Nintendo Blocks Flash Carts With DSi Software Update

[zidine100]

There are no gray area in law, just black and white, and changing peoples stance on law is neigh impossible at times, im starting to see this conversation going the same way as brick wall arguments, where both sides do not listen to each other and repeat the same things over and over again untill one just gives up and leaves.

im suggesting that it would be more productive if we just stop discussing piracys morality and start discussing nindendos removal of flash cards. note im only suggesting.

flash cards ≠ piracy.

 

[-Samurai-]

I would love to toss that kid and his parents on the street, hell thats my dream job, and no im not trolling that is really my dream job. I want to be a copyright lawyer and target software thieves and make as many of them homeless as possible

No im an upstanding citizen who knows what right and whats wrong unlike people who value stealing other peoples work because they just don't feel like paying for it.

Right. Because ruining a persons future and life over a bit of virtual data isn't as morally wrong as "piracy". Valuing data over human life is just a tad worse than downloading an illegal copy of a song or movie or game. Your priorities are wrong, methinks.

Besides, you'd be a PR disaster and you alone would be responsible for the downfall of that company. The White Knight of anti-"piracy" would single-handedly destroy the thing he set out to protect, and what a glorious day it would be. No-one would buy from such a money hungry company that destroys human lives in the name of data protection. They'd(the company) die within a few years.

really last i checked blizzard didnt lose a cent for taking a woman to court for 98 million, sorry bub your not living in the real world. People ***** and moan on forums but people still play wow with out losing a moments rest. The people who steal are not jsut some person, they are criminals and i will punish them to the extent of the law, and sadly no one will give a shit, people just dont care like you seem to think. When blizzard goes bankrupt i think you got something, till tehn your just wrong and the facts prove it.

Until you show the actual numbers to support your claim, you can't be taken seriously. By the way; When was the last time you checked Blizzards revenue reports? I'll guess never. Since, you know, you don't have access to them.

Do you honestly think the majority of people would continue to support Blizzard if they pulled that same move over and over? People aren't stupid. They won't support a company that ruins lives in the name of some code on a computer. Human life will always be more valuable than some ones and zeros.

If you really want to do something important with your life, try being a prosecuting attorney. Maybe put some murderers and rapists away. Or are their crimes petty when compared to copyright infringement?

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Ok, everybody commence whining about how Nintendo is so evil for thwarting you from doing something you're not supposed to be doing anyway.
/sarcasm

 

[-Samurai-]

I would love to toss that kid and his parents on the street, hell thats my dream job, and no im not trolling that is really my dream job. I want to be a copyright lawyer and target software thieves and make as many of them homeless as possible

No im an upstanding citizen who knows what right and whats wrong unlike people who value stealing other peoples work because they just don't feel like paying for it.

Right. Because ruining a persons future and life over a bit of virtual data isn't as morally wrong as "piracy". Valuing data over human life is just a tad worse than downloading an illegal copy of a song or movie or game. Your priorities are wrong, methinks.

Besides, you'd be a PR disaster and you alone would be responsible for the downfall of that company. The White Knight of anti-"piracy" would single-handedly destroy the thing he set out to protect, and what a glorious day it would be. No-one would buy from such a money hungry company that destroys human lives in the name of data protection. They'd(the company) die within a few years.

really last i checked blizzard didnt lose a cent for taking a woman to court for 98 million, sorry bub your not living in the real world. People ***** and moan on forums but people still play wow with out losing a moments rest. The people who steal are not jsut some person, they are criminals and i will punish them to the extent of the law, and sadly no one will give a shit, people just dont care like you seem to think. When blizzard goes bankrupt i think you got something, till tehn your just wrong and the facts prove it.

Until you show the actual numbers to support your claim, you can't be taken seriously. By the way; When was the last time you checked Blizzards revenue reports? I'll guess never. Since, you know, you don't have access to them.

Do you honestly think the majority of people would continue to support Blizzard if they pulled that same move over and over? People aren't stupid. They won't support a company that ruins lives in the name of some code on a computer. Human life will always be more valuable than some ones and zeros.

If you really want to do something important with your life, try being a prosecuting attorney. Maybe put some murderers and rapists away. Or are their crimes petty when compared to copyright infringement?

you mean for the lawsuite? it was here on excapist, or do you mean earnings, here you go http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ACTI/1009190013x0x393942/a728701a-e87b-4477-90d6-775413f6e556/PressReleaseTablesQ2CY1Final.pdf

What did you mean not have access? they are a publicly traded company there earnings report is available on the internet.

I'm thinking you grabbed the wrong thing. That's a comparison of June 30, 2009 and June 30th, 2010. All it shows is a 7% loss resulting in 44 million dollars less income than the previous year. It has nothing to do with August or September. It also doesn't show number of subscribers. A few people buying extra stuff can make up for the money lost from 1 customer canceling their account.

Also, everyone else is right, this is getting way off topic. If you really feel the need to justify your thoughts to me, PM me.

 

[Motakikurushi]

Yes, because we can't possibly have a price-drop on the most successful handheld console of all time, which continues to rake in money despite the same design being re-released 3 times with no significant changes to the quality of the console itself and very few decent exclusives being released at all. I've also noticed that a huge majority of homebrew users resort to hacking their Wii because it's so utterly boring and terrible they need to find some way of making it useful, and it provides a small incentive for their nintendo consoles to still exist.

Someones a Nintendo hater...

You criticize a console for selling? Notice that the article says SOFTWARE, and nothing about the HARDWARE. The only thing even remotely CLOSE to mentioning hardware is the fact that there was a firmware update; nothing was said about the prices.

But lets tackle your little rant. Yes, it was released multiple times (DS, DSLite, DSi, DSiXL), but thats how Nintendo has ALWAYS done their handhelds. If you wait for the re-release of the console, they will usually incorperate features that people deem useful. Personally, for a handheld, I found my original DS a bit bulky. After one too many drops, I decided to spend the money on the DSLite, which was a much slimmer, portable model, that fixed the lighting issues. The DSi allowed users to use a memory stick for extra features, and the DSiXL gave people a hand-held console for people who don't plan to take the DS with them.

As for no excluse games, are you serious? I guess those Nintendo IP's that rake in major money (Ya know, Pokemon, Zelda, Mario, Metroid) havent had any installments on the DS...

( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100568-Pokemon-HeartGold-SoulSilver-Sell-8-4-Million )

Hmm... Well, its good they dont have any exclusive titles. Like The World Ends with You, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Dragon Quest, Mario and Luigi, those Brain Age games that are insanely popular with the elderly...

As for the Wii, do you have any actual proof to back up your claims? I would like to see the actual numbers of people who's ONLY reason to have their Wii is for homebrew. Because, God knows NO one could find ANY Wii game fun because you can't. And its not like some person flaming a company would COMPLETELY pull facts out of their ass. That would be silly.

Ignoring obvious troll now, NINTENDO. On that note, I'd have to say its a pretty valiant effort, but kinda wasted. If the Flashcarts can run their own firmware, a firmware update isn't going to do anything. Not to mention, the user doesnt HAVE to download the update. Personally, I dont play my DS Online anymore (my router wont allow me to and I lost my USB connector sadface single tear). While I dont pirate, if I did, what would be stopping me from just not using the online features?

While attempts to stop piracy, even if its only for a few weeks or so, is a reasonable thing to do. However, its also a waste of money when it turns rather futile in the end. Creative DRM is the way Nintendo (look at the dev who made that dating sim that made the girls reject you if you pirated it. Stuff like THIS is good).

Obvious troll? Is that another connotation for cold reality? I like the DS. I played it constantly for 3 years of my life. It's still the greatest handheld ever made in my opinion. In no way did I state that the consoles had no exclusives, they just haven't kept up this trend. You simply can't have a select few and leave a console. They re-hash every franchise until they become so dry they verge on insulting. TWEWY, Mario and Luigi, Dragon Quest, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, are all games I've fucking owned and played to boredom, and yes, they were good, it would be psychopathic to suggest otherwise. I even imported a copy of Jump Ultimate Stars because I was so obsessed with the console. God forbid if I ever want originality from such a divine company, I expect my flogging for sheer ignorance post-haste; a company this successful can remake and re-release previously utilised ideas all it likes, at least as long as they're rich. I don't prefer Sony's reincarnations of the PSP either, the PSP GO was flawed in every stretch of the word, so what makes you think the iterations of the original and perfectly capable DS are worth the excessive prices? I will never accept that homebrew and flashcarts deserve condemning. The Wii homebrew's removal of the region-lock helped my little brother play an american game he got sent for his birthday, since we live in Britain. Suffice to say, when he updated his Wii, he wasn't very happy. Somebody paid for that disc, and Nintendo stopped us using it. I even own a japanese copy of Tatsunoko vs Capcom which I now can't play due to console updates. I paid £40 for that game. But, that's nintendo, condemning even users who pay for their products.

Wait, you seriously think I'm a pirate? That's a terrifying concept, a sleepwalking pirate. Really, I've never pirated anything in my life and I'm not about to.

 

[Electrogecko]

Yes, because we can't possibly have a price-drop on the most successful handheld console of all time, which continues to rake in money despite the same design being re-released 3 times with no significant changes to the quality of the console itself and very few decent exclusives being released at all. I've also noticed that a huge majority of homebrew users resort to hacking their Wii because it's so utterly boring and terrible they need to find some way of making it useful, and it provides a small incentive for their nintendo consoles to still exist.

Anybody who hates Nintendo obviously never played games before this console generation or doesn't know anything about the medium.

 

[Motakikurushi]

Yes, because we can't possibly have a price-drop on the most successful handheld console of all time, which continues to rake in money despite the same design being re-released 3 times with no significant changes to the quality of the console itself and very few decent exclusives being released at all. I've also noticed that a huge majority of homebrew users resort to hacking their Wii because it's so utterly boring and terrible they need to find some way of making it useful, and it provides a small incentive for their nintendo consoles to still exist.

Anybody who hates Nintendo obviously never played games before this console generation or
doesn't know anything about the medium.

Such sarcasm is limitlessly aloof and witty. It's even funnier when you consider that I was a nintendo fan for my entire childhood, have every gaming console on the market, am a stoic believer in the 'games are art' debate, have owned a Super Nintendo, a Game Boy Advance, over 100 nintendo games, a DS and even a Game and Watch, and yet you have the irony to point out the very opposite! And, to think I hate Nintendo because I owned a Wii for 3 years and all my hopes of a truly exceptional console were crushed after a year of stagnation with no worthwhile exclusives for the console itself. To even suggest that nobody has a right to be irritated at Nintendo is genius incarnate. I mean, they are the incarnation of perfection!

Wait...

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Ten minutes later: Homebrew community bypasses latest DSi Software Update.

So much for that, eh chaps? I bought the flash cards to play homebrew games on it, not to *ahem* "try them out."

As far as I've heard, they still haven't overcome the Wii disc-based update that got rid of Homebrew, in fairness. But then, I haven't checked in awhile.

 

[Electrogecko]

Yes, because we can't possibly have a price-drop on the most successful handheld console of all time, which continues to rake in money despite the same design being re-released 3 times with no significant changes to the quality of the console itself and very few decent exclusives being released at all. I've also noticed that a huge majority of homebrew users resort to hacking their Wii because it's so utterly boring and terrible they need to find some way of making it useful, and it provides a small incentive for their nintendo consoles to still exist.

Anybody who hates Nintendo obviously never played games before this console generation or
doesn't know anything about the medium.

Such sarcasm is limitlessly aloof and witty. It's even funnier when you consider that I was a nintendo fan for my entire childhood, have every gaming console on the market, am a stoic believer in the 'games are art' debate, have owned a Super Nintendo, a Game Boy Advance, over 100 nintendo games, a DS and even a Game and Watch, and yet you have the irony to point out the very opposite! And, to think I hate Nintendo because I owned a Wii for 3 years and all my hopes of a truly exceptional console were crushed after a year of stagnation with no worthwhile exclusives for the console itself. To even suggest that nobody has a right to be irritated at Nintendo is genius incarnate. I mean, they are the incarnation of perfection!

Wait...

Christ....I really didn't want to start this up. I specifically made a very broad and non-sarcastic remark that in no way was directed at you. You were the first person to post on this thread, and the only way in which your comment was at all related to the topic was in the issue of piracy. Somehow, you managed to stray from a DSi firmware update to the Wii homebrew channel being the only reason for the consoles existence. Then you react to my reply in this way, which only reinforces my opinion that you're trying to start a flame war.

I too have owned every Nintendo console minus the NES, G&W, and Virtual Boy. I also have both Xbox's and a PS2. My library of games is vast and varied. These days, I find myself playing Wii about 10x more than my Xbox. While I'm sure this is somewhat due to my Nintendo fanboyism, I'm also sure that the Wii has more quality solitary experiences. Yes, I said it.

I play games for the game. Not the graphics or the story or the multiplayer. High resolution is great but color and artistic design are much more important. Stories are a nice bonus, but what really matters is character control and gameplay mechanics. Playing with friends online is fun, but it pales in comparison to having them in the same room as you. No game that I've played on 360 has hit home for me as hard as OOT, Metroid Prime, or Mario Galaxy did. By far the best single player experience I've had on 360 was Portal, and that only lasted about 6 hours. After Portal comes a few XBLarcade games like Limbo and Banjo-Tooie, followed by maybe Mass Effect or Bioshock. That's right- a N64 game made my top 5 on 360. I find it sickening that the most popular games today are COD, GOW, and Halo- honestly, how boring can you get. If I don't want to play a game where the objective is to keep my target reticule on the enemy and hold down R, then I'll be constantly disappointed by the 360 library.

Meanwhile, on my Wii, I'm able to play true masterpieces from previous consoles that I never owned originally. I recently got to play the Original and Super Metroid, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, and Donkey Kong Country 3 all for the first time in my life. As if that wasn't already more than the 360 has given me, for the console itself I've got Twilight Princess, Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Super Paper Mario, Metroid Prime 3, SSBB, Warioware, Mariokart, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and an improved Okami.
You may not like a few of these titles, but I consider each one to be a unique masterpiece- not to mention the fact that they are all made by NINTENDO- the same company that made the console. Sure you can be irritated with Nintendo, but if you think that we would be better off without the Wii, then......well......you're dumb.
P.S. You used the term "irony" wrong. It's not a personal trait, and even if it was, what you said still wouldn't make sense.

 

[ItsAPaul]

People with flash carts don't use dsi's just btw.

 

[Nukey]

Okay, I was originally going to leave this debate, but after reading the following comment, I felt like I had to say something.

You would soon lose your job as the market suddenly realizes that by taking the pathetic amount of money most pirates have (as most pirates are poor college students, or foreigners) does not, in fact, compensate for the puffed up fictional losses they pulled out of their ass, and now there is one less person who will ever buy anything from anyone because they are either in jail, too poor to buy food or (if it were me) dead via suicide, because they were poor before and they are even more poor now, and there is no hope of ever climbing out of the abyss known as multi million dollar debt.

You, good sir, are a complete moron, lacking both a clue about what he's talking about and common sense.

You know why they'd be in debt and/or in jail? Because they would've broken the fucking law! They illegally downloaded a luxury, something that isn't even necessary for survival, knowing all too well that doing so is against the law, and you're trying to justify that by saying they might possibly be poor? If they are that poor, they should be more focused on getting a bloody job, not wasting time playing Mariokart or whatever pirated crap they downloaded!

Also, if you would kill yourself just becuase you couldn't get something for free, I'd advice seeing a goddamn shrink and getting some counseling. Seriously, your either childish or insane if you think that way.

 

[Royas]

I know the arguments coming well a person that pirated the game would never have spent money on the game in the first place. While this may be true for a majority of the pirates even if say 5% of 100,000 people who downloaded the game would have actually bought it if it was not so easy to download. That is 5000 more copies of the game sold which can be significant in some game releases. Also on that note if the person would never have bought the game then why does said person think they should get to play the game for free. Why can they not just pass it by as a game that they will just not play at this point in time and move onto one that they will pay for.

The only real experiment done on this subject showed something like a 1 in 1000 or less conversion rate once pirate copies were cut off. I can't find the article itself (sorry!) but I know it was covered here on the Escapist at one point. So, from your 100,000 people, you now have 100 new sales. Given that in order to force pirates to buy, you have to use DRM and the courts, I'd think you are losing money at this point.

 

[Zenron]

Honestly, I don't blame nintendo for doing this. I used to have a flash cart, and it was insanely easy to pirate any game you wanted, and that really isn't fair to be honest. Although, you won't stop the pirates. You never will.

 

[midpipps]

I know the arguments coming well a person that pirated the game would never have spent money on the game in the first place. While this may be true for a majority of the pirates even if say 5% of 100,000 people who downloaded the game would have actually bought it if it was not so easy to download. That is 5000 more copies of the game sold which can be significant in some game releases. Also on that note if the person would never have bought the game then why does said person think they should get to play the game for free. Why can they not just pass it by as a game that they will just not play at this point in time and move onto one that they will pay for.

The only real experiment done on this subject showed something like a 1 in 1000 or less conversion rate once pirate copies were cut off. I can't find the article itself (sorry!) but I know it was covered here on the Escapist at one point. So, from your 100,000 people, you now have 100 new sales. Given that in order to force pirates to buy, you have to use DRM and the courts, I'd think you are losing money at this point.

Hmm sounds like it would be an interesting read if you can find the study I would love to read it. It could be that you get a 0.1% of those who would buy the game if piracy were not available. I would think it would be higher then that though. This would be a hard thing to test as there is no real way to have a good sample size where you can actually limit access to pirated copies. And even then if you look at something like spore that 0.1% actually ends up being 1700 sales if you go off the estimated figure of 1700000 pirated copies.

As for the DRM and courts it is not so much to try and force pirates to buy it is more about trying to stop the pirates from being able to pirate said product so if they wanted to actually play the game they would need to buy it.

All in all it comes down to if you want to play a game then pay for it. If you do not think it is worth the price wait for the price to come down. If you do not think the game is worth playing for any price then don't play it. If you do not have the money to buy the game then save for it and in the meantime there are loads of good games out there that developers are giving away for free. Is this really that hard to do? I have been down to only enough money to pay for housing electricity and a 5 dollar crate of ramen noodles. Guess what I did for gaming I played games I already owned. Asked friends and family for games for christmas/birthdays, traded games with friends(not copied), and played a bunch of open source games that the developers are giving away.