The Nintendo DSi is (almost) GO in Japan, and already reports are popping up over the revamped handheld's incompatibility with certain backup devices that fit into the DS game card slot (slot-1).  DS gamers of course will know all the most popular ones, like the R4DS and EZFlash V.  Though hailed by the enthusiast community for homebrew application and media playback support, these devices are unfortunately better known for their ability to play illegal backups of retail DS games stored in removable flash media.

Such functionality has irked Nintendo and third party publishers to no end, and earlier this year the companies ramped up efforts to curb distribution of the flashcarts in Japan.  Now it appears Nintendo has gone one step further; so far as early hands-on impressions have suggested, its latest DSi hardware simply won't support the slot-1 devices at all.  Additionally, the DSi's lack of a GBA cartridge slot (slot-2) means that older flash carts which required those were already out of the running.

Of course, this is somewhat to be expected given that current slot-1 flashcarts were originally designed to support DS Lite models.  It could be a matter of time before updated devices or firmware emerge, but there's the issue of what else has changed for the DSi under the hood.  Indeed, the DSi finally features built-in media playback, so there's at least one functionality gamers won't need to resort to using flashcarts to enjoy.