Wasn't sure where else to post this, so…

Okay so basically a while back I bought a preowned copy of Pokémon Diamond I found in my trusted video game store. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a fake, so I assume somebody bought a fake online and decided to give it to the store. I thought that, considering it acted mostly like the real thing, I could play it anyways, but I forgot about it so I haven't played very much of it (I'm 15 minutes in at the very most, and the guy who owned it before played through the first fifth (3 minutes) of that anyways). Anyways, I'm now scared that if I perform a system update on my 3ds, it will break because of the fake game. Has anyone else played a fake game on their 3ds (not necessarily a Pokémon one)? Did it break when you updated? If only the first question is true or neither are true, do you think it's likely my 3ds will break? I really want to update so I can connect to the Internet, but I'm really scared.

I think video game stores should take this as a warning to thoroughly check their games before selling them, especially preowned ones.

Post some pictures of the cartridge

If this is what I think this is, the most that could happen from a system update is the game breaks from a new AP check

I'm pretty sure that the fake game will not brick (break) your 3DS, according to my research. I also found out that the system will not recognize/play pirated games, so you're ok.

How do you know that the game is fake? Does it save like a normal Pokémon game? Are there any translation errors? If it plays like normal, then it should be real.

I know that the usual term for a broken 3ds is a bricked 3ds, I just wasn't sure if anyone here would know what that would mean

But clearly you guys do so I can say bricked from now on.

Anyways, I know the game is fake because:

- On the cartridge, “The Pokémon Company” is written in an unusual font, and it is very wide
- The Nintendo seal of approval on the cartridge looks very stretched, and I think it does on the box too
- When I load the game, it has a hard-to-understand warning which I think is saying that the game might not work if I connect to the Internet? I don't get this warning when I load my legit Pokémon Pearl.

So that's why I think it's fake. If you want a comparison with my real Pokémon Pearl (I'll have to use my brother's DSi for in-game images lol) then I'll be happy to make one.

Only just realised it's a DS game you're referring to. In that case:
1) it's 100% safe
2) since nintendo has stopped patching flashcards, this fake cartridge will probably work for as long as the cheap build allows it to

I would be most worried about the card causing damage to the connector on your 3ds. Check the connector on the cartridge with another one that you know is real. Never force a fake card into a 3ds or DSi cartridge slot and NEVER unplug them while the game is running. Fake cartridges are known for their cheap and dodgy connectors that can break 3DSes and NDSes. Be careful when removing the cartridge if your system is on. You don't want to cause a short circuit.

If the connectors look close enough then you'll probably be fine.

The update for 11.4 will NOT break or break the cartridge but there is a real danger when using fake cartridges.

I don't really know anything about fake 3DS games, but to prevent it from happening again, I would recommend buying your games from Amazon, and make sure it's sold by Nintendo.

I don't think putting a fake game in has the possibility to brick the 3DS.

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't break your 3DS, unless it's a virus or something.

PrincessPanda_test_ wrote:

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't break your 3DS, unless it's a virus or something.

A virus? For the 3DS? The 3DS runs most things in userland and sandboxes the NDS runtime by running the NDS firmware under the 3DS firmware. It is near impossible to do any damage to the system without using something similar to udsploit and safehax. And don't forget that writing to the NAND directly requires the OTP.bin which can only be extracted using firmware version 2.1.0

bybb wrote:

I would be most worried about the card causing damage to the connector on your 3ds. Check the connector on the cartridge with another one that you know is real. Never force a fake card into a 3ds or DSi cartridge slot and NEVER unplug them while the game is running. Fake cartridges are known for their cheap and dodgy connectors that can break 3DSes and NDSes. Be careful when removing the cartridge if your system is on. You don't want to cause a short circuit.

If the connectors look close enough then you'll probably be fine.

The update for 11.4 will NOT break or break the cartridge but there is a real danger when using fake cartridges.

Okay, I see. I can't remember clearly but I may have forced the cartridge in when I got it, but I severely doubt something's gonna happen if that was like, September 2016 lol

StackMasher wrote:

Only just realised it's a DS game you're referring to. In that case:
1) it's 100% safe
2) since nintendo has stopped patching flashcards, this fake cartridge will probably work for as long as the cheap build allows it to

Lol, I thought it was common knowledge that Pokémon Diamond is a DS game?

Everyone else: Thanks for replying.

I heard that you should delete all data of the fake game from your console, but I couldn't find the game in my save storage (I searched everywhere - regular save storage, DSWare, everything!). But I did find it in my Activity Log, so I deleted that data.

Anyways, my concluding question is:

If I perform a system update, will the fact that I played a fake version of the DS game Pokémon Diamond break my 3DS?

Its hard to say… I don't own a lot of 3DS games, and they all are official. Most I got online in Nintendo eshop, two in stores, and just 2 games from stores that are official but not originally made by Nintendo, such as Transformers Prime: The Game, and Angry Birds Trilogy. EDIT: I just remembered Wild West 3D.

TealWashableMarker wrote:

If I perform a system update, will the fact that I played a fake version of the DS game Pokémon Diamond break my 3DS?

No

Also you couldn't find the save data because it's on the cartridge

StackMasher wrote:

TealWashableMarker wrote:

If I perform a system update, will the fact that I played a fake version of the DS game Pokémon Diamond break my 3DS?

No

Also you couldn't find the save data because it's on the cartridge

Omg I just realised

All my 3DS games are saved on the console


If my 3DS broke I'd have to start

all


over


again.


;-;


(I think that's the first time I've used big text here)

I know Pokémon Diamond won't break it though, I mean like if I dropped it from real high

And I mean real high because (3)DS' are very durable, I once heard someone dropped a DS down a flight of stairs and it was fine! Other stories I heard all that happened was the battery dislodged and the time reset, and the worse I've heard was someone dropped their 3DS on the pavement (sidewalk if you're American, or just the general street) and it was gone. Not working at all.

It's crazy how secure Nintendo's devices are.

TealWashableMarker wrote:

I know Pokémon Diamond won't break it though, I mean like if I dropped it from real high

And I mean real high because (3)DS' are very durable, I once heard someone dropped a DS down a flight of stairs and it was fine! Other stories I heard all that happened was the battery dislodged and the time reset, and the worse I've heard was someone dropped their 3DS on the pavement (sidewalk if you're American, or just the general street) and it was gone. Not working at all.

It's crazy how secure Nintendo's devices are.

Wow, a 3DS does not break if tossed down a flight a stairs but mine stopped charging for no real reason. I have dropped it on a hard floor before and it just got a tiny crack on the glassy top.

Also I'm pretty sure your 3DS will not break if you play the fake pokemon diamond, my some one I know has removed updates from their 3DS so they could hack pokemon into their game (and one of the steps on how to do it was pray that your 3DS doesn't break) then updated it again and they had no problems.

muellly wrote:

TealWashableMarker wrote:

I know Pokémon Diamond won't break it though, I mean like if I dropped it from real high

And I mean real high because (3)DS' are very durable, I once heard someone dropped a DS down a flight of stairs and it was fine! Other stories I heard all that happened was the battery dislodged and the time reset, and the worse I've heard was someone dropped their 3DS on the pavement (sidewalk if you're American, or just the general street) and it was gone. Not working at all.

It's crazy how secure Nintendo's devices are.

Wow, a 3DS does not break if tossed down a flight a stairs but mine stopped charging for no real reason. I have dropped it on a hard floor before and it just got a tiny crack on the glassy top.

Also I'm pretty sure your 3DS will not break if you play the fake pokemon diamond, my some one I know has removed updates from their 3DS so they could hack pokemon into their game (and one of the steps on how to do it was pray that your 3DS doesn't break) then updated it again and they had no problems.

It was a DS that was dropped down the stairs, not a 3DS

Okay, thanks for your answer. I think I'll update it today, and if you guys are wrong, well, I'll post pictures.

Omg I just realised

All my 3DS games are saved on the console


If my 3DS broke I'd have to start

all


over


again.


;-;


(I think that's the first time I've used big text here)

Is all your other game storage on the SD card? If so, you could put a different SD card in, then update the 3DS, and put the old SD card back in.