While the PS3 has been out for ages, it still retains a good deal of loyal developers that update homebrew tools and CFWs when Sony decides to release a firmware update. This time around, we have an updated HFW Flash Writer for Firmware 4.85 when it comes to the PS3 and melonDS 0.8.3 on the Switch front!

PS3 News: PS3 NAND/NOR Flasher version 2.0.2 released with support for HFW 4.85

You can now flash CFW on a compatible PS3 console even if it’s running FW 4.85!

A little over two weeks ago, Sony released FW 4.85 out of the blue with the usual changelog of ‘This system software update improves system performance’ leading many to believe that the vulnerabilities/exploits that allow for the installation of HFW and PS3HEN had been patched. However, this turned out not to be the case and ever since then, tools and CFWs have been slowly getting updated with PS3HEN being updated a mere two days after OFW 4.85 landed and popular tools like IRISMAN, ManaGunZ and SEN Enabler also seeing updates.

Now, PS3 NAND/NOR Flasher version 2.0.2 has been released with support for HFW 4.85 meaning that CFW-compatible PS3 consoles (minver of FW 3.56 or lower) running firmware 4.85 can now have a CFW installed on them after HFW 4.85.1 is installed. The updated flasher and hex file are currently available on ps3xploit.com (access it from the toolbar at the top on your PS3) and PSX-Place threads about it will be updated soon to reflect the release. However, you can follow this guide which is for version 2.0.1 as the steps for basic usage are still the same.

The PS3 NAND/NOR Flasher deals with low-level things so if used incorrectly, it can lead to a brick. As a result, make sure you use it on HFW 4.85.1 and be 100% certain that the MD5 of ‘flash_485.hex’ is “2D74B066E7453E6B1336E36C410FB1EB” (without quotes)

Switch News: Hydr8gon releases melonDS 0.8.3 for hacked Switch consoles

While the Switch on Horizon OS isn’t the best device for Nintendo DS emulation, some  games can run well provided you overclock your console (Image Source)

The Switch scene never really sleeps and while we’re waiting for CFWs like Atmosphere to be updated with FW 9.0.0 support, Hydr8gon went ahead and released melonDS 0.8.3 for the console. This update is mostly a bug fix update, more about which can be found here, so it’s important not to expect an awful lot from it but it has a couple of accuracy updates and a fix relating to audio output which might be useful for some games.

That being said, some significant performance improvements to melonDS on the Switch may be coming in the future as GBATemp user ‘catlover007’ is currently working on an ARM64 JIT for the emulator which would greatly reduce the strain on the Switch’s CPU. Some more information about this can be found in these comments (comment 1 | comment 2).

To grab the melonDS 0.8.3 NRO for your Switch, follow this link to its GitHub release page and remember, many DS games may run slow or require you to overclock your console for playable frame rates.

Conclusion

While melonDS for the Switch is seeing some promising progress with the ARM64 JIT, the best way to get an enjoyable experience in Nintendo DS games on your Switch is by emulating them via Android on an emulator such as DraStic.