GeForce NOW comes to Nintendo 3DS through unofficial Kasumi client

A Nintendo 3DS probably isn’t the first machine you’d pick for streaming modern PC games, yet somebody has managed to get GeForce NOW running on one. The project is called Kasumi, an unofficial homebrew client built for the New Nintendo 3DS family. It connects Nintendo’s ageing handheld to NVIDIA’s cloud gaming service, letting supported PC games stream directly to the upper screen. Video arrives over Wi-Fi, the handheld decodes it locally, and button inputs make the trip in the opposite direction. It’s a strange pairing on paper. In practice, Kasumi works within some fairly strict limits.

GeForce NOW comes to the New Nintendo 3DS

Kasumi supports the New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL and New Nintendo 2DS XL. Owners of the original 3DS and 2DS are left out, since those machines lack the hardware video decoder needed by the client. You’ll need custom firmware too. Kasumi relies on Luma3DS and can run either as an installed CIA package or through a .3dsx homebrew application.

Once running, the handheld doesn’t need a gaming PC somewhere else in the house. GeForce NOW handles the games remotely on NVIDIA’s servers. Kasumi receives the resulting video and audio stream, decodes it, displays it and sends controller input to the service.

Games linked through supported PC storefronts can be accessed through GeForce NOW in the usual way, including compatible titles from Steam, Epic Games and Ubisoft. The software remains in public beta, so it’s very much an active project rather than a finished commercial app. It includes an updater too, letting users install newer releases from the handheld itself.

The 3DS Wi-Fi sets some clear limits

Streaming modern PC games to hardware from the 3DS era brings a few obvious restrictions. Kasumi tops out at 30 frames per second. Its network settings are built around the handheld’s 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection, with roughly 1 Mbps used as a practical streaming target. Push the bitrate higher and packet loss can become a problem.

Latency changes with network quality and the distance between the user and a GeForce NOW server. Testing during development produced network round-trip figures in the region of 60 to 80 milliseconds. The client can add one or two frames of buffering to keep playback steady.

Video streams can reach 960 x 540 before being adapted for the 3DS display. No amount of cloud rendering changes the physical resolution of Nintendo’s screen, of course, so tiny PC interface elements can still become difficult to read.

Kasumi has a workaround for this. Players can zoom sections of the image and save preferred zoom areas, which should prove useful in games built around small menus, text or desktop-style interfaces.

The second screen gets put to work

Controls are where things get more interesting. The Circle Pad and C-Stick can act as the left and right analogue sticks. Shoulder buttons cover trigger inputs, and the touch screen provides access to extra controls such as L3, R3 and a PlayStation-style system button. Per-game button mapping is included, letting users create different layouts for different titles. Gyro aiming is available too.

PC launchers present another problem, since many expect a mouse and keyboard rather than a handheld controller. Kasumi turns the lower touch screen into a remote keyboard and touchpad, giving players a way to deal with login screens, launchers and menus without reaching for another device. A separate stream menu handles screenshots, sound settings, control information, zoom options, gyro settings and session controls.

Closing the 3DS lid can interrupt its wireless connection, so Kasumi includes automatic reconnection for interrupted sessions. Open the system again and the client can reconnect instead of forcing the user to start from scratch.

You don’t need a paid GeForce NOW account

Kasumi works with NVIDIA’s free GeForce NOW membership, so a paid subscription isn’t required. Free users still get the normal restrictions attached to NVIDIA’s service, including queues and one-hour gaming sessions. Kasumi can show an estimated waiting time and provide a notification once a remote gaming system becomes available.

Account login uses NVIDIA’s device-code system. Instead of typing an NVIDIA password on a 3DS touch screen, users complete authentication on another device. Store accounts remain linked through GeForce NOW rather than being managed by Kasumi itself. Kasumi is released under the GPL-3.0 licence and has no official connection with Nintendo or NVIDIA.

It won’t turn a New Nintendo 3DS into a modern gaming handheld, nor is it trying to. What it does provide is a functioning GeForce NOW client built around some very old hardware restrictions. At 30fps, on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, using a pair of screens Nintendo released years before cloud gaming became commonplace. And, somehow, PC game streaming fits inside it.