UK Police Seize DS Flash Carts

[Logan Westbrook]

UK Police Seize DS Flash Carts

Police in Cardiff, Wales have seized 1,800 flash carts following a raid.

The carts, which allow DS Lite owners to play pirated games and homebrew software and are illegal under UK law, were being sold via the internet by an unnamed 21-year-old man. The site was discovered by the Entertainment and Leisure Publishers Association (ELSPA) and was reported to the authorities following a test purchase.

The carts had been imported over four different shipments and as well as the devices themselves, officers also found detailed delivery receipts for every device sold in the last two years. Another thousand carts were found at the man's house along with hundreds of other products ready for mailing.

ELSPA managing director Michael Rawlinson praised the South Wales Police for the part they played in stopping the operation and had this to say, "Our team in the Intellectual Property Crime Unit (IPCU) has stepped up its fight against counterfeiters stealing game software and other intellectual property rights of our members. Increasingly sophisticated tracking techniques make it harder than ever for the thieves to avoid detection."

Nintendo UK's general manager David Yanton echoed this statement, saying, "Nintendo is serious about taking actions against those involved in the manufacturing and distribution of game copying devices."

Source: GamaSutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21606]



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[NewClassic_v1legacy]

I've never particularly understand what drives game developers to be so uniformly against the concept of homebrew gaming. Maybe it's because I never particularly feel evil enough to rip games, or actively hunt rips of said games, but I still think actively crusading to destroy the "home made" games and freeware bugs me a little.

Then again, I've seen some amazing homebrew games for the PSP/DS (PC demos) that I've been unable to use because of the pirating circumventions in place with the consoles. I'm not trying to steal profits from Nintendo or Sony, I just want some freeware on my handhelds.

Regardless of my opinions on flash carting, it is illegal. The scope of this raid and bust is pretty boggling. Thousands of carts from the single individual? Not to mention the many, many more likely to be in-bound across several bits of shipping. Absolutely boggling in scope, all things considered.

That kinda profiteering is just about every kind of against the letter and intent of the law, so I'm glad the law came down on it. Not to serve a show of force against gaming, but an up-holding of the law.

Although, I disagree with the law. Shame to hear the English gamers among us are incapable of using Flash Carts by law.

 

[Nimbus]

Flash carts are like needles. They have the potential to be used for illegal purposes (heroin), but that dosn't mean that needles should be outlawed. The same goes for flash carts. They CAN be used for piracy, but since there is a legal use for them, they should be legal. I feel really bad for UK people for having to put up with this crap.

 

[Mark Argent]

freakin Torchwood.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Although, I disagree with the law. Shame to hear the English gamers among us are incapable of using Flash Carts by law.

In the UK flash carts are legal.
We're aloud to use them, there's nothing in the law that says flash carts can't be used, bought or sold. I've got one, bought it off Amazon UK. If the police are raiding his house then he was up to something a little more shady than just importing and distributing them.


As for why developers hate homebrew so much. They cannot make profit from Homebrew.

 

[Nimbus]

Although, I disagree with the law. Shame to hear the English gamers among us are incapable of using Flash Carts by law.

In the UK flash carts are legal.
We're aloud to use them, there's nothing in the law that says flash carts can't be used, bought or sold. I've got one, bought it off Amazon UK. If the police are raiding his house then he was up to something a little more shady than just importing and distributing them.


As for why developers hate homebrew so much. They cannot make profit from Homebrew.

...The carts, which allow DS Lite owners to play pirated games and homebrew software and are illegal under UK law...

I am confused.

 

[fix-the-spade]

...The carts, which allow DS Lite owners to play pirated games and homebrew software and are illegal under UK law...

I am confused.

No need to be. It's one of those funny English legal loops.

Owning the carts is not illegal, selling them is not illegal. Having pirate games on one is, selling them for the purpose of pirate games is illegal. Apllies to any media storage device like DVD's, CD's or even hard disks. If he's been raided the Police probably had grounds to believe he was distributing pirate games/or software to produce said games.

A similar level of odd surrounds ammunition. It is not illegal to posses slugs, black powder, casings and a press without a license. But they all become illegal when you use them to make bullets. Gotta love English law.

 

[Nimbus]

...The carts, which allow DS Lite owners to play pirated games and homebrew software and are illegal under UK law...

I am confused.

No need to be. It's one of those funny English legal loops.

Owning the carts is not illegal, selling them is not illegal. Having pirate games on one is, selling them for the purpose of pirate games is illegal. Apllies to any media storage device like DVD's, CD's or even hard disks. If he's been raided the Police probably had grounds to believe he was distributing pirate games/or software to produce said games.

A similar level of odd surrounds ammunition. It is not illegal to posses slugs, black powder, casings and a press without a license. But they all become illegal when you use them to make bullets. Gotta love English law.

So couldn't he just put a disclaimer on his website saying "NOT TO BE USED FOR ILLEGAL PURPOSES"? Wouldn't that mean he's in the clear?

 

[fix-the-spade]

So couldn't he just put a disclaimer on his website saying "NOT TO BE USED FOR ILLEGAL PURPOSES"? Wouldn't that mean he's in the clear?

In a word, maybe. If he was providing software that enabled users to pirate games with the carts then no, no he couldn't.
The cart I bought didn't include any software at all, you had to download it from the M3 website, who made it part of the EULA that you not use the cart for illicit purposes.

 

[randommaster]

Freeware for consoles is not very appealing to companies because they have to either build the feature into the console or provide the cartrages or whatever to enable it. With PC's you usually only have to worry about software.

It's not so much that flash carts give people access to homebrew stuff, but that you can get DS games for free. The former does absolutely nothing directly to Nintendo's sales while the other cuts into them directly.

The DS does need a way to create and distribute freeware, though.

 

[Nurb]

Geez its like all of Western Europe is turning into a big nanny-state.. it'd be like the cops cracking down on people for modding their systems

 

[stompy]

I wonder how they got the guy... you'd think these kinds of distributors would keep it low-key.

 

[Aardvark Soup]

The problem with a huge amount of people owning R4's is that they, in most cases, will have no motivation left to buy games anymore and only download them. This won't hurt companies like Nintendo since their software will sell anyway, but it are the small publishers who will be severly damaged. Also, bigger companies won't take risks anymore with new IP's or innovative titles but just keep pumping out sequels and shovelware.

 

[Zer_]

Well considering the DS has a solid backing in games, I wouldn't homebrew the DS. The PSP on the other hand is another story. Personally I think the homebrew is the only reason the PSP is still afloat.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Well considering the DS has a solid backing in games, I wouldn't homebrew the DS. The PSP on the other hand is another story. Personally I think the homebrew is the only reason the PSP is still afloat.

True, the DS does have plenty of first party games. It also has a great deal more potential for (proper) homebrew than the PSP, mainly because of the touch screen. Things like web browsers and drawing programs, actually entirely web browsers and drawing programs, they give the DS a use as a utility. All it needs is a voice chat program and you have a Wifi phone, useless unless someone else has the same prgram but geeky enough to be worth it anyway.

 

[fd18e3d0-816e-11e4-b4a9-0800200c9a66]

A similar level of odd surrounds ammunition. It is not illegal to posses slugs, black powder, casings and a press without a license. But they all become illegal when you use them to make bullets. Gotta love English law.

i heard of a similar story, a friend of my dad had a blank gun and ammo. apparently it was legel for him to own both but as soon as he put the blanks into the gun it was illegal. That was a while back and i think the law has changed now. but stil...

anyway i feel that homebrew shouldnt be illegal as it would provide a far greater variety of games and software, i would definitely consider buying a DS or PSP if i could write my own stuff for it

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Well considering the DS has a solid backing in games, I wouldn't homebrew the DS. The PSP on the other hand is another story. Personally I think the homebrew is the only reason the PSP is still afloat.

Yeah, but the PSP has a feature Nintendo failed to utilize: Being able to download games and media to the darn thing.

PSP and PS3 actually go hand in hand.

 

[Aardvark]

It's nice to know that, while I'm still liable to get beaten senseless for walking down a street at the wrong time, godless foreign corporations possess police protection to prevent a perceived plunge in profits.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

have i mentioned before that the UK is one step behind a dystopia. seriously, whats next. thought police?

 

[Veylon]

Madness!

It looks as though the police are arresting an otherwise law-abiding citizen for selling legally permitted objects that could, potentially be used to commit a crime, hinging their argument on the rather dubious "fact" that he intended for them to be used thus. Rather an ugly precedent to set. A bit like arresting a clerk who happened to sell box cutters to some shady fellows in balaclavas.

I don't see anything that says he was selling illegal copies of software or hardware, so unless that's the case, I don't see any justification for the arrest.