Japanese Trade Group Calls DS Flash Carts "Information Terrorism"

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Japanese Trade Group Calls DS Flash Carts "Information Terrorism"



Yutaka Kubota, President of Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software, told Famitsu that he thinks flash carts like the R4DS are a form of "information terrorism."

The R4 - a flash cart that allows pirates to download and play as many ROMs on their Nintendo DS as they want - has long been a thorn in the side of Nintendo and the companies that make games for the popular handheld. In fact, the new iteration of the device - the DSi - was designed to specifically not work with any of the current flash carts to deal with this very scenario (of course, it has since been cracked, but uh, good effort Nintendo?)

Kubota thinks that at this point, though, the precise volume of illegal DS software is irrelevant: "It's not a matter of numbers anymore," he told premier Japanese gaming mag Famitsu (in an interview translated by 1up [http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174311]). "The fact is that you can download any Nintendo DS game as much as you want, so there's no way to even calculate the damage. This is an issue that affects our national interests, and personally, I see it as a form of information terrorism that is crushing Japan's industry."

Kubota also exhorted the readers of Famitsu to stop pirating games, trying to appeal to their love of the medium. "I want them to be aware that unless we do something, nobody will be able to make the games they love to play. Not only will gamers wanting to play new games not be able to play anything, but people who want to join the game industry in the future will have their dreams trampled upon."

It's hard to argue with that last point - rampant piracy is a scourge, and one can't help but feel that games like Professor Layton and the Curious Village or Elite Beat Agents - both highly regarded by critics but with lukewarm sales - might have done better had it not been for the handy-dandy R4DS - piracy made easy.

But "information terrorism?" Really, now? I'm pretty sure that the makers of the R4 aren't holding Satoru Iwada hostage and demanding the release of the Pirate Bay founders from custody. If that ever does happen, though, you guys will be the first to know.

(Via Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/20/ds-flash-carts-a-form-of-information-terrorism-says-japanese/])

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Sixties Spidey

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Jan 24, 2008
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This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard this week. Information Terrorism? Seriously? They should rethink their wording before they call out something like this.

I have an R4, and believe me, I'm thankful I have it. Games in Dubai are too fucking expensive.
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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I wonder how much of the flash cart hate stems from the double whammy that a) Nintendo didn't think of them first b)they're made mostly by Chinese companies.

I realise that the huge amount of piracy through them hurts Nintendo, but it's largely self inflicted as they made DS cartridges so easy to replicate and have then sat on their arse and done nothing to get flash cart users onboard. They can't even hide behind the usual excuse of saying there's no market, it's already there and it's massive.

I bet the sales would improve if Ninty offered some of their games for legal downloads.

For the record I own an M3 flash cart which has no pirated software on it, it's got Colors, MP3/4 playback and a couple of photo editing things that are still being perfected. So having my actions likened to people who put nail bombs in bins and blow themselves up on tube trains is a little insulting.
 

Aardvark Soup

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Jul 22, 2008
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Information terrorism is a stupid term but it is true that piracy is the main reason original and great games like Proffesor Layton, Bangai-O Spirits, Elite Beat Agents etc. sell horrible and most of the DS games you see on the shelf are shovelware.

Also, even though Nintendo's software sales are also hurt by this kind of piracy, third party developpers suffer the most. Stuff with the Nintendo label slapped on it usually sells anyway.
 

mikecoulter

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Dec 27, 2008
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Oh my. I am defiantly not a terrorist. I'd buy the games if they would allow me to back them up legally.
 

not a zaar

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Dec 16, 2008
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Terrorism? Who is the flash card terrorizing? A corporation? I know legally a corporation is an entity, but really I'm not that concerned about how much terror it feels, if it can even feel anything at all.
 

T'Generalissimo

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Nov 9, 2008
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This guy just shit all over language, or, if you'd like to be all ironic, committed an act of language terrorism. The point of terrorism is to inlict terror, the point of piracy is to get something for free. We have words for a reason, damn it!
 

Bluebacon

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May 13, 2009
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buy teh haloz said:
This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard this week. Information Terrorism? Seriously? They should rethink their wording before they call out something like this.

I have an R4, and believe me, I'm thankful I have it. Games in Dubai are too fucking expensive.
Tell me about it. At least you have the option in Dubai to get original games, in Al Ain there's almost no choice but to buy pirated games as virtually no one sells original games.
Not that I'm complaining, 10 dirhams for a game is pretty sweet. I always get original in the UK though.
And information terrorism? I think thats abusing the term terrorism, which has been overused of late.
 

Garrig

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Mar 11, 2009
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And yet, I feel the need to point out that a third the time that I find myself in the know and having place to send all the data I do keep on my computer comes from news stories that these companies put out, with pretty exact tech information to search and purchase to get around this whole being poor thing...

Pirates want the games. They want them badly, and many of them are too poor or lack the budget to get them.

(I don't condone or endorse their actions, but I do point out their commonly quoted reasons)
 

KDR_11k

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Feb 10, 2009
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Perhaps Japan just doesn't have a clue what cyber warfare is like. Maybe someone wants to introduce them to it?
 

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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KDR_11k said:
Perhaps Japan just doesn't have a clue what cyber warfare is like. Maybe someone wants to introduce them to it?
Don't do it, man. They have Gundams.
 

CyberAkuma

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Nov 27, 2007
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If Nintendo is serious about stopping piracy then perhaps they should stop with the overpricing bullshittery. There is NO JUSTIFIABLE CAUSE why they should charge me 15 Euros less than a current newly released next-gen game on the major consoles.
No handheld game is worth 45?.

Also, how the fuck do they justify the price of the DSi being INFERIOR to the NDS Lite and having a 35% higher pricetag?!

There's a REASON why people would rather pay $16 for an R4DS Nintendo...
 

cobrausn

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Dec 10, 2008
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CyberAkuma said:
There's a REASON why people would rather pay $16 for an R4DS Nintendo...
Because they are cheap and feel entitled when they are not.

If you don't like their policies and price, don't buy their games. Don't pirate their games, that just makes you a thief; don't try to justify it, that just makes you an annoying thief.
 

tenlong

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Apr 26, 2009
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Because they are cheap and feel entitled when they are not.

If you don't like their policies and price, don't buy their games. Don't pirate their games, that just makes you a thief; don't try to justify it, that just makes you an annoying thief.[/quote]



but what if you want a game or movie they don't sell no more.[plus even extremely rare] i got a anime i love but they only released part of dvd the rest was unreleased. i spent years trying to find it legally. i refused to 800 to 1000 plus bucks to get it imported. so i said fuck it and downloaded the fansub. if the rest of the show was released i would buy it in a heart beat. that shit be in the mail already. you are basically saying that if something is not released in your country and you don't import it you are fucked . i don't pirate new games. i got some old games in rom form.
 

cobrausn

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Dec 10, 2008
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Importing issues might be the one reason I would support (and by that I mean not care about) pirating.