I'm currently making a comprehensive list of all Nintendo development hardware and I think I've pretty much found all existing hardware for the Nintendo DS. I know there is more stuff that was used internally by Nintendo and was never buyable by developers, but I have very little information on these items so they are currently missing from this thread. This thread is currently for NITRO and TWL only, not CTR. I am not posting any information about the 3DS at this moment because it is current gen. If anything is missing please let me know. All pictures taken by me unless stated otherwise. Nothing is for sale; don't PM me about it. IS-NITRO-EMULATOR Originally sold at $1,895 with wireless and video out upgrades being available for $479 each and a USG (DS Lite controller) option being added later for an unknown price (assumed to be free), these units are the main debugging solution for the Nintendo DS. It is sometimes confused as being different from the IS-NITRO-DEBUGGER; however, the IS-NITRO-DEBUGGER is simply the name of the software package these were sold with. They also worked with CodeWarrior software. They have 4MB more memory than retail DS units (8MB total). The card slot on these units is used to write flash cards and read backup memory from flash cards. They cannot read games flash cards. Games debugged on this unit are stored on a PC and accessed through a USB 2.0 connection. The Game Boy slot is used for the IS-NITRO-UIC (MIDI) or IS-AGB-MIDI. The wireless upgrade option allows for communication with retail DS units; however, an IS-NITRO-HUB can be used instead if owned. The video out option added the ability to output video and audio to two NTSC TVs (one for each DS screen). Despite being only available in NTSC, this upgrade was available in Europe. The power supply for these units is a standard Gamecube power cord, which is sold separately. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-NITRO-CAPTURE Image credit to JaxsBox at NintendoAge. These were sold for $1,419 and were used for capturing game images and video. It connects to a PC via USB 2.0 and saves BMPs or AVIs (no audio) from the game card that is inserted. It is also able to output video and audio to an NTSC TV. Despite not being available in PAL, these were still sold in Europe. They have the same amount of memory as retail DS units. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-NITRO-VIDEO Image from eBay These were originally sold for $939 and had a wireless upgrade option for an extra $479. Their main purpose was to output games to TVs to show off at trade shows. Much like the IS-NITRO-EMULATOR with the video out upgrade, it is only possible to output to two TVs (one for each DS screen); however, unlike the IS-NITRO-EMULATOR, these units have the same amount of memory as retail DS units. Only NTSC models were made and they were not available to buy in Europe. Due to these facts, these are pretty rare. According to Nintendo, they also never had a USG upgrade option (DS Lite controller); however, the only picture I could find of one has a USG controller, so take that as you will. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-NITRO-HUB This baby originally sold for $655 and was pretty much useless. That's probably why you don't see much of these. The purpose of this box is to connect up to 16 IS-NITRO EMULATOR/VIDEO/CAPTURE boxes to the internet to test wireless without interference. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-NITRO-WRITER Image from official Nintendo manual Sold at $1,895 having upgrade options of backup memory capabilities for $625 and later TWL capabilities for a currently unknown price, this device is simply a gang writer for DS flash cards. It can write eight flash cards at once. Using Multiple units linked together with a USB hub it is possible to write more than eight at once. With the backup memory option purchased, it is also able to write save data to backup memory chips, and with the TWL option it can write TWL flash cards. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-NITRO-UIC Image credit Yahoo Auctions This device was sold for $479 and it serves as a cheaper alternative to the IS-NITRO-EMULATOR if you do not require debugging. It works with the all the same software as the IS-NITRO-EMULATOR except the IS-NITRO-DEBUGGER software. It plugs into the Gameboy slot on a retail DS and connects to a PC with a USB 2.0 cord. Unlike the IS-NITRO-EMULATOR, it does not read the game from the PC, but rather from a flash card in the DS. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-NITRO-UIC (MIDI) Image credit Nintendo This was sold for $769 and is exactly the same as the normal IS-NITRO-UIC except that it includes a MIDI-IN port on the side. It can be used for realtime MIDI playback on a retail DS or IS-NITRO-EMULATOR. Made by Intelligent Systems. DS-DEV Image from official Nintendo announcement The DS-DEV is an alternative to the IS-NITRO-EMULATOR made for use with SN Systems ProDG software. It has a flash card writer, video output, and toggleable RAM between 4M (retail) and 8M. It also has a debug monitor feature that transfers useful debug information to a PC at 60fps. Made by Hudson and SN Systems. Flash Cards Two of these four are Photoshopped because I don't have real pictures of them. Can you tell which ones? SHARP 128 Mbit ×4 Image credit 1timeuser on GBAtemp (left), eBay (right) MICRON 128 Mbit ×4 (Japanese Writing: MICRO製フラッシュ512M) Image credit Laugedk Reflashable cartridges that hold game data. Several different models available. Currently unknown what SP means. All sizes are in Mbit and Gbit. NITRO: DS Flash Card 512M (E202510) DS Flash Card 1G (E202528) DS Flash Card SP 512M (E202650) DS Flash Card SP 1G (E202668) DS Flash Card SP 2G (E202676) 128 Mbit (SHARP LH28F128BFHBD 128 Mbit ×1) 256 Mbit (SHARP LH28F128BFHBD 128 Mbit ×2) 512 Mbit (SHARP LH28F128BFHBD 128 Mbit ×4) 128 Mbit (Micron MT28F128J3 128 Mbit ×1) 512 Mbit (Micron MT28F128J3 128 Mbit ×4) TWL: TWL Flash Card 4G (E203088) Subcards Japanese Writing: NTR開発用カード専用 Japanese Subtext: 接触不良検出改善版 These are backup memory for flash cards used to hold save game data. TWL flash cards use the same subcards as NITRO flash cards do. There are multiple sizes available in FLASH, EEPROM, and FRAM. Sizes are all in Kbit and Mbit. EEPROM: 1M STMicro EEPROM 4K EEPROM 64K EEPROM 4K EEPROM1 64K EEPROM1 512K EEPROM1 FLASH: 8M STMicro M45PE80 FLASH 16M STMicro M25PE16 FLASH 32M STMicro M25P32 FLASH 64M STMicro M25P64 FLASH 2M FLASH 4M FLASH 2M FLASH1 4M FLASH1 8M FLASH1 FRAM: 256K FUJITSU MB85RS256 FRAM IS-TWL-DEBUGGER Image credit to eBay The IS-TWL-DEBUGGER supports all features of the IS-NITRO-EMULATOR and more. It can still be used for NITRO development and it can write both NITRO and TWL flash cards. There is 32MB memory and wireless is now included for free as a standard. There were three different options available when purchasing: Debugger only, Debugger and Capture, and a wired option. The wired option required the purchase of extra cables and hubs from Marubeni Information Systems and it was possible to switch between wired and wireless. Uses a Wii power supply. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-TWL-CAPTURE Image credit to JaxsBox at NintendoAge. Very similar to the IS-NITRO-CAPTURE, the TWL version does everything it's predecessor does, plus it is able to capture audio. When exporting audio only, WAV files are used. Wireless is now included as a standard for no extra cost and NITRO software is still supported with it. There are two types of IS-TWL-CAPTURE: one supports development cards, the other supports retail cards. There was also a wired option when purchasing. The wired option required the purchase of extra cables and hubs from Marubeni Information Systems and it was possible to switch between wired and wireless. The model that supports retail cartridges has a black face plate. Uses a Wii power supply. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-TWL-CTRL Image credit to lolsasory on Reddit Simply the controller for IS-TWL-DEBUGGER and IS-TWL-CAPTURE. Made by Intelligent Systems. IS-TWL-MIDI This device plugs into the DS card slot of a TWL system (IS-TWL-DEBUGGER or Panda) and has a MIDI-IN port for testing sounds on real hardware directly. It does not connect to the computer like the IS-NITRO-UIC (MIDI) and a UIC version was not made. Made by Intelligent Systems. TWL Panda Units DEV-UTL-USZ (left) and DEV-UTL-USZ XL (right) Image credit to JaxsBox at NintendoAge. Known as DEV-UTL-USZ, the Panda is named after it's black and white color. It is a test unit for running NITRO and TWL flash cards. Retail DSi units cannot run TWL flash cards. Comes with wireless and several debug applications (Nmenu, NAND filer). Does not have the DSi eshop installed.
I've got some photos of the UIC if you want them. Also, in the Hudson DS-DEV diagram the little drawing of a computer looks identical to an IBM 5551 PS/55, which is interesting considering that machine would've been like 15 years old by the time the DS came out.
If you're going to make a comprehensive list it's worth also pointing out 1. The variances in the units connected to the "IS-NITRO-EMULATOR", I think in total there were 3/4 variances. The first being the fugly thing you saw when they announced the DS, second was the retail launch design (I think there was another variance with different length of cable between unit and emulator) and last being the lite model. 2. The proto TEG boards. http://www.eurasia.nu/images/submitted/iris-teg-01.jpg, These were in the hands on 3rd party developers (I had access to both the 01 & 02 models). As for the rest, good work!
