Early prototypes of the Nintendo DS Lite (USG-CPU-X2B)

On January 20, 2023, the folks at ForrestOfIllusion found a prototype of the Nintendo DS Lite with the number C/USG-CPU-X2B!

According to them, this prototype was used at the Foxconn factory, but they don't know for what purpose. The obvious differences include a strange hole on the left near the bottom screen and the absence of text on the back panel of the console.

They even made a firmware dump. But there's nothing interesting in it. For the Nintendo DS Lite, the firmware from the Nintendo DS was used, so it will be familiar to you.

Although the folks at ForrestOfIllusion didn't know what this prototype was used for, I know one of the purposes for which it was used - registration with government agencies in the US and Europe.

On February 3, 2006, Nintendo Co., Ltd. filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for certification of the new Nintendo DS Lite console. And there you can see a prototype of the console with the codename: C/USG-CPU-X3.

USG-CPU-X3

Epilogue

Every year, more and more prototypes and old firmware of Nintendo consoles appear on the internet. Who knows what awaits us in the future? Perhaps we'll see proper photos of the Project Atlantis and Project Nitro prototypes?