Okay, so, I was messing around with my 3DS the other day, you know, just doing some regular maintenance and stuff. And then this random thought popped into my head: “I wonder how many DS icons this thing can actually hold?” I mean, I’ve got a bunch of games and apps on there, but I’ve never really pushed it to the limit. So, naturally, I had to find out.
First, I started digging around the settings and menus, you know, just poking around to see if there was any info about icon limits or anything like that. I couldn’t find any clear answers there, so I turned to the internet like any self-respecting geek would do. I stumbled upon some forum threads and some old articles, and it seemed like people were saying something about a 300 icon limit on the 3DS. Some of them talk about each folder holds up to 60 icons. Sounds about right, but that’s not including the built-in stuff like the camera and the eShop.
So, here’s where the real fun began. I decided to really test this out. I started organizing my games and apps into folders, just to see how many I could cram into each one. And yeah, those forum folks were right, 60 icons per folder, that’s the magic number. But then I thought, “What if I just keep adding stuff, folders or no folders, until the 3DS starts to complain?”
Now, I’ve got about, I don’t know, maybe 20 or so icons on my 3DS right now. So I started transferring stuff over from my computer, just to see what would happen. Games, demos, those weird little apps, you name it. I was on a mission. I even considered digging out my old DS games, but then I remembered, those are cartridges, duh. They don’t even show up as icons. I have 286 icons on my Software of 3DS.
I learned that you’ve got to format your SD card to FAT32, which is kind of a no-brainer, but I guess it’s worth mentioning. And when you’re picking the cluster size, there are some recommendations floating around out there, but honestly, I didn’t mess with that too much. I just wanted to get those icons loaded up. Anyway, I kept adding stuff, and you know what? The 3DS didn’t even blink. It just kept taking it all in like a champ.
My Result
- Folders are your friend. I created a bunch of folders and started sorting stuff. Folders can hold up to 60 icons each, which is pretty decent.
- The magic number is 300? After doing some research and seeing some forum posts and things online, some people say the limit is 300 icons total on the home screen. But, the eShop says I’ve downloaded 351 titles. I have 60 pages and five titles each. So I don’t really know if 300 is the max, but that’s just what I found, and my personal experience shows that maybe 300 is not the limitation.
- Built-in stuff counts. Those built-in apps like the camera, the eShop, and all that jazz, they count towards the limit, which is kind of a bummer. I didn’t realize that at first.
- Formatting matters. You gotta make sure your SD card is formatted to FAT32. That’s just how the 3DS rolls.
So, yeah, that’s my little adventure in the world of 3DS icons. It might not be the most groundbreaking discovery, but hey, it was fun to figure out. Plus, now I know how to organize my 3DS like a pro. If you’ve got a 3DS, give it a try and let me know your findings! I’d love to hear about it.
