Nintendo says the R4 Flashcard is costing them "millions"

[Alpha]

Piracy of gaming software is by no means a new phenomenon. Bootleg copies of popular titles have been sold overseas for over a decade now, and in more recent years the Internet has accommodated easy and free distribution of software through illegal downloading websites. As time passes, the process of obtaining pirated copies of games is becoming easier, less expensive, and more widespread. As a result, this practice is starting to cost the gaming industry millions of dollars each year in software sales.

 

As the Nintendo DS is enjoying widespread popularity and record-breaking sales, it has also attracted the interest of piracy companies looking to cash in on some of Nintendo’s profit. Recently, the Revolution for DS, or the R4 chip has experienced high sales numbers despite the fact that it accommodates the practice of software piracy. What makes the R4 chip unique among other more traditional methods of piracy is that much like re-writable CD’s and DVD’s, the R4 device itself is not guilty of breaking any copyright laws.

 

Essentially, the chip acts as a general storage device that allows users to play digital content off of their DS hardware. Although the device can be used for perfectly legal activities, such as playing legally obtained music or videos off of the DS, it can also store software for illegally downloaded DS games, and can run these titles almost flawlessly on the DS hardware. Needless to say, this is quite concerning for Nintendo, and the company has started to crack down on the sales and distribution of the device.

Credit: http://www.thetanooki.com/2007/11/26/r4-ch...software-sales/

 

»» Read our R4DS Flashcard Review!

[ken_cinder]

What they don't realize, is they aren't losing a damn thing. Infact, they're gaining customers who, sure they may pirate games, but most who do actually purchase at least a few titles from retail.

 

All my systems are modded, but you can bet your ass I own at least 8 games for any given one, that I bought in a store. And on the flip side, if I couldn't mod them, I probably wouldn't have bought half of them.........flush the sales they DID make from me down the drain. If it wasn't for the fact I could mod my Xbox, I NEVER would have bought one. I really liked the homebrew I saw out there, and I mainly use it as a media center.

 

Everyone would sell more games if they didn't charge an arm and a leg for them. $50-$70 a title is disgusting, that's alot of money if you enjoy games and were to buy a dozen or more every 6 months. Then factor in other places in the world, where incomes are lower than here and games cost 4x as much.

The industry needs a slap in the face, and sadly, rampant piracy IS that slap in the face and it's getting nowhere.

[Devia Eleven]

It was a very interesting read. but I don't have any comments regarding the subject.

[GodPigeon]

All this means to me is Get the R4 early.

[L.S.D]

What they don't realize, is they aren't losing a damn thing. Infact, they're gaining customers who, sure they may pirate games, but most who do actually purchase at least a few titles from retail.

 

All my systems are modded, but you can bet your ass I own at least 8 games for any given one, that I bought in a store. And on the flip side, if I couldn't mod them, I probably wouldn't have bought half of them.........flush the sales they DID make from me down the drain. If it wasn't for the fact I could mod my Xbox, I NEVER would have bought one. I really liked the homebrew I saw out there, and I mainly use it as a media center.

 

Everyone would sell more games if they didn't charge an arm and a leg for them. $50-$70 a title is disgusting, that's alot of money if you enjoy games and were to buy a dozen or more every 6 months. Then factor in other places in the world, where incomes are lower than here and games cost 4x as much.

The industry needs a slap in the face, and sadly, rampant piracy IS that slap in the face and it's getting nowhere.

Piracy in Third World countries do not mean much to game companies. Sales in law-abiding countries like Japan, US, AUS, UK can easily give them the profit since as what Cinder said, the games cost $50 which is too much!.

 

Nintendo also forget to mention that they are making millions more than the millions they lost to piracy. Just an excuse to clamp down on R4 and make more money.

[BlackKnight]

What they don't realize, is they aren't losing a damn thing. Infact, they're gaining customers who, sure they may pirate games, but most who do actually purchase at least a few titles from retail.

 

All my systems are modded, but you can bet your ass I own at least 8 games for any given one, that I bought in a store. And on the flip side, if I couldn't mod them, I probably wouldn't have bought half of them.........flush the sales they DID make from me down the drain. If it wasn't for the fact I could mod my Xbox, I NEVER would have bought one. I really liked the homebrew I saw out there, and I mainly use it as a media center.

 

Everyone would sell more games if they didn't charge an arm and a leg for them. $50-$70 a title is disgusting, that's alot of money if you enjoy games and were to buy a dozen or more every 6 months. Then factor in other places in the world, where incomes are lower than here and games cost 4x as much.

The industry needs a slap in the face, and sadly, rampant piracy IS that slap in the face and it's getting nowhere.

 

I agree with your thoughts on every point. The other thing they aren't thinking of is for every time 'game X' is downloaded, it does not mean the person would have gone out and bought 'title X' if they couldn't pirate it. Each download does not equal one stolen sale.

[GodPigeon]

I think that these companies forget that people CAN live without the latest video games.

[Inky]

I love my R4.

[Tynvar]

It's profit they wouldn't be making anyways. Most people that buy these cards do it because they can't really afford the games. If they had the money I'm sure they would buy original. Everyone who likes videogames knows how nice it is to have original copies and boxes of their games. They should be thankful they can afford the hardware console to begin with.

[Reaper man]

I don't have an R4, but I do have an M3. I do pirate games, but only to try them out. If I like them enough, I buy them. If not, I usually won't. Just for clarity, I have NEVER beat a game I downloaded, but I HAVE bought a game that I thought was pretty cool after I downloaded it... oh yeah, I also listen to tunes on there as well, so shove it, Nintendo.

 

Also, as a game hacker, having the ROMs is nice, because you can go into the game assets and see all the cool stuff in there. Alternatively, you can also hack said games and *gasp* play them on real hardware!

 

in fact, I've heard that people are already working on level hacks for NSMB. The possibilities are endless, really.

Edited November 29, 2007 by Reaper man