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New anti-piracy technology cracks down on illegal downloads on the game system.

Illegal downloaders beware -- the new Nintendo 3DS is equipped to combat piracy. That's the word coming from THQ's executive VP of global publishing Ian Curran, according to the Computer and Video Games website.

Curran told CVG that the new anti-piracy technology equipped on the newest version of the system is hard to crack. “Nintendo believes that the all-new anti-piracy tech in 3DS will be foolproof to cracks from illegal downloaders, ” said Curran. He adds that the technology is so highly advanced that isn't easy to describe. 

"I actually asked Nintendo to explain the technology and they said it's very difficult to do so because it's so sophisticated." 

Rewritable cartridges, specifically the R4 cartridge, has been outlawed in Japan.  Illegal activity stemming from the use of re-R4 is apparently rampant in the country.   THQ believes that the problem of widespread piracy has hindered the company from producing more games for the DS Lite and hurt sales in the past.  

"The problem with the DS market in the last few years, particularly with the DS Lite, is that it's just been attacked by piracy.  It's made it almost impossible to shift any significant volume.   The DSi combated it a little bit, but the 3DS has taken that a step further."

The 3DS will be available in the Spring of 2011. 

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Not Foolproof!
By Redwin on 7/14/2010 12:59:17 PM , Rating: 5
They're using that word wrong!

Something is foolproof if it could normally be used incorrectly by someone because they are an idiot, and you've taken steps to alleviate this possibility.

example: The army puts a sticker on grenade launchers with an arrow that says "This end toward enemy". To say they have made the grenade launcher foolproof would be accurate.

In the case of the 3DS, there is very little chance a fool is going to accidentally mod it because he read the book wrong. They need to make it GeniusProof




RE: Not Foolproof!
By carniver on 7/14/2010 1:05:47 PM , Rating: 5
Maybe the original DS was so easy to crack that it was done by a fool. So now that it's "foolproof", it'll take a real hacker to do it on 3DS.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By thorr2 on 7/14/2010 2:23:46 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Maybe the original DS was so easy to crack that it was done by a fool.


Can a caveman do it?


RE: Not Foolproof!
By jjmcubed on 7/14/2010 2:47:46 PM , Rating: 2
As much as I HATE those commercials, it still made me smile.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By Freeseus on 7/14/2010 3:43:50 PM , Rating: 2
People mix this up with 'fullproof' (which isn't even a word and wouldn't be pronounced the same way). But if it were actually a word, 'fullproof' would mean exactly what was intended with the title: fully proofed, and otherwise unable to be infiltrated.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By walk2k on 7/14/2010 2:09:00 PM , Rating: 2
"The antennas in our iPhones are foolproof!" - Apple

"Our deepwater drilling safety systems are foolproof!" - BP

"The brakes in our vehicles are foolproof!" - Toyota

"Our electoral-college system is foolproof!" - Al Gore


RE: Not Foolproof!
By dgingeri on 7/14/2010 2:36:18 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
"Our deepwater drilling safety systems are foolproof!" - BP


Their safety systems would have been fullproof, if they had actually been used. Some manager somewhere told them to proceed without certain safety systems, or with one of them sorely lacking, because of time. He didn't want to pay the payroll for having guys take an extra day to put in the emergency cut off valve or the extra 10 hours it would take to put in the pressure regulation gear that would have stopped the back pressure of natural gas.

I hope they prosecute that manager for the manslaughter of the 11 men who died in the explosion: an explosion that was specifically caused by a lack of safety procedures. An extra $10,000 spent in labor costs would have prevented this whole thing.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By Freeseus on 7/14/10, Rating: 0
RE: Not Foolproof!
By walk2k on 7/14/2010 4:26:53 PM , Rating: 2
Sure but why should that man be more accountable than all of his superiors who encouraged such methods, or all of the politictians who took money to look the other way at safety violations?

There's plenty of blame to go around, and it starts right with Americans who refuse to give up their gas-guzzling truckmobiles and instead elect leaders who will go to war for oil, and allow greedy oil companies to "drill baby drill" all the while not giving a rat's hinder about the public's health or safety or the environment.

But anyway, discussion for another thread...


RE: Not Foolproof!
By foolsgambit11 on 7/15/2010 7:44:21 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Their safety systems would have been fullproof, if they had actually been used.

Then they aren't foolproof. Any safety system that can be easily bypassed by choosing not to use it or forgetting to use it isn't foolproof. After all, it just took one fool to say "skip it" and the whole thing came tumbling down....


RE: Not Foolproof!
By Belard on 7/16/2010 2:44:25 AM , Rating: 2
Agreed... Greed and stupidity caused it.

But also, its the OIL companies in bed with the govt. which allow such oversights. Such as BP signing inspections sheets as "GOOD".

Now, this is NOT just a BP issue, its an industry issue as noted that ALL the safety response guides ARE exactly the same with Polar bears in the Gulf.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By Ammohunt on 7/14/2010 2:18:06 PM , Rating: 5
Actually the Claymore mine is labeled with "Front towards Enemy"


RE: Not Foolproof!
By dgingeri on 7/14/2010 2:30:42 PM , Rating: 3
Actually the term is "Fullproof" or proof against the full extent of known methods.

"Foolproof" is proof against stupid people using it incorrectly.

There are 2 different terms there.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By SlipDizzy on 7/14/2010 2:52:33 PM , Rating: 2
I understand their need to try and protect their asset with some advanced anti-piracy software. However, whenever someone says their tech is "fool proof" or "sophisticated" doesn't that just attract the real hackers? For some reason I feel like they are just holding out a trophy and tempting the hacking community to leap for it.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By Ammohunt on 7/15/2010 2:48:24 PM , Rating: 2
Some obscure old English word used in the UK and Canada? What is Zed anyway.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By Exodite on 7/14/2010 3:36:21 PM , Rating: 5
"Every day, man is making bigger and better fool-proof things, and every day, nature is making bigger and better fools. So far, I think nature is winning."
-- Albert Einstein


RE: Not Foolproof!
By TheBaker on 7/14/2010 11:26:51 PM , Rating: 2
Foolproof doesn't just mean it's protected against fools, it also means it is protected against BEING fooled, as in it can't be bypassed by someone not authorized to do so.

Security systems are considered foolproof if people who do not have legitimate access cannot FOOL the system into thinking they do.


RE: Not Foolproof!
By Riven98 on 7/14/2010 11:51:10 PM , Rating: 2
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."


RE: Not Foolproof!
By priusone on 7/15/2010 4:24:13 AM , Rating: 2
Well, I want to thank the genius who was smart enough to mod Doom so I could play it on my DS Lite. Love homebrew. Plus, even though I have a 360 and a PS3, it drove me nuts that I couldn't play DVD's on my Wii. Again, homebrew to the rescue.


dejavu?
By vapore0n on 7/14/2010 12:59:49 PM , Rating: 5
I know Ive heard this before. Hmm

Oh right, on every new DRM technique
I wonder how long its going to take to crack?




RE: dejavu?
By MrTeal on 7/14/2010 1:10:51 PM , Rating: 5
It's actually pretty sophisticated. When you purchase the system, you don't actually physically get to keep it; your own personal Foxconn enforcer holds on to it for safekeeping. When you want to play it, you can do so under their watchful eye.

Just... just don't ever lose it.


RE: dejavu?
By Whedonic on 7/14/2010 2:23:37 PM , Rating: 5
I would vote this up to 11 if I could.


RE: dejavu?
By letmepicyou on 7/17/2010 10:36:16 PM , Rating: 2
Does this mean the 3DS will come with a new self-image enhancing anti-suicide app?


RE: dejavu?
By Wiggy Mcshades on 7/14/2010 2:22:18 PM , Rating: 2
30 minutes instead of 10


RE: dejavu?
By Stoanhart on 7/14/2010 3:00:23 PM , Rating: 2
The point isn't necessarily if it will be cracked. It's always cracked. What matters is how difficult it is.

PS3 and XBox360 are cracked too, but 99% of owners don't do it because it requires expensive, warranty voiding hardware modification, and its easier to just buy the game.


RE: dejavu?
By smnoamls on 7/14/10, Rating: 0
RE: dejavu?
By inighthawki on 7/14/2010 5:41:08 PM , Rating: 2
Too bad the cell processor is so incredibly hard to develop for that no average homebrew developer would ever be interested in it. Sure you could probably get something to compile for it's general purpose PPC core, but to really utilize the cell you need far more than par c++ skills and a compiler that goes directly to an assembly.


Challenge issued
By nafhan on 7/14/2010 1:42:03 PM , Rating: 4
Things like:
quote:
will be foolproof to cracks from illegal downloaders
is basically taken as a challenge by certain groups. So, good job, guys.
I wasn't aware that DS piracy was a big deal. I figured cartridges would be a pretty big hinderance to piracy.




RE: Challenge issued
By 67STANG on 7/14/2010 3:46:49 PM , Rating: 2
Cartridges are no big deterrent. DS and DSi's have long had companies that offer a cartridge adapter that allows you to put in a memory card (micro SD), thus allowing you to load up as many ROMS as you want onto the memory card. My son has tons of DS games and is always losing the tiny cartridges as he would chug them everywhere. Now, he has a single cartridge that is always in his DS. Problem solved.

Wii's are just as easy to mod. All you need is a memory card, an external hard drive and about 15 minutes. Boom, you've soft-modded your system with spare parts around the house. I have over 40 Wii games on a single, 500GB hard drive (with plenty of room to spare). That allows me to keep my original Wii discs up in a closet, and away from my kids who destroy everything. The games load and save faster as well.

Give it about a week or two. There will be tutorials on YouTube about how to unlock the 3DS.


RE: Challenge issued
By nafhan on 7/14/2010 4:35:30 PM , Rating: 3
Very interesting.
Personally, I just stay about 2+ years behind the curve and buy stuff legally for $10 or less. I'll check out the emulator scene occasionally for the stuff that's really out of date but still worth playing.


RE: Challenge issued
By Lerianis on 7/15/2010 12:01:21 AM , Rating: 2
2 years? Try 10 to get down to that price, to be blunt.


RE: Challenge issued
By nafhan on 7/15/2010 12:07:53 PM , Rating: 2
Bought Xbox Gears of War (almost 4 years) for $8 about a month ago.
Bought PC Assassins Creed (2 years) for $10 in (I think) December when Steam had it on sale.


RE: Challenge issued
By nmrahde on 7/15/2010 2:43:56 PM , Rating: 2
I believe he's implying that he does buy the games, he just uses the rom so that the games stay in good condition.

People do this for CDs/DVDs all the time too. It's a major reason why the majority of us dislike DRM.


The most comlicated solution...
By Mclendo06 on 7/14/2010 1:19:44 PM , Rating: 2
...usually isn't the best one.

quote:
He adds that the technology is so highly advanced that isn't easy to describe.

"I actually asked Nintendo to explain the technology and they said it's very difficult to do so because it's so sophisticated."


Something in my gut tells me that whatever ends up defeating this "sophisticated" technology will be surprisingly simple.




RE: The most comlicated solution...
By n0ebert on 7/14/2010 1:47:26 PM , Rating: 5
You mean like using a magic marker around the inner ring of sony dvd's?

I remember they said it was uncrackable too, unless you know how to wield a sharpie.


By amanojaku on 7/14/2010 2:22:55 PM , Rating: 3
Once again, proof that the pen is mightier than the sword to your throat!


RE: The most comlicated solution...
By dewlim on 7/14/2010 11:02:00 PM , Rating: 2
why do you doubt them? They still can't hack the PS3 in all these years.


By Lerianis on 7/14/2010 11:59:47 PM , Rating: 2
Only because it is not cost-effective to do so yet. Blu-Ray discs are EXPENSIVE still, as are the burning drives. That is the reason why PS3 hasn't been cracked yet, it's not worth anyone's time and energy to do so because the price of the pirating equipment isn't down low enough yet.


Price
By InvertMe on 7/14/10, Rating: 0
RE: Price
By AssBall on 7/14/2010 2:12:29 PM , Rating: 5
Since this new format is un-piratable, they won't have to cover the massive cost burden of piracy hurting their sales, and will charge much less for the games now, right?

Right?

.....crickets.....


RE: Price
By DM0407 on 7/14/2010 2:51:28 PM , Rating: 2
Now they will just pass on the cost of the anti-piracy R&D.

I have yet to see a product that hasn't been hacked. Funny, Ubisoft said the same thing about Assassins Creed 2, yet I see it all over the torrent sites.


RE: Price
By Fracture on 7/15/2010 10:12:42 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
THQ believes that the problem of widespread piracy has hindered the company from producing more games for the DS Lite and hurt sales in the past.


Don't you like how they believe this but give no proof? As far as they know, use of the re-R4 chips has induced more people to buy the DS and in turn at least become fans of their games.


RE: Price
By Wiggy Mcshades on 7/14/2010 3:35:17 PM , Rating: 2
I completely agree with your approach to buying games. Although I'm rather curious, in your opinion when is a game worth $50 (if ever)? is it that portable games seem to have less content? or is it that the games are generally simpler? or do you see portable games to just be of lower quality?


RE: Price
By InvertMe on 7/15/2010 12:37:50 PM , Rating: 2
I usually buy my games when they go on sale on steam. I can only think of one game coming out that I will break my rule on and that's StarCraft II. Other than that I just cannot see spending $50 on a game.

As for portable games - they usually lack in content to be worth much. Is why I wouldn't pay a premium for them.


It's so sophisticated it stop you long time.
By Daniel8uk on 7/14/10, Rating: 0
By Treckin on 7/14/2010 1:50:06 PM , Rating: 2
LOL


RE: It's so sophisticated it stop you long time.
By Digimonkey on 7/14/2010 2:12:23 PM , Rating: 2
Which is curious since this always has the opposite effect with hackers. They want to hack sophisticated systems or systems that are said to be impenetrable, they do it for the challenge. Basically they just painted a bulls eye on their product.


By Wiggy Mcshades on 7/14/2010 2:48:07 PM , Rating: 2
it seems like they are assuming there are no skilled hackers that are working on the cracking scene.


Fool Proof?
By adiposity on 7/14/2010 1:20:59 PM , Rating: 5
I think the "fool" they refer to is the "fool" who writes an article declaring an undescribed, untested, and probably unfinished DRM tech uncrackable.

DRM:

1. Content
2. Encrypted Content
3. Authorization
4. Unencrypted Content for consumption

Crack:

5. Start with step 4




sophisticated?
By keegssj on 7/14/2010 3:03:51 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
"I actually asked Nintendo to explain the technology and they said it's very difficult to do so because it's so sophisticated."


Which means that it will cause customers "sophisticated" problems when they try to get it to work with legal products.

I love it when DRM on my PC tells me that the disk in my drive is a copy (it's NOT).




Give it a week ot 2
By Nutzo on 7/14/2010 4:08:16 PM , Rating: 2
I'm sure there will be a crack out for the older DS games, just like on the DSi, however I can see the 3DS games taking a bit longer.

Wonder how much this will affect the sales of the 3DS?




A great invitation for hackers
By Phoque on 7/14/2010 5:22:24 PM , Rating: 2
If I was Nintendo, I'd be pissed at THQ for sending such a challenge to hackers from around the world. I don't think anti-piracy measures are something you brag about unless you are shopping for a slap in the face.

Anyway, I do hope its anti-piracy works good and doesn't alienate its users.




3D Emulation
By Cullinaire on 7/14/2010 5:50:21 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder how the emu authors will approach the 3D features? Exciting times ahead!

(Yes, I already assumed nintendo/THQ are just bluffing)




Thats a Challange
By Belard on 7/15/2010 6:34:09 PM , Rating: 2
Nothing is fool-proof.

Some hacker will get in there, sooner or later.




So.....
By Noliving on 7/14/10, Rating: -1
RE: So.....
By sviola on 7/14/2010 2:18:23 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
because they can't explain to you how it works means it is fool proof?


That's rigth...see, a fool can't understand it, so it is fool proof...


RE: So.....
By Noliving on 7/14/2010 2:20:11 PM , Rating: 2
I thought I was being funny, apparently not.


RE: So.....
By bigdawg1988 on 7/14/2010 4:37:10 PM , Rating: 3
You picked the WRONG place to make fun of a Republican.


RE: So.....
By Phoque on 7/14/2010 5:05:15 PM , Rating: 2
It's also the wrong spot to make fun of sexy red haired spies.


RE: So.....
By Noliving on 7/14/2010 5:24:44 PM , Rating: 2
We should have never deported that red head or traded her for Americans spies! We so got ripped off on that trade with Russia.


RE: So.....
By kaoken on 7/14/2010 10:12:41 PM , Rating: 1
Screw Repubes no one in that stinky party actually believes in the old ideals anymore. They are a party of "No we can't!"


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