R4 cartridges banned in the UK
R4 cartridges used for running pirated or homebrew software on DS' are now illegal in the UK.
Third party cartridges, of which the R4 is the most popular model, usually contain a MicroSD card adaptor and are used for running homebrew software or pirated games on the Nintendo DS range of handhelds.
A judge ruled against R4 manafacturer Playables Limited and Wai Dat Chan today, making it illegal to either sell, advertise or import R4 cartridges within the UK - a move hailed as a 'first ever' judgement by Nintendo.
The judge made the ruling on the basis that such devices bypass Nintendo's security measures and violate DS terms and conditions in order to run software, regardless of whether such software is pirated or not.
"Nintendo promotes and fosters game development and creativity, and strongly supports the game developers who legitimately create new and innovative applications," Nintendo said in a statement.
"Nintendo initiates these actions not only on its own behalf, but also on behalf of over 1,400 video game-development companies that depend on legitimate sales of games for their survival...In the U.K. alone, there have been over 100,000 game copying devices seized since 2009," Nintendo said.
This, naturally, renders our Guide to Nintendo Homebrew Software a bit obsolete. Ah well.
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Previous Article
44 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyAh well, I can now add that to the bottom of the long list entitled "Reasons that the current system of IP laws is completely broken and inadequate".
(though fair enough really I suppose)
Okay, so that's American law, but UK courts have always abided by that decision in the past. Who'd've thought that Nintendo had more lobbying power than Sony?
I'm not too familiar with the DS stuff but is there any legal use for these cartridges??
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=79368
CycloDS, SuperCard DS2, too! ^^
Personally, I think its a shame that proper homebrewed software users lose out to this but as for pirated games then well life sucks, get over it and to the game store if you really want the game.
You could use that argument for anything (just replace device with whatever).
if I bought it I can break it or into it if I want.
As for T&C's I bought it its mine, not rented or hired it. You won't get to read the T&C till you pay for it and open the box any way.
Unlocking phones will be next,
Yes that is rather terrifying, because I believe in the US at least that very certainly was a defence, and a cast-iron one at that.
agreed, is there anything at all in this reality that cannot be used for an illegel activity?
;)
The issue is that the R4's raison d'être is circumventing the copyright restrictions on the DS, which is apparently illegal. Sure, once you've used it there are legitimate things you could do with your cart console, but that doesn't change the fact that the only thing it does is avoid the console's copyright stuff. In that sense, I don't think there is a 'non-infringing' use of the R4 because the actual operation - the circumvention - is the operation of the cartridge. The fact that once you've got it you don't necessarily download games doesn't change the fact that the circumvention is illegal.
The best analogy I can think of is things like car slimjims and lockpicks - like the R4 (and every other custom cart ever) their sole purpose is for defeating security. You might be doing that for a legitimate reason - as a hobby, say, or because you've locked your keys in your car - but that doesn't change the fact that the tool's sole purpose is to circumvent security, which in cars is called taking without owner's consent, in homes is called burglary, and in consoles is called copyright infringement, apparently. (A notable distinction is that locks are not sold as 'not to be picked' in the same way that the DS is sold 'not to be cracked' - hence, lockpicks are controlled but not illegal, but the R4 is illegal.) When Denis_iii points out that everything has the potential for illegality, he's right, but that's not what the intended use of the item is. You could beat someone to death with a hammer, but that doesn't change the fact that the hammer's purpose - hitting nails - is legal. You could use an R4 to run homebrew, but that doesn't change the fact that the R4's purpose - circumvention - is illegal.
For the record, I cracked the hell out of my PSP (never downloaded a game, though, I couldn't find any I wanted to play that much) and I personally think the consumer should be allowed to crack anything he owns, as long as he doesn't whine when it breaks or try and make warranty claims. Nintendo should make the DS (or, more likely, the 3DS) itself harder to hack, or brick itself if hacked, if they want to discourage this kind of thing. That would let buyers know that they're buying something that either can't be modified, or is going to be very risky to do so - and they could make their own decisions about whether to live with the restrictions or buy something else. I think the PS3 is a good example - it's not suffered from the kind of exploits Xboxes suffer from, and that's because it's a much more daunting task. Maybe some people thought about having to pay for their games and then bought an Xbox instead; that's their choice and mostly Microsoft's loss, not Sony's...
When it's this easy to crack the consoles - I mean, neither my PSP nor the DS-series nor the GBA needed anything more than a plug-in card, or not even that - really the manufacturer should start looking at some new staff.
My R4 makes me really happy, Nowadays most I use is Colors and a PC controller....
It says in the first line that similar devices are banned now too.
I loved my CycloDS with 16GB microSD when I had a DS. Shame we won't be able to buy the version for the 3DS when it comes out. They'll probably still be available to buy from some dodgy websites tho!
I remember the Dreamcast days. I had dozens and dozens of pirated games and I couldn't care less about any of them. My attention span for each of them was about 10minutes because I knew I still had so many other games to try.
I now buy all my games. The few cracked games that are on my PC are either very old or were played once in LAN.
EDIT: Yes. I did contribute to the death of the Dreamcast. Shame on me ...
I dunno, there's always that pesky Guybrush Threepwood, if you're really stuck for recrimination targets...
I'm a DS owner. I don't need an R4 to express my freedom. I'm free to play whatever game I legally purchase, just like EVERY other DS owner.
I am appalled at your appalled'ness.
Nice one, you just libelled some one by implying that he pirates. :> Expect a letter through your door.
Typical Company trend these days to blame piracy for declining game sales. Sucks for Dev's who were out to share great games and programs on these devices, and ultimately it's the consumer that loses out. Leveller, I assume you have never tried Colors or any of the great rpg games you can get from the Homebrew crowd (not to mention MSN / IRC clients)?
Don't knock till you have tried it.
Who are the devs going to blame? The big blue chip for stamping out a cartridge that enables the usage of the DS's entire catalogue of games, illegally? Or the millions of people with R4's that are illegally accessing the entire catalogue of DS games?
If it is the former, then their sobbing is mis-directed. I would much prefer to see zero piracy. And to be fair, there are plenty of other platforms where indie devs are very successful, we don't need a world full of bravehearts crying 'unfair' because a platform that was never open in the first place goes one step further to locking itself down, as it was always intended to be.
Cry some more. :'(
Added: thing is though, the R4's are already out there in peoples homes, plugged into their DS's, so the big drama is ... ? Incidentally if we are talking about devs, let's not forget the other side of the coin, which is all the devs whose software is being illegally pirated, downloaded and played.
You seem to forget, those dev's have already been paid for their work (so they don't blame anyone, they just update their CV with another title, it's the publishers who :'(). No one in the right mind would work on pay by royalty contract, they get their fixed sum and are sent on their way when the game is released. If a game fails to sell well, digging up excuses isn't the way to make the next game sell.
I've payed for all the games I play on my DS. So owning my own copy of that game is some how made out to be illegal because I don't need to carry my carts around with me? :|
Zero piracy? :)
That will happen when the system of money is abolished as it has been around in every system.
I also think that people are entitled to their own opinion so I don't see the need to jump on the moral high horse just to bash others. There is a lot wrong in this world yet it's things like this that see the light of day.
I was surprised to see this though: http://www.dailytech.com/Library+of+Congress+Jailbreaking+Rooting+Phones+Video+Montages+are+Legal/article19157.htm
According to you, devs don't care about piracy because they've been paid already ... ok! ;)
I like how you try to imply your a dev :> does any one who isn't self employed work when they aren't getting paid (and I don't mean working till they finish set work, but actually adding in a personal project to the job)?
Sorry we are going way off topic.
I've implied no such thing. I merely repeated what you said as a way of emphasising it. Because it rocked
http://www.destructoid.com/dev-piracy-a-natural-reaction-to-high-videogame-prices-172919.phtml
Although I did find an article saying that iphone dev's are against piracy, but I'll be selective and not link it :>
Also over at destructoid you can see the same debate we are having raging over there, but as you can see, it's pointless so I'll try not add any more on this subject. I'll still be interested in your reply though. :D
As it stands, hand-held piracy is far too easy. So easy, in fact, that many people don't even realise what they're doing is illegal. I've seen parents buy R4 carts for their children just thinking it's another game.
Little anecdote: A close friend of mine is a modeller for Rockstar Leeds. He had just finished slaving over (aka crunch time) the PSP port of 'Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' which they had sent to Sony for certification only a couple days previous. He was riding the bus home one day when a child and his mother sat down next to him. Out of his pocket the kid pulled out a PSP. What game did he boot up? You guessed it, Chinatown Wars.
Yup, before the game was even on store shelves, this little kid was playing it. He told me it felt like all his hard work had just been thrown in his face.
So yeah, I'm glad the developers got a little victory today - no matter how small.
Cool story bro. Lets ban memory cards! Without them this kid can't play pirate PSP games.
The Judge in this case (who knows the law better than everyone here) said it perfectly:
Any "reasonable person" (which our law is based on) will agree that the percentage of users who own R4 cards for pirating purposes is probably well over 90% (and that's being conservative). You can argue all day long that you just want to use it to play MP3s or portable video files, but the fact remains that is not what the vast majority of people use it for.
The judge in this case decided that yes, the illegal uses outweigh the legal ones and yes, there are plenty of alternative ways to complete the legal tasks that the R4 offers (phones, iPod's, mp3 players etc).
Now, lets apply that same test to your ridiculous and facetious "memory card" argument:
Do the illegal uses of memory cards outweigh the legal uses? No.
Is there alternative hardware that can accomplish the same task? No.
Do not assume that legal decisions are devoid of context.