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Windows 95 on a Nintendo 3DS is as strange as you'd think

Clever emulation gets the 3DS running PC software from 20 years ago.

The trend of putting PC software on wholly impractical devices isn't stopping with the new year, folks. GBATemp fan Shutterbug2000 has managed to get Windows 95 running on a New Nintendo 3DS XL thanks to both DOSbox emulation and some ingenuity. You won't be doing a whole lot with this right now -- Microsoft wasn't designing for touchscreens and analog sticks two decades ago -- but it really does work on a basic level. It looks more than a little odd, too, between the tiny desktop and the emulator status on the second screen.

The real challenge may be to run any meaningful software beyond the operating system. As great as it would be to run classic Windows games on a modern handheld, it could be a long, long while before you're doing much more than staring at the home screen. Even so, this because-I-can feat is pretty impressive... and it's probably the closest you'll ever get to a portable Microsoft gaming system.