View From the Road: Nintendo?s Piracy Plan

[JediMB]

My money is on games being only valid on the specific 3DS from which they are installed from. If you try to take the cart and put it in a different 3DS (or if you try to copy it and give it to your friend for his 3DS), then it won't work, giving you a message to insert the cartridge into the system for which it was validated. Or maybe the game just won't appear as a selection, but the cart will still show that it's eating-up some memory.

This is what I'm thinking too, if there's any merit to the rumors at all.

When you install the game, the cartridge is disabled for all other 3DS units until the game has been uninstalled again and the cartridge re-inserted into that piece of hardware.

Preferably there should be a way to look at the cartridge and see if it has been hardware-locked, but in the worst case scenario the retailers will simply have to do a quick test for every returned and otherwise pre-owned cartridge. It's not that different from checking discs for scratches.

 

[Cabisco]

I say stick to loads of lawsuits, it's what pirates deserve

Still, good to see nintendo trying a different approach that doesn't screw the everyday user.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Well, that seems... interesting.

 

[secretsantaone]

Piracy stems from dissatisfaction.

This is a step in the right direction.

 

[Baneat]

I currently use an R4 for my DS, simply becase I can't afford to buy every new game that comes out (high school, no job, etc), and for the convenience of not needing a suitcase full of cartridges. Same with my friends. But if the 3DS has the ability for me and my friends to all buy one copy of the game to install on our shiny new handhelds, Nintendo will get SOME money, as opposed to none. Now think about how many times this will happen over the country? Over the world, even?

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!"

Oh my god I have the best ever picture for you, one that somehow can't see the difference:

"I would if I could" on the bottom line

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Piracy stems from dissatisfaction.

This is a step in the right direction.

Um... no. Perhaps in a minority case this is true, but for the most part it doesn't matter what a company does to keep their customers happy, piracy will always be there. Piracy stems from the same roots as thievery in general (after-all, the original definition of piracy was simply robbery or illegal violence at sea). A person wants something. That person can't afford it, so the person decides to steal it so he can have it. Granted that not all thieves steal due to lack of money, but that's the very basic premise of the act; it's how thievery was even thought of in the first place.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I currently use an R4 for my DS, simply becase I can't afford to buy every new game that comes out (high school, no job, etc), and for the convenience of not needing a suitcase full of cartridges. Same with my friends. But if the 3DS has the ability for me and my friends to all buy one copy of the game to install on our shiny new handhelds, Nintendo will get SOME money, as opposed to none. Now think about how many times this will happen over the country? Over the world, even?

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!"

Ugh... let's not revive that old movie propaganda commercial. Trying to compare something that involves copying data to something that involves stealing a physic object is completely asinine. Mind you I'm not saying that I'm on the side of the pirates, rather the opposite, but using gross exaggerations like that won't help at all because the pirates will just brush them off due to how absurd it sounds. I mean seriously, you're honestly sitting here comparing a video game to stealing a car?

The first problem with the issue is simply in the matter of risk. Worst-case scenario with piracy is you accidentally download a virus, but any geek worth his cred will be set-back half a day at most reformatting his drive, and will have anything vital backed-up. Not to mention that this is a fairly rare scenario given that piracy is still rampant. Then you compare this to stealing a car which can come with any number of fines and/or jail time if you get caught. Yeah... real apt comparison. Being set back a day re-installing Windows vs years in prison. Of course they wouldn't steal a car given that choice.

Then we have the more touchy matter of the fact that this is data. To be completely realistic, the company doesn't actually lose anything if you copy their game. Copying data isn't like the shifty genie who only grants your wish for a million bucks by taking that money from the nearest bank. When you download a game, a copy of it doesn't vanish from the store's shelves. And before you get on your high horse about "oh but they lost the sale", let's not forget that we're talking about people who wouldn't have likely bought the game anyway. Compare this to stealing that Ferrari you want where the company loses the physical product and thus can't sell the car. Suddenly you have the company that doesn't even know you exist to the company that knows you have their massively-expensive car. Which one do you think is gonna put more effort into tracking you down?

So no... I'm sorry. You can't compare stealing a car to copying a game and expect people to take your argument seriously.

 

[Eri]

I currently use an R4 for my DS, simply becase I can't afford to buy every new game that comes out (high school, no job, etc), and for the convenience of not needing a suitcase full of cartridges. Same with my friends. But if the 3DS has the ability for me and my friends to all buy one copy of the game to install on our shiny new handhelds, Nintendo will get SOME money, as opposed to none. Now think about how many times this will happen over the country? Over the world, even?

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!"

wordsgohere

You have to be pretty dense to miss my point. It doesn't matter if it is a car or expensive software. Photoshop cost upwards of 1000 dollars, most people who want it can't afford it. Sure it might not be a lost sale, but that doesn't mean they should have a copy.

 

[TheTinyMan]

Has anyone paid any attention to Nintendo's response to Wii homebrew? They've released several system updates that do absolutely nothing other than disable and/or brick Wiis with homebrew, which is generally inferred to be a loosely-aimed attack on piracy. They released their latest featureless-homebrew-attacking update yesterday, actually. This leads me to believe that there will be no permissive attitude toward a potential source of piracy.

I do hope that I see something toward convenience, though. Most of my PC games anymore I get from Steam, because it's DRM that *adds* value instead of removes it.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

You have to be pretty dense to miss my point. It doesn't matter if it is a car or expensive software. Photoshop cost upwards of 1000 dollars, most people who want it can't afford it. Sure it might not be a lost sale, but that doesn't mean they should have a copy.

The main flaw of that argument is that now you're arguing morality. See, here's the catch: They feel that they should have it. The company lost nothing since the sale wouldn't have been made anyway. Thus, no moral qualms for them. The fact that no companies bother to pursue pirates means that there's very little risk involved as well.

 

[Eri]

You have to be pretty dense to miss my point. It doesn't matter if it is a car or expensive software. Photoshop cost upwards of 1000 dollars, most people who want it can't afford it. Sure it might not be a lost sale, but that doesn't mean they should have a copy.

The main flaw of that argument is that now you're arguing morality. See, here's the catch: They feel that they should have it. The company lost nothing since the sale wouldn't have been made anyway. Thus, no moral qualms for them. The fact that no companies bother to pursue pirates means that there's very little risk involved as well.

I don't see what you're really arguing. I dont care if they think they should have it. The law says they can't legally have it, therefore, no matter what they or anyone believe, they should not have one.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

I bought a cyclo just because a DS with 1 game fits in my pocket easily, a ds + extra cartridge + cartridge case is a buttpain with my high school janitor sized key ring and my Costanza wallet, and my mid 90s brick cell phone.

I have like 50 games for the DS, I can't be bothered to keep track of all of the carts, just sorting through the box to fish out Metroid Pinball is obnoxious. I want Mario Kart, Metroid Pinball, Clash of Heroes, Etrian Odyssey and Elite Beat Agents available at will. My Cyclo lets me do that, in addition to being an mp3 player and letting me play nethack.

 

[Akalistos]

I'll say this and may my word be written in stone

"Nature and Hackers always find a way."-Akalistos

Seriously, what hackers can hack now was considered Hackproof 2 years ago. Show me that I'm wrong.

 

[Jeronus]

I know there is going to be a way to stick it to pirates. I can't see any company giving away games like that especially in a economy like this. I think the one install to a console is more likely than just giving in to pirates.

 

[Jeronus]

You have to be pretty dense to miss my point. It doesn't matter if it is a car or expensive software. Photoshop cost upwards of 1000 dollars, most people who want it can't afford it. Sure it might not be a lost sale, but that doesn't mean they should have a copy.

The main flaw of that argument is that now you're arguing morality. See, here's the catch: They feel that they should have it. The company lost nothing since the sale wouldn't have been made anyway. Thus, no moral qualms for them. The fact that no companies bother to pursue pirates means that there's very little risk involved as well.

In this case, the time and effort being put into the software is being wasted on people who don't wish to pay for it. The investors lose the money they put into the project. The console company loses developers who can't afford to make games that get stolen more than bought. Piracy has a negative ripple effect on the entire industry.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I don't see what you're really arguing. I dont care if they think they should have it. The law says they can't legally have it, therefore, no matter what they or anyone believe, they should not have one.

Woo the big scurry law. I don't know if you've noticed, but "the law" isn't doing anything to enforce it's words in this matter. So if the only entity that claims to care about whether or not they have it isn't willing to take it out of their hands and (at the very least) give a swift swat on the back of said hands... then who are you to say they can't have the games?

Mind you, again, I'm not on the side of the pirates, just that I see the reality of the situation: Unless something is done to enforce the legality of what they're doing, the pirates have a rock-solid defense to justify what they're doing.

After-all, a law that doesn't get enforced might as well have not been written.

 

[RvLeshrac]

I currently use an R4 for my DS, simply becase I can't afford to buy every new game that comes out (high school, no job, etc), and for the convenience of not needing a suitcase full of cartridges. Same with my friends. But if the 3DS has the ability for me and my friends to all buy one copy of the game to install on our shiny new handhelds, Nintendo will get SOME money, as opposed to none. Now think about how many times this will happen over the country? Over the world, even?

Do you really have to have every new game that comes out?

I'd like to *PLAY* every single game that is released, but I have no desire to *OWN* most of them. Game rental is a semi-decent way to do this, but that doesn't help with titles not available in your country-of-residence.

A demo would easily suit me, if they were offered for more titles, and weren't "you must remain within 10' of the kiosk."