Potential flash cart ban helps R4 sales

by Candace Savino { Jul 30th 2008 at 6:00PM }

Chalk this one up to "we saw this coming," but the troubled waters that flash carts have found themselves in has led to an increase in R4 sales.

Nintendo and fifty-three other companies are filing a suit against retailers selling flash carts, demanding that they stop the sales and imports of said cards. According to Kotaku, Japanese retailers in Akihabara are noticing a difference in demand for flash cards already. Regarding the R4, one staffer noted, "The rush in demand has been amazing. These devices always sell well. But this weekend should be staggering, don't you think?" Amazon.jp has also seen a rise in cart sales, which is to be expected.

We're sure Nintendo foresaw the immediate panic following the company's announcement, and that's the risk they decided to take -- watching things get worse before they get better. If Nintendo and the others win the suit, though, it will likely be worth their while in the end.

[Thanks, supa_s!]

Tags: akihabara, flash-card, flash-cart, japan, lawsuit, piracy, r4, r4ds, suit

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ERacer22 @ Jul 30th 2008 7:17PM

I'm sure the homebrew stuff is pretty cool. However, I left PC gaming because of the draconian copy protection methods being used ... it was Half-Life 2 for the PC that forced me to take up console gaming. I should probably thank Valve as it been a great couple of years.

Its my guess that most people using flash carts are playing (or have at least have tried) a pirated games. Looking at the state of PC gaming (or the lack thereof), I'd say pirating really took its toll. If I were a homebrewer I might be of a different opinion, but, hey, buy a PDA if you really want to get under the covers and hack things.

Christopher @ Jul 30th 2008 9:29PM

Naw, pirating has nothing to do with the dearth of PC games. I think more so, the issue with PC games is constant upgrading to play the latest and non-stop driver updates. Many times, it not a simple install and play solution, forcing people with often no knowledge to become troubleshooters. People don't like that.

I'm a die hard PC gamer, but even I have seen the allure of console gaming with their plug and play simplicity.

ERacer22 @ Jul 31st 2008 8:01PM

I agree that cost was another mitigating factor. I was constantly upgrading ... new ram, new mobo, new video card, etc, etc, etc. Going to consoles was going to save me money ... until I bought all of them. :-) Course, since I don't PC game anymore I haven't upgraded anything in almost 4 years.

Zealot @ Jul 30th 2008 7:49PM

Argh. I've been on the fence about getting an R4 for a while. I'm finally seeing the appeal of homebrew applications, and, admittedly, there's a Tales of Innocence translation project underway that really has my interest. The threat of them permanently selling out really isn't making my indecision any easier to bear. Although I understand and also share (some of) the game industry's piracy concerns, I kind of selfishly hope this just blows over so I can take my time deciding.

BobTheElephant @ Jul 30th 2008 8:23PM

Until now I haven't bothered with a flash cart ...it just didn't seem worth it to me. However, now that there's a chance this may be my last decent opportunity to grab one, I've found myself definitely considering one. I don't want to pirate DS games but the homebrew stuff seems pretty awesome so I don't want to let that get away from me...

Feba @ Jul 30th 2008 8:49PM

Wait, did DS Fanboy just say that it's good for Nintendo to choke homebrew?

And yes, they're used for piracy. I have a PC, I could use it for piracy too. That's not a reason to eliminate the personal computer.

nintendo1889 @ Jul 30th 2008 8:55PM

This is where the R4 gets useful. There are companies who absolutely REFUSE to release games outside of Japan while we in Europe/US/Australia suffer. They get the cool games for the DS/Virtual Console. So, it's only fair to use the R4DS for games that'll never see the light of day. And it's useful for backing up games you already own (SuperNES, Genesis, NES, etc). My only major fear of doing that is I end bricking the firmware and killing my DS.

Christopher @ Jul 30th 2008 9:33PM

You won't brick your DS unless you buy a fake R4 and use legit R4 code, but honestly I would like to see the R4 that does this, because the current iteration of R4 can not write code to the DS. I just don't see how this can be done and if it CAN, then Nintendo was sloppy in it'd design. I find the R4 teams claim to be rather dubious.

Zealot @ Jul 30th 2008 10:17PM

It's possible for flashcarts to brick the DS? That doesn't make me feel confident when considering purchasing one. When I type "R4 bricks DS" into google, all I see are news articles referring to the company's plan to have future firmware upgrades able to detect fake R4s and brick DSes as punishment. The website I was considering buying from even mentioned this, touting their R4s as real (although I suspect from their slightly imperfect English that they may be Japanese imports (and I don't know if all R4s originate from Asia, at that)) and even providing a download link to the firmware. So DS bricking can happen for no apparent reason with a legitimate flashcart? Ugh.

Zealot @ Jul 30th 2008 10:19PM

Eh heh, nevermind what I just said per Christopher's reply, which wasn't showing up when I posted (seems to be happening a lot on DSfanboy lately.)

Gamer @ Jul 30th 2008 9:06PM

The R4 is one of the worst flash carts on the air today! It doesn't support MicroSD High Capacity, it doesn't support the ezflash 3-1 expansion, it doesn't have frequent updates or a cool logo.

I use a CycloDS and I love it. I might buy another one, or an M3 DS Real Perfect, JUST CAUZE.

spitfire @ Jul 30th 2008 11:07PM

the R4 DOES support the 3-in-1. I should know.

Mr Khan @ Jul 30th 2008 9:22PM

There will always be channels for purchasing such things. It's a lot like the imminent ban on the Classic Controller. Somehow, the product will still be out there, because it pretty much has to be

Balrogs Pain @ Jul 30th 2008 10:40PM

Uh can any one give me information or help me out. For my birthday i REALLY wanted a cycloDS and a new Nintendo DS Lite. And my B-day is august 13th, and nintendo chooses NOW to freaking sue the people who made R4's. Can anyone tell me like, the situation if anyones losing/winning, or if its only R4DS being sued, and not cycloDS. T_T

WiiFTW @ Jul 31st 2008 1:19AM

You should be OK, it's the supposedly the store's fault for selling not yours for buying unless you pirate.

Anyways if you need to buy a flash cart and live in the U.S. I'd recommend realhotstuff.com

I picked up an R4 there last Christmas and it was legit.

gameyeeeah @ Jul 31st 2008 2:27AM

See why Nintendo want to sue R4?Because r4 is the best one on flashcard market.R4 team is doing so well that most people want to buy r4 instead of perchasing real ds game card.This had hurt Nintendo and other game company.

But you know,not every one have the ability to buy one original game card.But buying r4 is so easy,because it acts like a station that welcomes every ds game!That is the reason why r4 or other flahcard can exist so long.

Nintendo will not let out of every flashcard company.As the king of the flashcard,r4,of course, will be sued firstly.But this is the begining of killing flashcard.After r4,it may comes to ds tt,m3 ds real and other slot-1 card.

Let us see what Nintendo will do in the near future.

Char6296 @ Jul 31st 2008 5:07AM

Spaces after punctuation! Anyway, do you have any real proof that the R4 is KING of the flash carts? As an owner of an R4, it is a great card, but do you have any proof to say that it's the best? Most popular isn't necessarily best.

Jamar @ Jul 31st 2008 11:42AM

Killing flashcard? Not likely. Most flashcard makers are in China. The day a Chinese court finds in favor of a Japanese company is the day pigs fly.

chao1212 @ Jul 31st 2008 9:39AM

this is exactly what they where trying to stop >_< also news from Wikipedia says r4 fake= brick r4 not ds

Niz @ Jul 31st 2008 4:32PM

I can understand, if you really believe that the homebrew scene is that great your just kidding yourself most of that stuff no offence is just plain rubbish, 99.999% of people buy it to play pirated games even if they don't admit it on the internet.

Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Aug 2nd 2008 6:23AM

Hey! I admit it!!! I play bunch of pirated games!.. No, stop!!!! They were never released in Europe... No lost sale == no piracy... Darn, I'm clean again.

I'd love to buy some games. Two time, half sleeping, I was annoying stuff in game departments about selling me copy of Luminous Arc. But they never heard of such game - it was never release in Germany. But thanks to R4 I had a chance to play it.

Situation is obviously different in developing markets and Asia. You can buy readily cracked PSP with memory stick loaded with games in Malaysia for less than $300. Haven't heard how much DS costs there, but I can imaging similar /deals/ for it too.

That's different in US/EU where R4/etc are bought mainly by Nintendo fans. They already invested so much in game gear, that it is really hard to say that they pirate something: they just maintain their full collections.

gameyeeeah @ Jul 31st 2008 9:25PM

R4 may not the best flashcard,but is the most popular one.W

gameyeeeah @ Jul 31st 2008 9:35PM

R4 may not the best flashcard,but is the most popular one.Right?Why Nintendo had to sue him not other flashcardS?Popular,easy to use.People would like to keep using it,not going to buy the game cards from Nintendo.So Nintendo' profit are getting thinerand thinner.That is their business,althougt gamers wil have to pay a lot.But this is what they want to see,right?R4 team or other flashcard company do not think so.They want to get more cakes on the video game market.Since r4 or other flashcard offer convenient stage for copy games.Why not ban copy games on line,if Nintendo want to kill the flashcard?That is the root of building flashcard for nds lite games.