The Nintendo Zone Box is a special DS developed in collaboration with Nintendo and Mitsumi Electronics. This specialized Nintendo DS can connect to Nintendo’s official Nintendo Zone server with the use of a cartridge, and is the main device for creating a Nintendo Zone setup at a local wifi network. Though at the end of the day, this is just a regular Nintendo DS with a screen missing, and all of its functions can be replicated on a retail DS.
Since the Nintendo Zone Box has no special software built into its system, all of the required Nintendo Zone Box software is on DS carts that can be used on retail hardware as well. The beacon (in case of Nintendo Zone) is the starting point for a Nintendo Zone setup. The cartridge contains a payload and a SSID. The beacon checks if the SSID matches with the SSID the DSi is currently connected to (eg. if the SSID on the cart is “BestBuy”, the SSID on the network must be the same).
Currently, one beacon cartridge is known to be dumped. This cartridge was used at Best Buy.
