R4 Cards Cause Piracy Increase for Nintendo DS

The R4 Cards are enabling the use of writabledetracted from the more honorable reasons to
media on the Nintendo DS. This leads to piracypurchase the device. It makes possible the use of
but also brings new opportunities to the system.unofficial software which does not infringe on
This article looks at the concerns andcopyright. This is the sort of software which is
opportunities brought by the R4DS.taken for granted on personal computers. When a
The R4DS is an adaptor to connect a NintendoDell PC is purchased, the consumer is not tidied
DS to a flash memory card. It's very easy to useonly to using applications endorsed by Dell.
and unlocks a lot of potential for the handheldUnder the current market, software for the
console. Despite this, it's one accessory NintendoNintendo DS is only produced by large
fears appearing on Christmas wish lists.organisations if they believe they can recover the
Regardless of the many just uses of the device,hefty costs of production, publication and
Nintendo are only concerned with one. It is a usedistribution. This leaves no room for helpful
that you won't see advertised in the storesapplication but not so profitable applications. For
where it sells for less than the cost of a single DSexample a translator or a handwriting recognition
game. The fear is that the device enables videodriven word processor on the DS would be useful,
games piracy.but not enough for it to become a profitable
Video games piracy is fairly common on systemsventure. With the use of a device such as the
that use media available to consumers in writableR4DS these possibilities are opened up.
format. This includes PC games copied from theIn addition to this, applications which would be
original DVD onto a writable disc. Slightly morepopular on the open market but have not been
difficult to pirate are games for consoles whichdeveloped by mainstream producers are available
run games from DVDs. The disc can be copied infor download and play through an R4DS. Some
the same fashion; however the hardware mustexamples of R4DS applications allow the DS to be
be altered to bypass anti-piracy mechanisms.used as an MP3 player, PDA and even a mobile
The Nintendo DS is one system that has untilphone (using VOIP technology with the support of
now be free of piracy because of the use ofthe DS Wi-Fi connection).
cartridges which cannot be written to byAnother ability unlocked by the R4DS is the
commercially available products. On the othercapacity to have all the software belonging to a
hand, flash memory cards are simple to write toDS owner stored on a single piece of media. This
and the R4DS allows the Nintendo DS to interfaceallows users to swap between games and other
with a flash memory card, therefore enablingapplications without the need to swap cartridges,
piracy.meaning there is no need to carry separate
As with advocates of illegal music downloads,cartridges around with the DS.
video game pirates claim they are being chargedSoftware produced independently of large
too much for games, with many games beingmanufacturers adds great value to home
reworks of existing titles from older systems andcomputers and mobile devices. The possibility of
blaming corporate greed. The opponents fightthis for the Nintendo DS and other handheld
back arguing that number of hours entertainmentconsoles is an intriguing one. Although most
from a game balances out the costs.discussion on the R4 card is currently about piracy
Nintendo are expected to fight the pirates byissues, it should be considered that the device has
improving anti-piracy technology in the cartridges.many legitimate purposes akin to the purposes of
The likelihood is that a few months later theCD/DVD-RW, which when first made available
pirates will have found a new way around this. Italso seemed like a tool for software pirates and is
is very much an on going battle.now an essential component of any home
The legal issues that surround the R4DS havecomputer.