January 12th, 2011

Taiwanese 3DS stolen, disassembled and photographed

80 Comments

This drama seemingly never ends. A Taiwanese fellow has stolen a Nintendo 3DS and dissembled it, giving us our first inside look at the hardware. You can check out the gallery of images below. I don’t condone stealing, but I can’t resist intrigue either.

We’re scant on details at this very moment, but as we find out more about the hardware I’ll update this post. The most information fellow geeks have been able to extract is that it uses an ARM processor. But given that the 3DS is backwards compatible that’s probably the least surprising piece of information ever to be published in an article.

  • Nickolas

    I wish they still made see through handhelds like with the gameboy/color/sp. I loved looking inside even though I knew nothing of how it worked.

    Also, what is up with the bump next to the d pad?

    • http://gravatar.com/kevinskye Kevinskye

      Ahh I wish for those too. Nintendo 64 controller also xD.

      And I think he might of drop it?

    • der

      I think it’s how you angle your hand to play on the d pad. Something to look for and feel on your thumb that provides a sort of stimulation if you will pardon the example.

    • http://minitheatre.org Luffy

      well it is a stolen 3ds maybe a prototype hehehe

    • Jonathan

      I’m sure the bump is where the magnet on the 3DS connects so It can close into sleep-mode. (I think…)

    • FaM

      That bump is caused when he tried to close it back up and put in the wrong size screw. Used to happen to me all the time when I first started working on laptops.

  • http://minitheatre.org Luffy

    w0w ahahahaha what more will people do if they get their hands on a 3ds ~ really excited!!!!~

  • http://jordenrucker@ymail.com Jorden rucker

    Idiot…

  • james_bond0014

    dam the guy pretty much raped it and post it on the internet XDDDD

  • drwill439

    This dude’s lucky he doesn’t have any scars on his hands. If im not mistaken, the chinese guy didnt show hands at all. That could get you caught. But this taiwanese guy has way more pics and went deeper into the console.

  • CerealKiller528

    that second to last pic. Is that the top screen of the 3DS? Kinda looks like a mini flat screen.

    • mario

      It looks like the bottom screen since it’s doesn’t look like a widescreen

    • FrangoST

      It’s definitly the bottom screen, as you can see, there’s 2 flat connections, one for the display itself and another one for the touch input.

    • FrangoST

      It seems like he didn’t bother opening the upper part of the console at all…

  • Kinexd

    David does it have a rumble pack already in it?

  • CerealKiller528

    once theres pics of a real working 3DS, gimme a call

  • Franco Castaneda

    Lol. Nintendo has more leaks than the Titanic.

    • http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/12/nintendo-warns-of-possible-3d-hazard-to-young-gamers.ars Cody

      Someone’s being waiting to say that one.

    • Kinexd

      LOL

  • Eva00Pilot

    What???? The battery is only 1300 mAh ???

    • Some Guy

      Yep, hence the limited battery life.

    • Moony

      Not necessarily. If this is a dev unit, the devs won’t need extended battery life.

    • Richard

      Only? The most cell phones have around 1000mAh, the old DS around 900 I think. It is pretty much.

    • FrangoST

      It’s good to know it has such a low battery and can last as long as the old DSs (or close to them), so you’ll probably have an option, later, to buy another battery with a extended battery life.

  • A…

    3DS – 1300 mAh

    comparison battery handheld

    Gameboy Advance SP – 700 mAh
    Gameboy Micro – 460 mAh
    DS – 850 mAh
    DS Lite – 1000 mAh
    DSi – 840 mAh
    DSi XL – 1050 mAh

    PSP 1000 – 1800 mAh [see in http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20050609/ggl.htm RR~3-4 hours]

    PSP 2k/3k – 1200 mAh (2200 mAh Extended Battery) [psp3000 - 4-6 hour]
    PSP Go – 930 mAh [3-6 hours]

    iPod Touch Gen 2 – 789 mAh
    iPod Touch Gen 3 – 789 mAh
    iPod Touch Gen 4 – 930 Mah
    iPhone – 1400 mAh
    iPhone 3G – 1150 mAh
    iPhone 3GS – 1219 mAh
    iPhone 4 – 1420 mAh
    iPad – 6600 mAh

  • Austin

    i shedded a small tear when i saw that poor 3ds being killed and cut open….

  • http://3dsforums.com/members/drugsisbad-51/ DrugsIsBad

    my brain fries when I look at computer chips

    how could anyone come up with something so complex?

    • AD-Edge

      Heh, I know what you mean, or at least I used to. I did a intro course in electrical engineering a while back and one of the final year projects was to design, prototype, and get a chip fabricated and then test/use it.
      I didnt do that final course, but the intro to it was very interesting and the breakdown of how it was done and how chips like these were developed from simpler chips and in the (very beginning huge transistors) was eye opening. Once you know it all becomes a lot clearer and less ‘impossible’. But basically things like this always start off very simple and get very complex as the technology develops and lets you compact everything and do more amazing things etc

      Needless to say, its possible :)

  • AkatsukiLilith

    such and idiot why steal it release is just aroun the corner. I’m suprised he’s not scared of ninja that thay will definately send after him :)

  • Deathmore

    David, engadget sourced you :D !

    • David Turnbull

      Yeah, I saw that. Awesome stuff. :)

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  • Ryu Shoji

    Who’s betting Sony and Microsoft have bookmarked this page?

  • Toko

    Will the battery be accessible without loosing the warrenty?
    Looks like there is only the back plastic case in the way.

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  • Vic

    Thanks for posting this in your blog, David. Now that I memorized the components, I will now make my own portable 3D gaming device. It will be called ‘The 3D Hammer’ and you CAN’T touch it! :b

  • Pingback: Alleged Nintendo 3DS roams the wild, gets thoroughly dismantled | XTREME Tech

  • Shinko

    Sad point in my life…. I can look at and understand all these parts. The Mobo is alot more complex than the original DS, and the circuit board that sat on the top half is much smaller, and there’s a daughter board now. it looks like it uses some of the same ribbon cables though. and.. shutting up.

  • Sabih

    What an Idiot. He should of kept it the way it was because that was probably the only chance for him to have the 1st 3ds in taiwan

  • nes

    That bump is from screwing the wrong screw in.
    I know because that happened to me with the DS.
    I’d say that guy isn’t the most experienced.
    How could you rape a 3DS like that?

  • just me

    thanks. i was going to buy two 3ds’s
    one to play and the other to disassimble
    but now i only have to buy one

  • Game_Queen

    Aaww the 3ds has been digested and died :( lol

  • Pingback: Nintendo 3DS up close and naked! | 3DSConnect

  • David Oppenheim

    Cool! But now… with a green background :)!!!

  • Amon

    What the- I don’t wanna see its inside, i just wanted to see the apps :|

  • Amon

    I mean, why to steal something that awesome just to open it! I don’t care about its drivers and memory and whatever else is inside! I care about the 3D and other stuff!

  • http://www.famicomotaku.wordpress.com MitsuoExcel

    I’m wondering if it has 802.11n WiFi built in?

  • Robert Dominguez

    I’m guessing he didn’t manage to steal a charger as well

  • http://www.famicomotaku.wordpress.com MitsuoExcel

    Never mind! I think it has only a Wireless B & G signal. I Looked up the WIFi’s FCC Number and got the one for the DS.

    Wireless Interoperability
    The end product integrating this module is designed to be interoperable with any wireless
    LAN product that is based on direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and orthogonal
    frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radio technology and to comply with the following
    standards.

    IEEE Std 802.11b Standard on 2.4GHz Wireless LAN

    IEEE Std 802.11g Standard on 2.4GHz Wireless LAN

    Here’s a link to where I found it

    https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/eas/GetApplicationAttachment.html?id=1272998

  • sammaster9

    that poor 3ds :’( all he wanted to do was make some kid smile, and now he got ripped apart just so we could see what was inside :’(

  • fish and chips

    NOTICE THE CLOSE UP OF TWO CHIP DIES… clearly says ARM/NINTENDO on 1 of them,but theres another one next to it PICA200 IS A SOC DESIGN system on chip as is ARM cpus so is it all on chip or is the second die the GPU just weird theres 2 of them ….

    • Knuckles

      I did notice this we’ll have to keep our eyes out. I’m hoping someone can decode this,and get us the specs of the beauty.

    • http://www.youtube.com/user/sa66o6?feature=mhum sa66o6

      The ARM processor is probably the CPU.PICA200 is the GPU,we’ve known that for some time now.

    • http://www.datv.tk Craig

      Wouldn’t the Nintendo Proprietary (1st one) be for the Bottom Screen (As I haven’t seen anything but DS like graphics used so far on the bottom screen) and the PICA200 be the top screen?

  • http://www.nintendo3dsblog.com Samuel

    This guy is crazy I wish that he was dead by now or someone should kill that guy!

  • WesFX

    Jeez. It’s like some of you think he took a hammer and some scissors to the thing; by the looks of it he was very careful and can put this thing back together in working order.

  • Richard

    Before the end of March, Nintendo will ship 3.999.998 3DS’s worldwide.

  • Kyle Sun

    I am from Taiwan. Maybe I’ll steal one too.

  • Some random dude

    dont you think its weird how two 3DS’s have been stolen but neither have been turned on or used for gameing purposes in any way? What purpose does it surve us to see the inside of something when they won’t let us see inside the screen?

  • DoubleA2

    This guy probably is working for Sony. Trying to see how it works so they can make the PSP 2 in 3D.

  • zelda man 1999

    poor thing

  • zelda man 1999

    i herd rumurs but i dont know if its tru but i hope they make luigis manchon for 3DS

    • http://www.datv.tk Craig

      There isn’t a Luigi’s Mansion being made for 3DS, this news was 1-2 years ago – that they tested the 3D ability of the Gamecube with Luigi’s Mansion (as there is a dormant 3D mode) for research into making a 3D console.

      However, it is possible that they may revisit the idea but definitely no rumour of one being made.

  • zelda man 1999

    man when i look at the first picture i think poor thing it just wanted to get played with but some ASS-HOLE had to take the poor boy apart

  • Rez

    I sant to like 3DS but i Feel Nintendo is being cheap a*s again here. I mean the camera just sucks for a device in this price range. Also they could have use better CPU – GPU.
    iPhone has much better performance and screen and it was released like half year ago.
    Sure there Is the 3D in there but thats secondary for me atleast.
    Nintendo will make tons of cash on the games so they could have made a better device and earned a little less on each device but noooo they are as greedy as ever. I hope psp2 blow this spec really.
    Anyway I will for sure wait and try the games properly before buying if I decide to get this. Looking more forward to psp2 really.

    • nugget

      uhhh, did you miss somthing? the site says 3ds, i promise, just look. why are you here? and the reason that nintendo doesnt need huge spes is because they make game that are ten times better without the specs. the better company should get more money, its that simple.

    • Rez

      @nugget
      That’s a lame excuse to me. Today there are tons of quality games for all devices and to be honest Nintendo is just making Mario copies with lame graphic in my opinion. You might feel differently but it doesn’t change the fact that this hw is outdated before it’s out. I will foe sure try it and decide if it’s worth a buy but on paper it looks lame.
      Ps. I’m here cause I like portable devices like urself. Any way this is my opinion on the device.

    • Knuckles

      @Rez where do you have a spec list for the 3ds? I want to see it btw the Pica200 is better than the Iphone 4 Gpu

    • Knuckles

      @Rez and for the record the iphone is 400 dollars at least so I think we made out pretty good here!

    • http://www.youtube.com/user/sa66o6?feature=mhum sa66o6

      Well Rez,do you have a spec list for the 3ds? seriously dude,we all would be happy to see it.And Knuckles is right,the 3ds’s gpu Pica200 is more-powerful than tha iphone 4′s PowerVR,and the Iphone is really more-expensive.Soooo?

  • bils

    lolz

  • jeffry

    why hasnt anyone stolen a blue one? and WHY ON EARTH DIDNT NINTENDO MAKE A GREEN ONE????????????????????????!!!????????

  • Coki

    It is becoming a trend to steal the 3Ds before launch!

  • KirbyFan146890

    Poor Nintendo 3DS, It has been raped D:

  • Phen0m

    So, what conclusion drawn?
    What’s the processor? What’s the graphics chipsets?

  • Rez

    @knuckles
    http://www.hardcoreware.net/nintendo-3ds-specs-comparison/#
    Google it :)
    I read Pica200 was made 2006 so its outdated compared to powerVR used in iPhone. Also iPhone CPU is around 1Ghz compared to 200-400 in 3DS.
    Another thing that worry me is how comfortable it will be to play on it. Saw kid ikarus demo and the guy was holding it with one hand and moved the camera with stylus (other hand). We just have to w8 and see I guess.
    Ps. U got a point about cost but on the other hand games are like 1/8 of the price of 3ds and u can do allot more with a phone too but i get ur point :)

    Pss. Writing from iPhone ;)

  • james braselton

    hi there forgot the charging cradel soo battery wont last long

  • zachary

    how did you get your hands on a 3ds