Nintendo Creates Piracy-Proof Console For China

Thanks to Bloomberg for their story discussing Nintendo's announcement of a new console for China, apparently based on N64 technology. According to the article, "Nintendo will sell the console, called the 'iQue player' for 498 yuan ($60)... To prevent copying... users will download software onto a 64-megabyte flash-memory card at a local [retail] store, paying 48 yuan for each title" - a little like the Lawson partnership Nintendo had in Japan? The piece goes on to explain: "Nintendo will sell Chinese-language versions of software originally designed for the company's older-generation game players such as Nintendo 64."

Comments

Piracy-Proof

[Selfbain]

I love it when they claim something is piracy-proof.

I give it a week.

Re:Piracy-Proof

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, kind of like how it's currently not possible to burn GameCube disc images, which are only now surfacing because of an exploit in a third-party developed game (from Sega, no less).

A week my ass. The GameCube is more than halfway down its lifespan, with Nintendo already prepping its console successor, and no pirates have been able to crack the Cube. Nintendo knows what they are doing.

And no, nothing is piracy-proof, but the Cube has proven that you only have to be piracy-proof long enough for it to matter.

I find it hard to believe....

[Anonymous Coward]

.... any statement of a console being secure against piracy when the words 'download' & 'flash cartridge' are in the same article.

It'll just take time.

read between the lines...

[AzraelKans]

The reason why ordinary people (not devoted hackers that can crack it, download it, burn it themselves mind you) buy pirated instead of original software is because is substantially cheaper. However they know this comes with a degrade in quality (no manual, no internet key, no license, etc) what if a company was able to sell their original software at almost the same price than pirated somehow? per example what about if Nintendos next console (or handheld) came with dvd-rws (or other kind of recording device) that could be recorded at your favorite store? additionally you could get a licence, guarantee and a printed manual? for lets say $10?
Maybe Nintendo is using this as a testbed for such a system before launching it at a bigger scale.
Piracy wouldnt be stopped (thats practically impossible) but it would be seriously hampered though

Reading between the lines this idea is not so bad, I hope though they are considering the testbed they've choosen is bound not to succesful since the software they are "protecting" has already been pirated "ad-nauseum" before. This has a much better chance to succeed with new software that users can freshly obtain at a much better price with a marginal difference to pirated.