It seems the hunt for finding a way to crack open (figuratively speaking) the Nintendo 3DS to enable homebrew software is over. The Solution? A 2011 game from Ubisoft called Cubic Ninja.
As reported by Polygon a 22-year old Parisian hacker named Jordan "Smealum" Rabet have succeeded in opening up the handheld console using an exploit found in the game similar to the one used to bring homebrewed software to the Wii. Furthermore the hacker himself describes the exploit as "versatile" and compatible with any 3DS model with system firmware 4.0 or older. That being said he expects Nintendo to attempt to close the loophole with future updates.
Through the exploit people will be able to make homebrewed games, applications and emulators on the system, while pirated games still isn't possible. Even so the priced for used copies of the game on sites such as eBay og Amazon have skyrocketed from an average of around $3 to up to ten times as much.