We've known about this for some time now, but now we get official confirmation from Nintendo that the DSi is indeed incompatible with the R4 flashcart.

Guess they're getting serious.

Nintendo didn't say whether this was an intentional modification of the handheld, but seeing as how they recently introduced a firmware update for the Wii that handicapped Wiibrew, it's entirely possible.

The news of the R4 incompatibility might be a redundant statement of fact, but it still feels ominous to know that Nintendo really might be cracking down hard on piracy, knowing that their measures might also cripple the respective homebrew communities.

Not that I'm worried for them though. After all, the Wiibrew community already found a temporary way around the firmware update, and the DSi was already reported to be hacked by a Japanese coder, who made a Hello World app for the handheld.