Will DS-Xtreme put DS homebrew on tap for all?

Even with the amazing diversity of DS games and software (which now covers everything from brain training and web browsing to karting and even cookery), there'll always be some folk who still aren't satisfied and want to add their own applications to the mix.

Indeed, sites like DS Emulation, Drunken Coders and NDS Homebrew are packed full of files and information about these home-grown games, mods and software.

It's fair to say though that they aren't always the most user-friendly places to access, and the so-called Homebrew Scene can seem intimidating to newcomers – heck, it scares us sometimes!

Hence, in the next few weeks we hope to be bringing you a rather friendlier introduction to this underground world.

We might just have a lot more to report on soon too, as a new cartridge called the DS-Xtreme promises to make getting these unofficial applications onto your DS as simple as dragging and dropping them from a Windows XP powered PC via a USB 2.0 cable. With some previous systems requiring all manner of complex cards, software and links to even get started, this could be just the thing to make mods and homebrew software available to the masses.

The new DS-Xtreme cartridge, which plugs into the DS or DS Lite game port, will feature 512Mb of RAM, 4Gb of storage space to save your software and a custom-engineered chip with its own EEprom to do all the complex technical stuff. Theoretically you needn't worry too much about that though, as the friendly interface and generally plug n' play system should make managing your applications almost as easy as everything else you do on the DS.

At least that's the promise: we very much hope to confirm these claims when we actually get a look at the cartridge in the near future. Although no official launch date has been given by the company site, pre-orders are already being taken at $124.95 (around £67.00 before shipping costs) via Davinio.com