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[Hi]

Person X, wants a Nintendo DS flash card. Time for him to choose which one to buy. But just how many flash cards are there to choose from? Let's count them...
...or, how about we dont. With all of the existing flash cards for the Nintendo DS, it would take quite a long time.

Shouldn't the fact that there are to many cards to count be a wake up call to developers? There's just to many cards on the market. Of course, it's not surprising, as developers have money waiting for them, and of course, if there's money involved, everyone wants a piece of the pie.

But rather than just making clone after clone after clone, couldn't developers be more creative than they are? It's really not as if everything has been tried yet. Here are a few Ideas off the top of my head...

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DS Homebrew Only - Although this card would not run commercial roms, it would have it's advantages. Instead of focusing on making commercial roms compatible, they would spend their effort on optimizing homebrew. They could aid developers, as well as add features to some homebrew apps; for example, maybe their card could allow homebrew to reset back to the card's main menu. The flash card could also include a rumble pack, a ram expansion, and a DSmotion card in order to attract buyers. The Product would also allow anti-piracy consumer's to buy the a flash card without feeling guilty of supporting piracy.

Online Downlading- This card which would allow the user to download commercial and homebrew roms directly to the flash card, without the use of a computer. Of course, many developers would object to this because of it's legal problems, but not all would. For example, the team that created the NDS 1:1 hosts commercial NDS roms on their website.

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I came up with those ideas in about two minutes; no doubt if flash card developers really put some thought into their products, they could create something more than just another NDS flash cart which is exactly the same as all the others.

If new flash cards continue to appear at the current rate, their will soon come a time when all or most of the flash card developers go broke from their just plain being to many cards on the market. When that happens, updates will cease, and both flash card owners and homebrew developers will find themselves in trouble.

This has got to stop.

[Devil_Spawn]

there will be new flash cards until nobody else will buy them

[kkan]

this statement 

DS Homebrew Only - Although this card would not run commercial roms

it aint never going to happen someone will ALWAYS find a way of EXPLOITING it to run commercial games!

look at the ACTION REPLAY for DS and The DATEL GAMES & MUSIC cards both can run commercial games although they are supposed to be for homebrew stuff!

even if NINTENDO shut down every single card maker out there someone will just release another one just rebadged and launch from a different country NOTHING or NO ONE will ever stop PIRACY! 

[Perseid]

The problem with all of this is the fact that these developers don't need to come up with something different. They can make enough money off of the me-too clones that they don't need to spend the extra money developing something cool.

[kkan]

The problem with all of this is the fact that these developers don't need to come up with something different. They can make enough money off of the me-too clones that they don't need to spend the extra money developing something cool.

not only that SELLING THE PATENT/DESIGN/HARDWARE etc also scrapes them in EVEN MORE MONEY

[dantheman]

kkan, the ARDS can be used as a NoPass but I'm pretty sure you can't use it to play commercial games, or even homebrew applications for that matter.

[sonicwind]

I think the thing is that the carts have to be cost effective as well, and what more can you add to a slot 1 card? they are getting in real time save and sdhc works now.  There is not much more you can add in terms of features that anyone would really use.  The thing you are proposing would as others have said exploited very quickly and most people wouldn't even know how to put homebrew on even with auto patching.  And developers would be stressed with getting releases out with all of the people demanding one.  It's just not a viable option with the way things are now.

[Hi]

  Everyone makes good points.

Still though, eventually, flash card developers are going to go out of business because of the huge number of flash cards. And when that happens, many consumers will be left with un-updated cards.  It WILL happen, eventually.

What DID happen to patents anyway? They seem to have just... gone out the window in the flash card industry.

I mean, yeah, obviously cards are made for piracy so no one's really going to take their products to court for fear of being counter-sued. But I mean... at the same time that doesn't make sense, since well, everyone SAYS anyway that flash cards aren't illegal.

[sonicwind]

how do you make a patent in....china?

[Perseid]

1) Patents cost money. Lots of money.

2) I don't know anything about patents in China but for the US flash carts probably contain too much reverse-engineered Nintendo technology to be technically legal much less patentable.

Hi: Yeah, there are too many flash carts and they won't all survive. Since they're mostly copies of each other anyway, though, there probably isn't too much cost involved in starting a production run of "SuperHappyFunCart X" and I doubt too many of them will lose money. Yes, the users of the carts that lost the fight will probably be left holding the bag, but honestly these carts aren't that expensive so I wouldn't be too ticked.

[kkan]

1) Patents cost money. Lots of money.

2)starting a production run of "SuperHappyFunCart X"

1) ok AT LEAST SELLING THE DESIGN PLANS to other factorys

2) hey thats a cool name for a new card WHERE CAN I BUY ONE/IT j/k lol