gets wise of this scheme and implements even the most minor network security measures. That sounds like something an internationally-beloved game publisher might do.

Source: Tiny Cartridge [http://neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=34909582&postcount=1]

Permalink

 

[Qitz]

So all you have to do is make your router unsecured and call it attwifi? That's a lot simpler than I would have thought.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

In before Nintendo destroys this for some inane reason.

 

[darkszero]

What is this I dont even-

I expected you had to at least install something to your router...
Well, good for me. I have NO idea where to find a Nintendo Zone, so this is kinda useful!

 

[Owlslayer]

Gotta agree with Qitz here, that really was surprisingly easy.
Tho indeed, as Cavalli said, most likely we`ll be seeing a fix for this incoming pretty damn soon. Which is a shame, of course.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I guess get in while you can, because you know this is getting fixed in the next update.

 

[Micalas]

I can't help but laugh at the people who gave me shit when I said that the WiiU's online capability was going to be complete ass. A retarded 6 year old would be able to pull this off.

CAPTCHA: the fromtalk. Is that like the sex talk?

 

[xyrafhoan]

I have to say, if you live in a big city, you probably won't even need this hack. I find even in suburban North Vancouver, the coverage of the Nintendo Zone is pretty freaking huge since McDonalds and Starbucks are included, and we all know that in cities there is a Starbucks on every other corner.

That said, wow... that workaround is so laughably easy, I'm not even sure WHAT to say about that. I guess that Nintendo fails again at trying to include this new-fangled internet into their systems?

 

[Kapol]

You might be able to get past any fixes Nintendo makes anyways. It sounds like the Nintendo Zone is actually software already installed on the system judging by the way it activates based solely on the router's broadcast name. That means that the only way to fix it would be a system update. Without which you likely would still be able to access it unless they make it so the system uses a different version of the software to access the content server.

 

[Veylon]

This doesn't sound like it's Nintendo's fault. They have to work through McDonald's and Starbucks to make this work, so the only check that they even can make is to see if the request for access appears to be coming via one of those businesses. I don't see an obvious way for Nintendo to "fix" this without their corporate partners participating.

 

[Smeggs]

Nintendo is going to get that video taken down if enough people find out about, mark my words.

 

[weirdee]

I think calling this a hack might be giving it too much credit...

 

[llaffer]

I think the only proper "fix" to this is to allow Nintendo Zone content to be accessible from any internet connection you can find. Wouldn't that make a lot more sense?