View From the Road: Nintendo?s Piracy Plan
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
You know at this point its anyone's guess how the install feature will work in terms of piracy prevention. I would be pleased to see a major company take a completely new stance on the way they deal with pirates, rather then the tried-and-failed method of clobbering them into submission. Hopefully Nintendo can figure out how to work against the pirates without coming across as a big, stumbling lummox.
Personally, the 3DS is the most exciting hand-held I've seen in awhile. I'm very excited to get my hands on it when its released. The features they packed into that tiny device has my nerd senses all a'tingling.
Personally, the 3DS is the most exciting hand-held I've seen in awhile. I'm very excited to get my hands on it when its released. The features they packed into that tiny device has my nerd senses all a'tingling.
I find it extremely hard to believe that there won't be any sort of limitation (even if it's something as simple as an install lock that keeps the memory copy of Game A from interfacing for multiplayer games with the same game copied to the memory of a second 3DS). It should be interesting to find out what those limits are though and, either way, even if the space only allows for a couple games with respectable locks in place it will still be good for legitimate users.
I'm sure you'll only be able to have like, 5 games max on the thing. But it's still exciting and new if there's no DRM.
That's a fair point. Sanctioned and ready-made convenience would help some stay away from the piracy side of things. Here's to hoping that's what will happen.
Huh. I really like that. Maybe if that is the way things turn out, other publishers might take the hint and shift to better systems. It's all about getting the stone rolling. Also: not having to switch out carts on plane rides (probably the way I;ve lost all my games)? Awesome.
Well, its going to be intresting. I got a feeling its going to be a bit of both, but, UI am sure people out there will find ways to mess with the system, and, of course, it will be just like any other console works really..it will be a small minority for the most part
Am I the only one who's sick and tired of all the "classics" being remade over and over again?
It's like Nintendo is channeling EA Sports or something ...
It's like Nintendo is channeling EA Sports or something ...
I wonder if they make money on the handheld? There's a large "pirate" market out there that won't or can't buy software where they live, but might be willing to pay for the import of the handheld itself if it's download-friendly.
Off topic, but Mr. Funk are you related to Ted Dibiase in any way? I ask because you could pass as a brother to Ted Jr. with ease.
My fear would be that it would be fairly easy to crack open the software so that it accepts stuff on the SD card. However, Nintendo seems to be gunning for the "why try harder?" factor in deterring piracy (i.e. you have a copy of the game from a mate on your 3DS, why try harder? You already have a copy, no R4 or cracking required)
That is a very interesting thought. Count me among the small percentage that actually uses a DS flash cart for the convenience, instead of solely the free games. I honestly try to buy every game I want on my DS, even if that means they basically never leave the case. And DS games are cheaper than console games, so that helps. Hell, I've been playing Picross 3D for over a month straight and it was $20 on the day it was released!
Umm, no. Absolutely not. Several games on torrent sites have 0 DRM whatsoever. They are downloaded mercilessly. Nintendo "playing a different game" doesn't work. Free is Free, and its hard to argue with it.
Remember the Dreamcast? You could burn whatever you wanted and just place the CD into the drive.
That didn't last too long...
DRM will always be broken, but making it braindead doesn't make any sense. The only way for it to work is if the code on the cartridges could not be replicated through a false medium (verify the source of the game). But that's only a matter of time before they figure that out too.
The best DRM in this case is to make the 3DS brick so easily flashing it for the average joe is too costly, BUT make sharing legit games easy. You show a carrot, but hide the stick until its too late.
Secrets to success are:
1) Easy to buy, and not too expensive games (This includes different price-range, size, and game types)
2) Support and incentivize those that pay for games
3) Make game sharing with a legit copy of the game easy.
4) Make flashing or sharing non-legit copies of the game difficult or risky.
My guess the DRM will be an install that requires an online activation, and "game sharing" is 5 3DSs per install. Otherwise you need the cartridge.
Remember the Dreamcast? You could burn whatever you wanted and just place the CD into the drive.
That didn't last too long...
DRM will always be broken, but making it braindead doesn't make any sense. The only way for it to work is if the code on the cartridges could not be replicated through a false medium (verify the source of the game). But that's only a matter of time before they figure that out too.
The best DRM in this case is to make the 3DS brick so easily flashing it for the average joe is too costly, BUT make sharing legit games easy. You show a carrot, but hide the stick until its too late.
Secrets to success are:
1) Easy to buy, and not too expensive games (This includes different price-range, size, and game types)
2) Support and incentivize those that pay for games
3) Make game sharing with a legit copy of the game easy.
4) Make flashing or sharing non-legit copies of the game difficult or risky.
My guess the DRM will be an install that requires an online activation, and "game sharing" is 5 3DSs per install. Otherwise you need the cartridge.
Guess what? Your stealing isn't justified because you "can't afford it". I can't afford a Ferrari, does that mean I can justify stealing one? You don't deserve to have any of those games. Yeah, I'd like to see you try and say that to them, "At least one of us thieves will give you some money, instead of none!"Scotty. said:
I hardly ever use my DS so I don't know much about the R4 and stuff, but I really don't see how this feature will help combat piracy.
The people who want to download games for free will still get an R4 or whatever they'll make for the 3DS and pirate whatever they want. All this feature will do (assuming there won't be some kind of special protection, which I find hard to believe), is make it extremely easy, and thus more attractive, for people who normally wouldn't buy an R4 to still pirate games. Sure, it's on a smaller scale than the 'real' pirates, but it's still an increase in illegal activity.
And it gets worse. I've frequently made a point that most pirated games aren't lost sales. Yes, pirates selfishly want to play games without paying for them, but that just means that they're far less inclined to buy games if they can't get them for free - they'll just get something else. This new group of pirates would be a group that isn't that much into the whole piracy thing from the get-go, so it's a lot more likely that the games they pirate are lost sales - if they didn't get them for free, they might've bought them.
I certainly see the (legal) use for features like this. I think it's comparable to what I do for most PC games: I visit pirate sites and download no-cd cracks just so I don't have to swap disks whenever I want to play a different game. The same would apply to copying games to the 3DS' internal drive. It's simply a matter of convenience. It's just that I wouldn't like to see Nintendo shoot themselves in the foot by facilitating would-be pirates like that.
The people who want to download games for free will still get an R4 or whatever they'll make for the 3DS and pirate whatever they want. All this feature will do (assuming there won't be some kind of special protection, which I find hard to believe), is make it extremely easy, and thus more attractive, for people who normally wouldn't buy an R4 to still pirate games. Sure, it's on a smaller scale than the 'real' pirates, but it's still an increase in illegal activity.
And it gets worse. I've frequently made a point that most pirated games aren't lost sales. Yes, pirates selfishly want to play games without paying for them, but that just means that they're far less inclined to buy games if they can't get them for free - they'll just get something else. This new group of pirates would be a group that isn't that much into the whole piracy thing from the get-go, so it's a lot more likely that the games they pirate are lost sales - if they didn't get them for free, they might've bought them.
I certainly see the (legal) use for features like this. I think it's comparable to what I do for most PC games: I visit pirate sites and download no-cd cracks just so I don't have to swap disks whenever I want to play a different game. The same would apply to copying games to the 3DS' internal drive. It's simply a matter of convenience. It's just that I wouldn't like to see Nintendo shoot themselves in the foot by facilitating would-be pirates like that.
Yeah, but as you said on the ending, it's way to early to tell what kinds of DRM there will be. We should wait until more information is available before making any judgement call.
Not every pirate starts at the bottom of the slippery slope, and those that do are those that do are those that enjoy pirating the most. Companies shouldn't be trying to stop them from pirating, they should be trying to stop Average Joe.
But that's not directed at the people who go 'I wanna free games gog dammit!' It's directed at the people who first go 'This R4 chip will be really useful, I'll only use it on games I own though.' Then 'I want this game so bad, but I can't afford it! I'll download it now, I can buy it legit later.' Then 'Wow, every game I ever wanted is on this website!' Then 'I'd never buy these lame games anyway, so no profit loss for them.'Xersues said:
Not every pirate starts at the bottom of the slippery slope, and those that do are those that do are those that enjoy pirating the most. Companies shouldn't be trying to stop them from pirating, they should be trying to stop Average Joe.