Nintendo pressures Akihabara vendors to pull R4 carts

by Candace Savino { Mar 28th 2008 at 9:00PM }

If you've ever been to the Akihabara district in Tokyo, you probably know that stores there stock R4s. Well, at least they did stock them. Many Japanese retailers, including the online ones, have been pressured by Nintendo to discontinue their support for R4 carts. The extent of Nintendo's threats weren't made clear, but it's likely that they would no longer provide their products to these stores if the retailers didn't remove R4s from their inventories.

Nintendo is being naive if they think this is going to help alleviate piracy issues. People who want to pirate games will find a way to pirate games, whether the equipment to do so is out in the open or not. The R4 cart is also not the only means for people to download games -- we're sure Nintendo knows this.

All the same, we can sympathize with Nintendo. The fight against piracy is an uphill one, at best, and since there's not much that Nintendo can do about it, they're doing what they can.

[Via Kotaku]

Tags: akihabara, japan, piracy, r4, tokyo

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 28th 2008 11:46PM

Nintendo threatened to burn all their eye patches. They figured they'd rather lose the sale of devices than the precious cloths all non-paying pirates buy.

Puddles @ Mar 28th 2008 11:52PM

I don't feel any great need to pirate DS games, since they're reasonably priced, and many older games can be had very cheaply on eBay. To me, pirating is only appealing for things that are unavailable through other means, or things that are overpriced, or occasionally to "try before I buy".

I think Nintendo is taking a reasonable approach with this, as opposed to suing downloaders, which is absolutely despicable.

chispito @ Mar 29th 2008 1:27AM

Good point. However, I love having all of my (legally purchased) NDS games on one cartridge oh so much. And then there's homebrew, which is a blast.

Ironraptor Albion @ Mar 29th 2008 2:05AM

Eh, I have a CycloDS, there are a few games I have on there that I cannot get here in North America for some godawful reason, mostly though the CycloDS has transformed my DS into something of a wider-range entertainment system. I can now watch videos, listen to MP3 music, read e-books, stuff I normally can't do with the DS.

J.K. @ Mar 29th 2008 2:17AM

Oh please...as 'evil' as Nintendo supposely looks here they do have a right to protect their copyrights and the rest by any legal means necessary. Also, if you think them doing that won't stop anyone you're naive. Yes, many will be smart enough to go online and get it, but not every bit of those people so a few will resort to a buy which is money in their pocket. Even only 10% of them are too stupid to find it elsewhere, that's 10% more profit than if they had.

I for one have nothing against the things, modchipping yes, but R4 and the like no. I can't as it would be hypocritical as I had a GB/C one in the day and a GBA one too.

Matdredalia @ Mar 29th 2008 10:17AM

Err....why would Nintendo look evil for this?

Well made points, though I do disagree on the overall.

Kouri @ Mar 29th 2008 4:31AM

Heh. This happened in Hong Kong too. R4 was made illegal for sale starting March, so all the vendors switched to DS TT, or something like that, which is basically the same thing. Supply is low atm, but I think it will rise. So, interprete that fact however you will..

Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Mar 29th 2008 5:21AM

OMG, that's most stupid thing I have seen - coming from Nintendo (except of course Mario games).

R4 vs. real cartridges - they are so to say complementing, not competing products. IOW, pulling N products will help nothing but to force wider adoption of R4, since official products will be harder to find. On other side, removing highly demanded product R4 from existing stores, would make sure that new specialized stores would open, selling exclusively unofficial ware - completely independent of N.

Frouma @ Mar 30th 2008 3:22PM

Oh, please, Nintengo, Grow up your so narrow mind!
A decent way to fight piracy would be creating an official nintendo flash cart and sell the roms online legally for a smaller amount than physical games... they would even help preserve the environment, the less plastic in the world the better! (greenpeace would be a little bit happier with nintendo :D)

We should all sign a petition online and send it to Nintendo...

TriptychR @ Mar 29th 2008 11:47AM

Greenpeace would be a little happier, sure, but they will never be *fully* happy until Nintendo comes out with a DS made of hemp.

HellsHammer @ Mar 29th 2008 1:41PM

I'd smoke that...

In all seriousness, R4s are bad for business. And that's all Nintendo is.

Komavary @ Mar 31st 2008 7:13AM

In April, DSvision should finally hit the stores...

Connection?

Nooh...
;)

Matdredalia @ Mar 29th 2008 10:13AM

While I understand wanting to crack down on piracy, I think Nintendo is being naive if they think it will make them more money in the long-term (And no, I don't condone nor advocate gaming piracy). Now, bear with me on this one, because it is the same reasoning behind why music theft does not truly cost the music industry money...

Most people are on a pretty strict budget that, while it allows for some extra expenses, doesn't allow for a lot.

Your average person may download 10 pirated games a month, but really, are they going to buy those games if they don't have the means to pirate them?

Realistically: No. Unless they are Paris Hilton (tho she's too stupid to play anything but Nintendogs or Horsez) or another multimillionaire heiress that isn't being hurt by the downward spiral of the economy, then no. VERY few people have the means to blow 300 dollars a month on games. So in reality, that person might buy maybe one or two of the really great titles that come out each month. Because, let's be honest, we haven't been getting THAT many great titles, at least not this year.

However, think about this. A lot of the pirated games out there are not WiFi compatible. Sure, some are, but quite a few of the big named ones aren't. Most Pirates are going to buy those games just for WiFi because it is one of the biggest perks of the DS. Also, there are games, like Ring of Fates, that have anti-piracy built in.

So, ultimately, Pirates are still going to be buying at least some games. Which, hey: That's what they'd have been doing in the first place. Buying SOME, not ALL.

Now, take into account that the average (read: non-DSFB blogger or reader) DS gamer only has between 5 and 10 games, and then you've got the hardcore users (read: DS FB bloggers & readers) who have anywhere between 30 and 100 a piece.

Frankly, I think Nintendo has more than covered what piracy may be costing them, and I think investing the resources they do in anti-Piracy measures are, in the long run, costing them more.

And on that note: I think them cracking down on R4 sales SUCKS for those of us who use it legitimately for homebrew. I don't know how large the homebrew scene is in Japan, but still. I would be royally pissed if I was in Japan and couldn't homebrew just because they cracked down on R4's because of some asshat pirate.

Matdredalia @ Mar 29th 2008 10:21AM

Something else that I'd like to point out:
By limiting R4 sales, Nintendo is actually cutting their DS *SYSTEM* sales.

As I said before, the economy is on a downturn, and when many people find out that they are paying $130 for a handheld system, and then another $30 a game, they say "pass". ESPECIALLY parents.

However, if you tell a parent that they can invest in a $80-100 product and have every game on the market available for their kid alongside that $130 product, they are MUCH more likely to buy it.

Let's be honest, Nintendo's highest markets are Japan & the USA. The USA's economy is slowly turning into the Great Depression Redux. It is getting to a point where we can no longer afford to maintain our luxuries like we once did. In the long run people, especially parents, are aiming for more bang for their buck and will ultimately try to get their children something that will entertain them for a long time (IE: keep the parents from having to buy new toys on a regular basis), but will also save them money.

WhatIsThatThing @ Mar 29th 2008 11:03AM

But it's not the system sales that are really important to Nintendo. It's the game sales. Those $30-$40 purchases add up. Sure the initial $130 is a good start, but if (when) everyone in Japan has two DS Lites, they'll still make money from the games people buy. That's why they need to get rid of piracy.

Not that I think what Nintendo is doing is right, though.

Synonymous @ Mar 29th 2008 9:24PM

How does the proposal in post #13 induce new games to be made? There's no incentive; no one will be PAYING for them. A system lives or dies by its games; what happens to one that has no new games *at all*?

Why would Nintendo resign itself to making money only from the initial unit? We don't think most of its DS money comes from the units, do we? Look up "captive pricing". It's not as insidious as it sounds; it refers to a company that makes the majority of its money off the complements to a basic unit instead of the unit itself (the disposable blades instead of the razor, say). Why throw away all the money to be made from those millions and millions of New Super Mario Bros. and Animal Crossing and Nintendogs and Pokemon and Brain Age and Mario Kart cards?

Why write off the enormous existing user base the DS has? They've bought their systems; if they're not buying games, how does Nintendo make money off them? What does Nintendo do, anyhow, when the DS reaches market saturation (which will be happen a heck of a lot more quickly with an entire-system-library-free deal)? What does it *sell*?

Guys, if you want to make a logical argument for a company to encourage piracy of its own goods (a, let us say, dubious prospect in the first place), you have to make it at least economically sound. I don't how we can all celebrate the gangbusters business copiously chronicled on this page that the DS has brought Nintendo and yet deem the company the Titanic, in need of serious course correction lest financial ruin come upon it, once its objects to deadbeats stealing its software.

BlackDS @ Mar 31st 2008 2:35PM

Synonymous, you're WRONG. :)

Your argument is flawed.

Flawed Logic #1.

You are ASSUMING that pirates will buy the games if they couldn't pirate, which is simply wrong. There is NO WAY you can make that assumption, and without it, your whole argument is worthless.

Flawed Logic #2.

If people pirate games without buying the games, as you claim in your argument, then I submit that they are too cheap to buy games ... period. IF pirates buy some games anyway, they would probably buy the games irregardless.

Flawed Logic #3.

Matdredalia is NOT making a moral argument condoning pirating. Quite the opposite, she is making an economic argument. She's simply saying the costs (monetary & public relations) of fighting piracy outweights any potential benefit.

One well known organization has gone all out to fight piracy, but they have NOT PROVEN, ANY MEASURABLE SUCCESS from their efforts, which some would characterize as futile.

All Matdredalia is saying is that you preclude incremental income from the sales of DS Lites. This is may or may not be true, but IF pirates are NOT going to buy games (as your argument claims), then it is true. And Nintendo WOULD lose out on that income.

Now you argue that Nintendo make most of it's income on game sales, which is undeniable, and NOT challenged by Matdredalia. However, your argument only works IF pirates would buy the games if they couldn't pirate.

There is NO WAY you can make this assumption, since there is always the the chance that if pirates couldn't pirate games, they wouldn't buy ANY games at all ... PERIOD.

And people who pirate AND buy games would buy the games IRREGARDLESS.

I normally just read the comments, and just lurk, but Synonymous's hollow attack on Matdredalia, followed by a comment about making LOGICAL arguments ... well I had to post something. :)

In summary, the FALSE ARGUMENT of loss sales due to piracy has been made many times, but NEVER PROVEN. It's a ploy used in court system by people who are desperate (business model is failing).

Businesses are driven by profits, if it really wasn't a waste of time to spend alot of resources on fighting piracy, then everyone would be doing it. Nintendo's move on the R4 is understandable and does not cost the company much money, effort, or good-will, so it's not hard to swallow for Nintendo.

I would much rather Nintendo spend it's money putting Datel out of business, as I see Action Replay as the bane of the Nintendo Wifi, so it really affects me. Pirating doesn't affect me and my 30 + DS games, game publishers make enough money even with piracy on the DS. Why else do you think there have been FOUR Ace Attorney games from CAPCOM (the last two within about 6 months from each other)? Because good games sell. Hell, even bad games sell, why else do you think there are so many Imagine Catz, Horsez, etc. LOL.

Peace.

Synonymous @ Mar 31st 2008 4:00PM

#1: So because pirates won't buy *every* title, Nintendo should not only allow but encourage them not to pay for *any* title. Brilliant.

#2: Wrong. Name the favorite game you bought at retail. It was obviously worth, let's say, $35 to you, right? Free's less than $35 - so the game is still worth the "purchase price" of pirate downloading. It's human nature - yeah, we'd pay full price for Brawl or EBA - but if we could get it for free, well, *gee*.

In economics, this is called the free rider problem - consumers purposely misrepresent and undervalue what a good or service is worth to them if the possibility of doing so will enable them to get it for little or no personal cost. (The Wikipedia uses the example of a garbage-collection system that would cost everyone in the neighborhood $100. Even if the neighbors *are* willing to pay $100 for the system, if there's the possibility the city would pick up the tab if there were no neighborhood financing for it, of *course* the neighbors would claim that they couldn't, wouldn't pay that $100. "Oh, that new garbage system isn't worth $100 to *me* (so, gee, I hope the city pays for it)." "Oh, we pirates wouldn't pay the purchase price of ANY game (so, gee, I hope Nintendo lays off us and continues to allow us to get free stuff)."

This isn't rocket science. If the free rider problem didn't exist, the record industry wouldn't be slumping due to downloads (because if pirates would *never* pay for the songs or albums they're downloading, then why are sales of those songs and albums dropping?). We wouldn't have a piracy problem *anywhere* to begin with.

#3: I have no idea what you're even arguing here. You're all over the place. Is it a rehash of the above two points? I'm not going over that again.

Let me take a stab at it from bits of what I can make out:

Perhaps there is the chance that Nintendo is slightly boosting the R4's profile with the anti-piracy measures. As pointed out previously by others, though, if you frequent Akihabara or read DS Fanboy - where this news is being reported - you already know about the technology and have made your decision on piracy. There's this chance with a lot of preventive measures - put a padlock on a door? Gotta be something valuable inside. Put a security system on your home? Well, I didn't think of breaking in before, but now that you mention it... And yet padlocks and security systems are still around - for a reason. I don't buy this "since there's nothing one can do to preclude theft *completely*, it's stupid to take any preventative measures at all" mentality.

I'm not discounting the income from system sales. I'm arguing that to have Nintendo rely solely on system sales in a maturing market, via a plan that would dead-end game production, take away all income Nintendo realizes from game sales and licensing fees, turn the DS into a dead system, and shoot a cash cow in the head - all to placate a very small, non-paying segment of the market - makes no sense. I realize Matdredalia is trying, on the face of it, to make an economic argument. I'm saying that her economics is very bad. I maintain, however, that it's not an economic argument that drives the defense of piracy but an emotional, selfish one - "I don't wanna pay for my games".

BlackDS @ Mar 31st 2008 5:20PM

Synonymous,

First off, stop talking down to me and acting like you know more about economics than I do. Unless you teach economics at a university or you are a grad student (economics), I know more about economics on my little pinky than you will ever know. My bachelor's degree proves it.

Next, I'm going to waste ONE post responding to your pseudo-economic RIAA-type rambling. After this, you can post forever for all I care, and I'm not going to bother replying.

So, that's out of the way.

First off, did you ever critically read anything I said???

#1. Synonymous, learn to read ... seriously. Stop putting words in my mouth (just like you treated Matdredalia). Either (a) you didn't read my 1st point or (b) you have no reading comprehension at all. Either way, you are an arrogant and deserve a good smacking. I'm not going to repeat my point #1, read it. It refutes every point you claim to make.

#2. Your point #2 is wrong again. Your making another false argument. And no, I will not play your game and respond to your absurd example. This is NOT a "free rider" problem. Your absurd example is refuted by people who have posted that claim to pirate AND buy games. You need to stop mischaracterizing this. If you still don't understand this, stop using Wikipedia, and visit your local university professor and ask WHY you are flawed logic is mischaracterizing this. I'm not here to teach you economics. :) While you are there, ask the economics professor why the RIAA-type argument of lost sales from pirating is absurd. :)

Even if it was a "free rider" situation, YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT. The fact that you use the record industry as an example is hilarious. Your RIAA-type illogic is why your prove how truly clueless you are. MANY people have posted on the internet that record sales are NOT down because of pirating, but simply because the old business model of CDs is archaic, and has been replaced by online sales like iTunes. Similarly, there is no legitimate argument from ANY academia that support the loss sales due to pirating argument.

This is how absurd your argument is. I WILL USE THE SAME RIDICULOUS, OVERSTATEMENT-TYPE EXAMPLE THAT HAVE USED, SO YOUR LITTLE MIND CAN UNDERSTAND THIS. Following your crooked logic, IF I replace DS for a car, you are essentially arguing that if a car thief who is stealing a Lamborghini, was PREVENTED from steal a Lamborghini, then Lamborghini is losing money because otherwise the car thief would buy a Lamborghini. LOL. As IF the car thief would be buying a Lamborghini is he couldn't steal it. LOL. There IS NO lost sales, because the car thief (pirate) would never buy the Lamborghini in the first place (see WHY this is NOT a free rider problem NOW?).

Also, by your absurd suggestion (see your post on quote "Nintendo should not only allow but encourage them not to pay for *any* title"), Lamborghini should spend good money go after the car thief, because they are "losing sales"? LOL. ANY BUSINESS CAN SEE THIS IS ABSURD, but if we are talking about Lamborghini's, but people like you Synonymous think you can use a RIAA-type argument and spout pseudo economics while mischaracterizing the problem and using false logic to make the case for spending money in this absurd way. The refutation is this - no one except the RIAA even bothers, because it makes NO ECONOMIC SENSE to spend money to chase phantom sales loss (which I refuted with my over-the-top Lamborghini example).

PWNED.

And BTW, Nintendo is NOT encouraging or allowing anything. They are simply using sound business practices to serve their stockholders, which is their corporate duty. If it made business and/or economic sense to spend tons of money stopping pirates, Nintendo and other companies would do it (smarter minds than you or I are collectively getting paid to do so). As it is, Nintendo and others do what they can about pirating when it's easy to do, so and no great sums of money is wasted in the process of pursuing it. Not wasting alot of resources is NOT equal to encouraging and allowing anything. Synonymous you should work for the RIAA, because no good corporation will hire you. I know because I have worked for a mult-billion dollar company as a top financial executive.

I'm not going to even bother addressing your ramblings in #3.

I'm done. Feel free to post your reply(s). I'm not going to argue anymore.

Peace.

Matdredalia @ Mar 31st 2008 6:35PM

BlackDS - Amen, and thank you. :)

Synonymous - BlackDS pretty much said everything I could have against your arguments, and better, save for one minor thing.

The RIAA is losing money because they are using an outdated sales model and are not advancing with the times. Check out the leading tech blogs like TechCrunch and Mashable sometime, and look at the facts that are being presented about the current musical climate. It's basically been proven that the RIAA sales are dropping not because of piracy, but because

A) unlike the old days, record companies are not putting out the newest, greatest thing, they are recycling the same old musical archeatypes over and over again and people are sick of it,

B) Indie artists have found their outlet in the internet and are getting a LOT more focus and attention and people are moving away from mainstream artists,

and

C) the RIAA's anal retentive anti-piracy rhetoric is not helping them. They are wasting so much money on fighting piracy that they are not investing it where they should be: In finding new, great musicians. They aren't selling records because seriously, how many great new artists are there coming out that aren't the same damn thing over and over? (IE: Britney Spears CLONES)

Now, check out the sales records on Radiohead's "In Rainbows" CD. They offered the CD up for grabs for as little as 0 cents. You got to pay what it was worth to you. Some users chose to pay, some didn't. Regardless, In Rainbows was one of the top selling CD's last year. And by top, I mean, at one point, it was the #1 selling CD for an entire month. To top that off, their sales were astronomical. It made more money than all three of their last albums, and pulled in $10,000,000 in the first WEEK. I'm having trouble finding the article I read a couple weeks ago, but if I remember correctly, Radiohead made roughly 1/4th of the revenue on that one CD that the recording industry made off of all their sales. What does that tell you?

Also look into Nine Inch Nails "Ghost" album and the "sales" methods Trent Reznor implored for it. He uploaded the 1st CD to numerous torrent sites under a creative commons, and then sold the whole CD package on his website for a whopping $5. Guess what? He's still making plenty of money.

The RIAA is losing money because they aren't sticking with the times and learning to adapt and change with their consumer base and provide more value for their money, and because, frankly, their music sucks. Oh, and let's not forget that by spending so much time and effort going after pirates, they're losing way more money. For example, they went after a guy who wasn't even pirating, and they had to drop the charges against him, and now he's suing them for his legal fees :) Using the RIAA in any argument is a bad idea, mostly because they've proven themselves to be about as competent and reliable as George W. Bush.

Now then, I'm not going to keep arguing with you because frankly, you're not going to change your mind no matter what I say.

Fululian @ Mar 29th 2008 12:46PM

oh come on, please stop raving against piracy... (^_^)

Jamar @ Mar 29th 2008 1:41PM

Stories like this make me glad I live in China...

And had something like the R4 not existed for the DS I'd probably have the PSP instead- multimedia for me is just as essential as gaming; if it's that large (this is subjective, I know) I better be getting as much as I can from it.

Synonymous @ Mar 29th 2008 3:38PM

There's no way Nintendo can completely curtail piracy, so they shouldn't take even the most obvious steps against the most popular method of piracy. Brilliant deduction.

I mean, come on - *look* some are suggesting on this thread. Give away *every* DS game on the market with a system purchase? Allow the biggest tool for DS piracy to flourish because a miniscule fraction of its base uses it for shoddy homemade titles? The economic ignorance is mind-boggling.

Piracy is illegal and cuts into profits, and not taking an easy and obvious step to cut down on the practice is, for Nintendo, economically illogical. Be an adult and pay for your games.

Matdredalia @ Mar 30th 2008 12:46AM

Since I can't reply to your reply to me, I'll reply here.

I was not suggesting that Nintendo condone nor advocate piracy at all. As a matter of fact, I don't even advocate it.

However, you go along with the logic that everyone would be pirating games if Nintendo weren't making these advancements, which is absurd. Most people A) prefer to obey the law, and B) don't even realize that you CAN pirate games for a console. I would say, on the whole, MAYBE 5% of DS owners have pirated games, and that's being generous.

Frankly, Nintendo is drawing MORE attention to piracy, and thus, informing more people that it is possible. They are not going to stop these people from pirating, and while they are trying to do so, are spreading the word to non-pirating gamers that it is possible so that now, those that are interested in it will look into it.

That was my point in saying that their anti-Piracy measures are costing them more money in the long term because Nintendo themselves are spreading the news of piracy. I didn't even know you could pirate DS games until I found out, of all places, from Nintendo themselves.

I was not saying that sales of the original console were what was making so much money, however, DS sales ARE the one constant that Nintendo can rely upon in this situation, and they are what is making Nintendo themselves money.

Gamer designers, however, make their money from selling games, of course. I'm not so naive as to think that game designers pull their budgets out of their arses.

However, even if we go with the generous estimate that 1 in 20 (5%) of DS users pirate, that still means 19/20 people are still going to buy games. And guess what, even pirates will still purchase at least some games. While I personally don't know all that many pirates myself, the couple that I do know still buy certain games if they think they're good enough. Whether it be for Wii compatibility or WiFi compatibility, ultimately, there are some games that you can not pirate and get the full features.

So, my basic point is, in the long run, Nintendo would be better off fighting piracy in a quiet manner, such as adding anti piracy measures to the system and games, rather than making huge public statements and actions, because all they're doing is alerting more people to the pirating phenomena, and hindering sales of the console, which while it may not affect game makers, does affect Nintendo's pockets.

Jamar @ Mar 30th 2008 6:53AM

Shoddy homemade titles? Have you heard of MoonShell? DSOrganize? Colors? Hardly shoddy, I'd say. Without the first two I don't think I'd have a DS. With the R4 I can play music, movies, read e-books, make phone calls, and draw pictures with my DS. Without that I'd be a PSP user for sure; where I live there's barely any difference in price between them, and if all I could do with the DS was play official games...

Synonymous @ Mar 30th 2008 1:12PM

Matdredalia: Your *basic point* was an absolutely unworkable economic model you proposed Nintendo follow to cater to a group of "consumers" who contribute no, or negligible, money to its bottom line. And you estimate they compose only 5% of the DS userbase? Why should Nintendo give away its store and shoot an insanely profitable business in the head to placate *5%* of its userbase?

Your contention that Nintendo can make sustainable money without selling games and by dead-ending its system sales and all future game production is untenable and - I am sorry here - demonstrates the economic ignorance of those who advocate corporate accommodation of piracy or blame piracy on the parent company. I wish they'd at least be honest, instead of hiding behind a veneer of oh,-I'm-concerned-for-the-company's-long-term-health,-*REALLY*. The only motivation in play here is a self-serving, emotional one: "I don't wanna pay for games 'cause I'm *special*". I'm not a Nintendo cheerleader, but I'm sick of the baloney (and the oh-so-bad business proposals) from pirates.

Jamar: And you're in the absolute minority. Nintendo'd be committing economic suicide if it catered to users like you, who make one initial purchase and buy nothing thereafter. You threatening to turn to Sony is not much of a threat; there's no money to made off your DS use.

And no, I don't care about MoonShell or its ilk; the DS's speakers and screens are ill-equipped for its tasks. If I want to listen to music or watch a movie, I'll turn to an iPod, DVD player, laptop - any number of superior, popular, and widely-available devices actually designed for those functions. I want a DS for its touchscreen games, not to try to slam a square peg in a round hole.

Puddles @ Mar 30th 2008 11:49AM

Nintendo is doing the right thing: targeting people who are making money off of piracy, instead of users who are just playing games for free. (Unlike the RIAA, suing kids who download a few albums.)

foosnark @ Mar 31st 2008 9:39AM

I've bought 2 DS's and 11 games -- but it was the existence of the R4 (enabling NitroTracker and so on) that convinced me to buy them.

Edguy @ Mar 30th 2008 9:18PM

Well, it does impede piracy just a little bit by making these items harder to find. I spent quite a while shopping around before I got an M3.

Lilinka @ Apr 1st 2008 7:23PM

What kind of irks me is the almost bipolar way you editors at DS Fanboy alternate between hating the R4 and loving it. I understand that you love and hate the R4 for various reasons (Homebrew vs. Piracy being one) but it seems... rambling and rather ludicrous the way you go about presenting this. I'm not saying you should pick a side, but why not take a more... neutral... tone in these articles so you don't seem to blatantly contradict yourselves later down the line?

Candace Savino @ Apr 1st 2008 7:48PM

I don't really see how you interpret this article as either negative or positive toward the R4. It's about Nintendo's actions, not about the cart itself, with some anti-piracy jargon thrown in.

In fact, I own an R4.

C.R. @ May 8th 2008 4:09PM

I use the R4, but I don't make money off of it or anything. Is that going to get me targeted? I use it for playing music, and have a homebrew app on it (Lick's iPod DS clone). Hmm... and I have 30 games on it, which is the equivalent of (assuming of course they're all �30, which they probably aren't, but...) �900 ($1757). Two of my friends have a flash cart too, but they don't use it for gaining money or anything either.