https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu3_X6HcVrI

A hacker has managed to get Windows 95 running on a New Nintendo 3DS.

The key thing here is that currently we only know of the operating system itself running on the handheld – it’s not clear if the hardware is capable of also running games from within the instance of Windows, currently.

It’s worth pointing out this is simply a modification of RetroArch DOSBox, but it’s certainly interesting.

Featured above, you can view a short video of the OS booting up on the 3DS (but it runs into a few errors). When commentators asked what the framerate is like when running Windows, it’s described as “not really laggy, but definitely not fast either.”

If you’re wondering as to whether or not the original 3DS can manage this, this is currently not possible as the modified code will only function on the New Nintendo 3DS at the moment. Enthusiasts are working on a way around this, however, and you can run DOS-based games in this emulator as “anything DOS based should work.”

If you’re feeling adventurous and own a New Nintendo 3DS, you can download the Windows 95 OS/mod image here (Editor’s Note: You just need to add an image of the Windows 95 logo as this isn’t included).

Editor’s Note: The article originally speculated the hack wouldn’t run on the original Nintendo 3DS due to RAM issues – this is incorrect as it’s a programming issue. Thank you for pointing this out!