Full Tutorial: How to Capture 3DS Gameplay on Old/New Models Easily

In the wonderful world of gaming, sharing your wins, strategies, and memorable moments has become an integral part of the gaming experience. For avid Nintendo 3DS gameplayers, the desire to capture and share gameplay often leads them to seek out the best method.

But will Nintendo allow us to record the 3DS? What should we do and how to capture 3DS gameplay? In this article, we'll take a closer look at two different ways to capture 3DS gameplay - with and without a capture card.

Does Nintendo Support Screen Capture 3DS?

Unfortunately, Nintendo does not support you to record game videos on 3DS. The Nintendo Switch, released on March 3, 2017, has a built-in game recording function, giving full support to record Switch gameplay within 30 seconds. The predecessor Nintendo 3DS was designed & sold in early 2011, apparently, engineers of Nintendo were not expecting that social networking & video sharing would become the center of popularity here we live today. 

With the crippled hardware performance, the absence of expansion support, and the incompetence of internet service, not until now Nintendo has officially updated or even announced that there will be a game recording support on 3DS. Here comes an issue — how to record 3DS gameplay on old or new 3DS models? No worry, we will figure out how to record gameplay on 3DS easily in the following part. 

How to Capture 3DS Gameplay - Old Model (3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS)

Developed in 2010, the 3DS has now released two variants (Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS) and three hardware upgraded versions (New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 2DS XL). We are not going to distinguish their differences & functionalities but focus on a very important notation. If our purpose is to record the 3DS gameplay video, a different strategy needs to adapt to a different version of Nintendo 3DS consoles.

To record the older version of 3DS gameplay video isn’t as easy job to achieve as you to record your screen on desktop & mobile. Due to its extremely poor expandability, it is essentially impossible to achieve recording function by adding external card & cable or the 3DS capture card like Elgato. For users who want to record the game video with Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS, the chance might only leave to be - modify your console, or point a camera at the screen when you playing.

The general price isn’t cheap for converting your old Nintendo 3DS to a gameplay video recording support model. To modify your console with the modification kit need a certain level of 3DS hardware knowledge and the technic of hardware modding. It will generally cost you more than $100 today and must send your console to the modder and allow them to modify your machine. The good news is, once you’ve finished modding, connect the console to the PC, the system will recognize your 3DS as a supported device, you can see the 3DS graphic through the software the modder provides (could be various depending on modders). Then you can record the gameplay with a screen recorder software.

An alternative solution is to point a camera right to the screen of the Nintendo 3DS. Theoretically, that can solve all screen/ game video recording issues because the screen is optically recorded. But it will predictably influence the user experience since game audio will probably be missing in this situation. And to be honest, it looks bad…

How to Record 3DS Gameplay - New Model (3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS XL) 

If you have the newer model of Nintendo 3DS, including the New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, and New Nintendo 2DS XL, the good news is we don’t have to purchase a modification kit. Since the New 3DS series supports homebrew software and has better connectivity & expandability, its CFW (custom firmware) allows us to connect to the computer without modifying the game console physically.

To set up a custom firmware, search Google for “boot9strap”, go to their website and there will be a full instruction & guide with the software download link provided. For more information, you can visit 3ds.hacks.guide.

#1. Preparation Before 3DS Screen Capture

• N2DS XL, N3DS, or N3DS XL with a CFW already set up
• A .cia title manager such as DevMenu, BBM, or FBI
• Nanquitas' BootNTR Selector< https://github.com/Nanquitas/BootNTR/releases > (NOT the ones marked Mode 3, either the FONZD or PabloMK7 .cia versions will do, they are the same app but with different icon art)
•  A router

For the PC that receives the captured screen, you will need:

• The latest version of Python installed on the PC
• .NET 4.0 Framework installed on the PC
• Kit-Kat Slim< https://github.com/gameincanada/kit-kat-slim/releases > (Official thread)

#2. Connect N3DS to PC

Step 1. Ensure that the router has Internet access. This is because if a 3DS is unable to detect an Internet connection from the router, it will disconnect from the router.

Step 2. Power on the N3DS and allow it to connect to the router. It should display a blue "Internet" icon on the top-left of the Home Menu status bar.

Step 3. Find your N3DS' internal IP address. This can be found under the Rosalina menu from Luma3DS by pressing L + Select + Down on the D-Pad, then selecting Debugger options > Enable debugging.

Step 4. On the N3DS, launch the BootNTR Selector app we previously installed. You will see a few lines of text, before returning to the Home Menu.

Step 5. With the cursor highlighting a space or folder icon, press X and Y together. A menu will appear on the touchscreen. Select "enable debugger".

Step 6. Launch Kit-Kat Slim on your PC. If Windows Firewall asks you about Kit-Kat Slim, choose to allow connections. Enter your N3DS IP address in the top field.

Step 7. Click Connect. The N3DS top screen should flash purple and blue momentarily and a new window should appear with the N3DS screens streaming on your PC. If a blank NTRViewer window appears, close it, then press Connect again.

#3. Prepare Best 3DS Screen Recorder

All the above preparations serve one target: to capture 3DS gameplay. For our purpose of recording 3DS gameplay, we need the best 3DS screen recorder as the last step. To learn how to record 3DS gameplay, one of the best screen recorders that worth trying is iTop Screen Recorder. The free nature, complete functionality and accessibility of this free screen recorder will be unmatched. You can use it to record unlimited HD lag-free gameplay videos when your new 3DS is connected to your computer.

iTop Screen Recorder-Record HD Gameplay With No FPS Drops

• Record high-performance PC game with no lags
• Record HD game clips up to 200 FPS
• Record real-time gaming with audio & webcam
• Upload game video to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook

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Key features you can use to capture 3DS gameplay:

• Record 3DS Gameplay Simply and for Free. With iTop Screen Recorder, you don't need to have specialized skills, it will automatically detect the game you launch and start recording with one click. In addition to 3DS, it can also be used to record Roblox, Switch games, and more.
• Capture 3DS Gameplay Without Lag and FPS Drops. It supports you to record 3DS without FPS drop and latency as it provides you stable recording by consuming low CPU utilization, bringing you good user experience.
• Record HD 3DS Gameplay Videos. This screen recorder for Windows 10 can help you capture 3DS wonderful gaming moments without compromising the original video quality.
• Flexible Capture 3DS Video Recording. When you use iTop Screen Recorder to record 3DS on your computer, you can choose to record full screen or to record part of screen with this best 3DS screen recorder.
• Multiple 3DS Video Output Formats. For easy sharing and saving, it enables you to save the recorded 3DS videos as MP4 or other mainstream formats. No need to convert the video format when you share the video in other places.
• Record More Than Gameplay. iTop Screen Recorder can capture anything on your screen. In addition to gameplay, it can also be a tool for your work, like to record Zoom meeting without permission.

How to use this free 3DS screen recorder to record gameplay:

Step 1. Make sure your 3DS is connected to your PC via hardware connection (old 3DS hardware mod & CFW NTR software mod). Or running a 3DS emulator. Then download iTop Screen Recorder on your PC.

Step 2. Run iTop Screen Recorder, go to Game tab under Record to capture 3DS gameplay. Start recording by clicking the red “REC” button.

Step 3. You can stop recording anytime by clicking the red square button on the recording control panel. Then you can choose to review, edit, or share the recorded 3DS gameplay videos in Files.

There are also other powerful functions waiting for you to explore with iTop Screen recorder. This game recording software no watermark can record 3DS gaming video and save the clip as a gif image. That is very convenient if you want to share your best game completion & moment on Reddit/ social networking… If you are a content creator, its various output format options & a practical video editor could help you to make appropriate 3DS gaming video content.

The Bottom Line

With the above content, you will be able to clearly understand how to capture 3DS gameplay on both old and new Nintendo 3DS models. Screen record 3DS to remember the past days or record your exciting moments to share with your family, friends, and viewers. Recording gameplay videos on 3DS is not easy. For different 3DS models, there will be different ways on how to record 3DS gameplay. Fortunately, the best screen recorder for PC - iTop Screen Recorder, can help you capture 3DS gameplay easily and free of charge without any limitations. Why not try this best 3DS screen recorder for 3DS video capture now?