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In recent times we've provided some coverage of progress on a 3DS Homebrew Channel project, which is apparently all set to be released on 22nd November. It can be a grey area of fierce debate, as the excitement for some to produce apps and games — as was the case on DS and Wii — is countered by those that criticise the potential for piracy or unofficial emulators on Nintendo's hardware. Supporters of the 3DS project will no doubt emphasize that it doesn't allow users to play illegally downloaded ROMS of the portable's games, though Nintendo will still likely tackle it with system updates to block access.

There is a small but dedicated band of gamers that support and participate in homebrew, of course, and that group is causing a sudden increase in sales of Cubic Ninja. Ahead of the exploit's release on 22nd November, its programmer / hacker smealum has confirmed the 3DS cart that is required to run the channel. Setting it up requires the game, which will work with the cart in PAL regions and North America, while the eShop version is only an option in Japan.

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As mentioned above, the fact that only physical copies are an option in the West has prompted a surge in sales. We've had readers get in touch to advise that the title's becoming increasingly hard to find, while on amazon.com it's improbably moved up the best sellers chart, reaching number 28 at the time of writing. As for why the exploit uses Cubic Ninja, it likely has a bug that's being utilised; as the company behind the game has folded, odds of the loophole being closed are practically non-existent.

These sales of the game show that the homebrew community is getting on board with the new project, despite the rival audience that's no doubt against the exploit's existence. In any case it's rather humorous to see a forgotten, modest 3DS game suddenly pick up improbable sales.

Let us know what you think, as always, though remember to observe our Community Rules while discussing this topic.

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