backtop

Print E-mail del.icio.us 32 comment(s) - last by MrBowmore.. on Mar 2 at 9:46 PM
Nintendo wins lawsuit against distributors of Nintendo DS emulation hardware

On Friday the Tokyo District Court issued an order banning the import and sale by five companies of electronic devices known as the “R4”. These devices allow users to play illegally copied game software on the Nintendo DS hand held game system. Judge Masami Ichikawa, who oversaw the suit filed by Nintendo and 54 other game companies, ruled that the import and sale of DS emulation devices, runs counter to the unfair competition prevention law as they cancel out the consoles’ copy protection system.

The three-judge panel ruled that the plaintiffs have suffered business losses by the import and sale of the DS emulation devices. The defendants argued that the emulation devices fall outside the scope of regulations under the unfair competition prevention law because they help users play not only copied software but also homemade software as well.

In July of last year, Nintendo and company launched the lawsuit against companies that import the R4 Revolution for DS. The lawsuit was led by Nintendo and supported by major game companies such as SNK, Capcom, Koei, Square Enix, Sega, and Taito. Nintendo demanded all marketing, sales, and importation of the device be stopped.

Nintendo’s press release at the time stated the Chinese made R4 were “causing severe damage to our company and software makers, and this is something that we cannot possibly overlook.” The lawsuit was limited to the Japanese market only.

The R4 allows gamers to load and play Nintendo DS ROM files downloaded from the internet. The ROM cartridge fools the Nintendo DS into believing a real cartridge has been plugged in to the DS and are only limited by memory capacity in terms of how many games can be loaded. The R4 has a small slot that a Micro SD card goes into. In addition to game piracy the R4 allows “homebrew” software, games, and music to be played on a Nintendo DS

When the lawsuit was launched last year, Square Enix had already implemented anti-piracy measures against the R4 in their game Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. Pirated copies of this game do not work properly when used with the R4.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
By Chris Peredun on 3/2/2009 8:48:47 AM , Rating: 5
Well, thank goodness for that.

I can continue playing Doom, Quake/Quake II, Descent, Duke Nukem 3D, Tower Defense, Pocket Physics, Lemmings, NetHack, LockJaw ... and coding some of my own games for giggles with PALib.

There's plenty of things you can do with a flash cart that don't involve piracy.




By xxeonn on 3/2/2009 10:33:56 AM , Rating: 2
I don't understand how they could let Nintendo win a lawsuit like that, when the device itself does not allow you to play the game. Before you can play a game on an R4 like device, it has to be patched by a 'patching software' on a PC.

I think Nintendo should have gone after the people making the patching software than the R4 distrubuters; albeit more money would have to be spent in a lawsuit of that type.


By dragonbif on 3/2/2009 6:07:51 PM , Rating: 2
Now now do not forget it has to hook into the DS and if Nintendo does not want it to they do not have to let it. It is much like the Iphone or the PSP they do not let 3rd party parts hook in without getting permission from them first. Also if the part breaks it or does something else to it they would not have to fix it because it is out of the warranty scope.


By Bremen7000 on 3/2/2009 10:49:18 AM , Rating: 2
Next you'll be telling me there are legit reasons for torrents! Oh wait, there are.


By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 11:10:52 AM , Rating: 4
There are also legitimate reasons to smoke weed, inject methadone, and to ingest nitroglycerin. Should we allow unrestricted use of these also?


By jeff834 on 3/2/2009 11:37:00 AM , Rating: 1
Yes.


By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 11:46:55 AM , Rating: 5
Walked right into that one, didnt I.. ;)


By BansheeX on 3/2/2009 12:36:37 PM , Rating: 1
There may not be a good reason to ingest toxins, but that doesn't make the reason illegitimate. If you can't do whatever you want to your own body, you do not own your body.


By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 1:29:26 PM , Rating: 2
The difference being the act of doing the drugs (or in this case downloading torrents) is not illegal (you can do whatever you want to your body/computer), but buying the illegal drugs (or in this case downloading illegal software) is.

I was more or less making a point about torrents and not drugs, I was just using it as a comparison tool ;)


By DM0407 on 3/2/2009 4:05:37 PM , Rating: 1
How many people bought a DS because of the R4... I can name at least one.

Based on this logic:

You bought a car that passes all emissions (CAR A). Other people also bought this car and decided they wanted to add stolen parts to make it better (CAR B). Car B is considered illegal because it has stolen parts. With user intervention CAR A could also become illegal therefore we must ban all cars of this type.

quote:
The difference being the act of doing the drugs (or in this case downloading torrents) is not illegal (you can do whatever you want to your body/computer), but buying the illegal drugs (or in this case downloading illegal software) is.

I was more or less making a point about torrents and not drugs, I was just using it as a comparison tool ;)


So can I go to school for 10 years to prescribe torrents? ; )


By Hyperion1400 on 3/2/2009 5:14:28 PM , Rating: 2
Like hell using drugs isn't illegal. The simple act of drug possession can land you some seriously hard time in this country (US). A single marijuana seed is enough for 6 months of probation.

Now, I certainly don't agree with the status quo. But, the reality is that drug use is illegal in this country.


By Etsp on 3/2/2009 8:14:54 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Like hell using drugs isn't illegal. The simple act of drug possession can land you some seriously hard time in this country (US).
Possessing drugs, and having used them, are not the same thing. It's illegal to posses the drugs. Of course, to use them, you need to posses them first. But the actual use of them isn't directly illegal, and there are no law surrounding the use of drugs. Only crimes surrounding the possession of drugs. So, if you admit you have used a drug, you admit that you at one point in time possessed the drug. So you are charged with possession.


By afkrotch on 3/2/2009 3:15:43 PM , Rating: 3
Didn't you just list a bunch of games you pirated to use on your DS? Just cause the developers no longer care what happens to their old games, doesn't mean it's still not piracy.


The R4 has some very ligitimate uses.
By Demon-Xanth on 3/2/2009 11:49:15 AM , Rating: 2
I have one of these myself and use it to watch movies and play music (MP3s!) on my DS. If Nintendo did that first party, I wouldn't need to get an R4.




By The0ne on 3/2/2009 2:19:51 PM , Rating: 2
Oddly enough that's what my DS and PSP does, playing movies and music :) That and playing retrogames!


So What?
By Sagath on 3/2/2009 8:04:52 AM , Rating: 2
They'll rename it the R5 and continue to ship it. Or, the R4 will fade to obscurity, and people will use other (and better ones exist then the R4) Emu chips. This is a very small victory that will be short lived. I realize they have to fight it, but I think their time would be better spent on market research to see why people arnt paying $50 a game.

And for those people who say cost has no effect on piracy, try looking up that Steam article on the effects of "Sale" prices on marketing. Excellent article that shows a large price pays for every red cent lost to piracy.




By bigfatslob on 3/2/2009 10:14:26 AM , Rating: 2
I don't think anyone reading this site needs emulation defined for them, and this is clearly not it. R4 has much more in common with the common mod chip than anything else.

I'm sure it got more clicks, though. After all, a legal loss for the emulation community would be huge. For modchippers, it's just another round, and a pointless one at that. I'm sure I could think of a half-dozen ways to get around the ruling. How's this, for one: update the device firmware so that it only works as an MP3 / video player. I.e. it only boots to Moonshell period. Then just let the hacker community figure out the bits to flip to make it play ROMs again. A nice little internal leak would help, but honestly, the hacker community these days does not need the help.

As always, the only people who benefit from this litigation are the greedy lawyers. This is a nonstory.




Proof it works
By bobcpg on 3/2/2009 11:50:42 AM , Rating: 2
I just want to say that a copy of Zelda Phantom Hourglass DS was bought directly due to the R4. I would have NEVER of bought that game had I not been able to "try before I buy".

I was sick of buying a game based only on reviews but finding out I did not like it.




R4
By TomCorelis (blog) on 3/2/2009 3:18:59 PM , Rating: 2
Well, I'm glad I got my copy of R4 last month when I did... I'm sure its not any easier to get now.

ProteinDS is a lot of fun. I used it to introduce my 10-year-old sister to scratching :-)




Four letters...
By jonmcc33 on 3/2/2009 5:42:05 PM , Rating: 2
DSTT




Don't let microsoft hear about this
By the goat on 3/2/09, Rating: -1
RE: Don't let microsoft hear about this
By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 8:57:45 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
Soon microsoft will be able to stop you from running any non-MS approved software on windows.
Will you morons stop with this? Microsoft's entire business structure relies on having pretty much whatever software you want. If Microsoft ever disallows the use of non MS proprietary software, they will not hold their position in the business world very long.

quote:
It should be illegal for software or hardware manufacturers to engineer restrictions into their products that prevent owners from running whatever software they choose to run.
I agree with you on the OS front, but that's about it. Any manufacturer has the right to limit what goes on their devices. If you don't like it, don't buy it, nobody is forcing you too. If a manufacturer wants to limit its userbase by only allowing certain software, I don't see how that's any of your business.

I disagree with stances of Apple and Sony with attempts to break unlocked devices upon update, but it is still their decision to do so. They have to make the decision of what will hurt them the least, people buying less software, or people buying less devices (as a result of not being able to unlock).

I have been noticing a trend lately of people blasting manufacturers that want to stop them from pirating. Are you trying to justify pirating? Or do you actually think they are taking away a basic right? Personally I find this to be an excuse for many people, hiding their true intentions.


RE: Don't let microsoft hear about this
By nycromes on 3/2/2009 9:51:25 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, I would have to disagree about manufacturers having the right to stop you from putting things they don't approve on your device. You bought it... you own it... its yours to do with as you please. Doing so invalidates your warranty and eliminates the possiblity of support from the manufacturer, but the key here is that you own the device not the manufacturer.


By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 10:05:57 AM , Rating: 2
I think we are on the same front here. I agree that you should be able to do anything within your means with a device you own... but a manufacturer does have the same right to try and put limitations on what you can and cannot do, as long as they advertise it as such. If you can circumvent their limitations, all the power to you. Although as you mentioned you are no longer covered by warranty, and you do risk the chance of your device becoming usable upon update.

This being said, it is not within anyone's rights to sell devices such as the R4. Its within your rights to use one(assuming you use it for legal purposes), but very much so illegal to market and sell a device that circumvents their software. If these guys were just giving away the software for free (ala iphone jailbreak), I do not see how Nintendo would have been able to do anything about it, but its the fact that they market and sell their product with the intent to circumvent Nintendo s protection mechanisms that makes this illegal.


By DM0407 on 3/2/2009 4:14:43 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Actually, I would have to disagree about manufacturers having the right to stop you from putting things they don't approve on your device. You bought it... you own it... its yours to do with as you please. Doing so invalidates your warranty and eliminates the possiblity of support from the manufacturer, but the key here is that you own the device not the manufacturer.


You do not own the software. You own the right to use it. You do not own the land, you own the right to use the land from the Govt.

Think of it this way. If you buy a game console, you bought the right to use it, but not the rights to the design. In other words, you cant start producing your own Xbox360's because you own it.


RE: Don't let microsoft hear about this
By MrBowmore on 3/2/2009 10:52:32 AM , Rating: 1
Have You tried to install Airfoil on your vista machine?
Ok, so they broke the installer, it should´nt have to game with systemfiles as it does. But.

After an installation you can´t log in to your vista as microsofts WGA sheisse thinks you have a illegal copy of vista or such.
Try a similar install with win98... things have changed in some certain areas and not always for the better.

The airfoil app works in all, it´s just some type of restriction microsoft has implemented that makes it harder (and safer) in some areas.

So, no, you cant play around with your OS as you please.


RE: Don't let microsoft hear about this
By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 11:06:04 AM , Rating: 2
You fail to mention what the actual problem was. Was the program trying to manipulate system files which could result in system instability? That's hardly a restriction but a feature to stop users (or in the case programs) from deleting or manipulating files they should not be touching, and just bad programming practices by the makers of Airfoil (as they appear to have fixed their issues in the new version).

Furthermore if you really want to get past what you mention, there are ways, you just have to take ownership of the file in question before you can manipulate it. They do not completely lock you out.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/how-t...

You can also disable this protection, as it is merely a local security policy setting. If memory serves you just have to disable all the settings labeled UAP under security settings.


RE: Don't let microsoft hear about this
By the goat on 3/2/2009 12:18:35 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Will you morons stop with this? Microsoft's entire business structure relies on having pretty much whatever software you want.


Microsoft already has plans on implementing exactly what I am talking about. Have you heard about "trusted computing"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Computing

quote:
If Microsoft ever disallows the use of non MS proprietary software, they will not hold their position in the business world very long.


Maybe you should actually read what I write before you respond. I never said MS will disallow all competitors. They plan to restrict executing any not "approved" programs. That way MS gets a fat license fee from third party software developers and they don't have any anti-competitive legal issues to deal with (i.e. MS software only).

You are a moron if you can't see this coming. The iphone Os is already setup with way. Only applications that are approved by apple will run. It is currently illegal to jail break an iphone. MS will do the same thing with windows if they can get away with it.


By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 12:48:23 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Microsoft already has plans on implementing exactly what I am talking about. Have you heard about "trusted computing"?
I know all about trusted computing, and do you want to know why that page has not been edited since 2007 which is where the latest 'source' said all portable devices will have this chip by 2010? (Better hurry because the laptop I just bought does not have one of these chips)

Its because it went nowhere, and it actually required the user to enable the Trusted Platform Module before it can be used (This is part of the standard set by the Trusted computing group)? It has not been implemented, nor will it be for the mainstream in the near or distant future. Where you will see it being used is in locked down environments where the owner of the computer itself wants to limit what can and cannot be used in the system.

This is far different then 'what you are talking about'.
quote:
You are a moron if you can't see this coming. The iphone Os is already setup with way.
The iphone is proprietary hardware running a proprietary OS, they have absolute control, and the users know this coming in. Furthermore, employing this system definately limits how much marketshare they can gain, there will always be open, and cheaper alternatives. OSX falls under the same category, sure they are making a lot of money, but they will never have a large chunk of the market with their current business strategy
quote:
It is currently illegal to jail break an iphone.
No, Apple deemed it as illegal to jail break an iphone, which means what? NOTHING in a court of law.
quote:
MS will do the same thing with windows if they can get away with it .
Which if you read my previous post you would realize that they cannot get away with it, nor will it increase their profits or marketshare. If anything it will do the exact opposite, you will see mass adoption of other free OS's, and you will see countless amounts of developers jumping ship which would could easily result in a complete slowdown of windows development (specifically in the business sector).


RE: Don't let microsoft hear about this
By Demon-Xanth on 3/2/2009 12:43:48 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Any manufacturer has the right to limit what goes on their devices. If you don't like it, don't buy it, nobody is forcing you too. If a manufacturer wants to limit its userbase by only allowing certain software, I don't see how that's any of your business.


I disagree with that. For example, the Magnum-Moss Act in the auto industry prevents a manufacturer from mandating that you have to use only their parts unless they provide it for free.

The equivalent that the console industry does would be like if GM made cars that could only be filled with Chevron gasoline and you couldn't take them on private roads. If you proposed that to someone they would laugh in your face, but in the electronics world it's par for the course.


By omnicronx on 3/2/2009 1:01:26 PM , Rating: 3
The Magnum-Moss Act deals with warranties, so what exactly is your point here? There is absolutely no valid comparison between the two.

Furthermore, most of what i am talking about is covered under the DMCA. So yes, with electronics it is 'par for the course' as you so eloquently put it.


"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen











botimage
Copyright 2009 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki