Nintendo blocks sale of R4 carts in Japan

Written by Joe Martin

February 27, 2009 | 09:37

Tags: #cart #handheld #homebrew

Companies: #nintendo

Last year it was announced that more 50 different games companies in Japan had teamed up and, under the leadership of Nintendo, taken the makers of the popular R4 Revolution cartridge for the DS to court. Today those companies made their first major blow, making it illegal to sell the R4 in Japan.

The R4 Revolution cartridge is by no means unique, but is one of the most popular homebrew devices available for the Nintendo DS. It's basically a Slot-1 MicroSD card adaptor which allows DS gamers to boot their own software on the DS. It can also be used for nefarious causes too though, with Nintendo claiming it loses more than $975 million USD to piracy every year.

The mass lawsuit includes a total of 54 companies who claim they've been affected by the sale of the R4, including the likes of Capcom.

Today the Tokyo District Court found enough cause to block all legal sales of the the R4 across Japan, with further punishments still possible as the court case continues.

The block imposed by the court probably won't have all that much impact however, as Nintendo has already pressured the majority of game retailers into taking the R4 off their shelves according to Kotaku.

Do you have an R4 or other DS homebrew device? Check out our guide to DS homebrew for some excellent recommendations of games you can play and let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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