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Nintendo Blocking Counterfeit Game Machines
An anonymous reader writes "Nintendo won a court case Monday which "prohibits retailers from selling products that look like Nintendo's game controllers from its older Nintendo 64 game console, which can be plugged directly into televisions to play games."" These were apparently being sold nation-wide in mall kiosks. Shady.
They had them at my mall. That booth was pretty popular until it dissappeared without a trace... (they mostly hired immigrants who boasted to me about how it had "Nintendo, Sega, Atari..." It ranked a 105 on the Shade-o-meter.)
They didn't pull them just because they looked alike, they pulled them because they were running pirated copies of their games.
A friend of mine saw one last year saw no copyright acknoledgements on the box.
Wouldn't these be legal to buy, if I owned the NES version? Carrying around a controller size machine is much easier than 50+ NES carts
Plus, you don't have to blow in the damn cartridge to get the games to work.
The article states that Nintendo is slapping down a company that is pirating its older inventory. You know those controllers that you plug into the A/V that let you play a few simple games? Some company decided to put Mario and Donkey Kong in theirs without paying Nintendo any money. Of course, Nintendo is going to be upset.
There was one of these kiosks in my local mall as of Saturday night, everytime I walked past it I wondered how long it was going to take them to be sued into submission.
If Nintendo would make something like this, only with higher quality parts (the controllers on these things felt horrible and were obviously poorly made) I'm hard pressed to believe they wouldn't sell extremely well given the right price point. Then again, they're able to sell single games for twenty bucks apiece for the GBA...
How's my typing? Call 1-800-eta-shut
My 14 year old bother inlaw got one of these for a birthday a while back. It had a full version of Contra on it. The Konomi code even worked. There were also a handful of other Nintendo games I recognised. Of note was a topdown shooter that I had played alot when I was younger. Can't remember the name. Although in this bootleg version you couldn't collect powerups. They were letters if I recall.
The other thing was the port on the bottom that gave the impression that you could plug 8bit NES games into the controler. My other bother inlaw was douped into believing that it would work. The cartidges we tried fit perfectly.
Supposedly the controller came with 65000 games but there were only about 25 or so actual games. They were merely repeated over and over like the old 100-in-1 bootleg Nintendo cartridge that had serveral versions of the same games.
BASE Conflict for Quake 3
Does anyone have a link to the court order, the ruling (opinion), or the transcript of the case?
These would have been excellent little things to send in surprise care packages for the guys and gals serving overseas. Gotta imagine how much they'd love getting them, even if they don't have a lot of tv sets to plug into, just for the nostalgia factor. They're cheaper than Game Boys+games, too...
I've seen these at the mall, supersales in exibition halls, and swap meets. I never liked them much, not because they were pirated, but becuase they felt like cheap PoS.
I was thinking about getting one to play with at work maybe set it up lke an arcade machine.
They were still in the two malls I go to last I checked. I even asked the guy one day if the roms were legit. He said they were licensed. I said "Um Sure I bet." And continued to play excite bike for a while.
=1000101
One of these kiosks has just sprung up in the mega-mall around where I work. At lunch time I played on one, and I must say it was probably the worst controller I have ever touched. And they had the nerve to ask $79.99 for it. Hah!
:)
I showed my friends the article, I think we might just pose as NOA and shut em down
I hope that they can get them out of malls here in Canada too. Those things are such utter crap.
Christopher S. 'coldacid' Charabaruk -- coldacid.net
She thought it looked like a nice gift, they were charging "only" 59.99 for it. She brought it home, I said we were taking it back since they were illegal. Talk about a huge hassle to get them to take it back.
I told them that the games weren't licensed. They said sure they are. I asked why Nintendo's logo wasn't on the box. They said I don't know. I kept insisting that I wanted my money back NOW.
Eventually the guy calls his manager and talks to him on the phone for a couple of minutes. Then he wants me to talk to him. I gave the manager the same spiel, threatened to go to the police. The retail monkey got back on the phone again.
Then he loads up Super Mario Brothers, which says Copyright Nintendo on the title screen. He tries to use this as proof that they are legal. I almost came unglued. The second retail monkey comes over and I explain to him that it's even unopened/unused, and it's illegal.
Then this guy calls the manager, but it was to ask how to do a refund on the credit card machine.
Stay away...stay far away.
In the Mall Of America at first they had one, then they had 2 of the stands selling the shady consoles.
Very shady - I could tell instantly they were a not authorize game machines.
The booths at the mall usually sold these multi game machines and also a video table tennis game.
On the machine themselves - no where on them had a mail address, UPC, or any copyright notices. The imaging on the packaging looked like some 80's rip off. I could swear half the images were directly stolen from toy ads from the 80's.
They sold multiple models of the Nintendo system including a deluxe model with gun and two controllers. Base models had just one controller or two. They all had random amount of games usually hovering in the 16,000 listed on the box.
AS someone else commented those are 16,000 in 1 type machines so about 60 games were usable. Games vary from Super Mario Brothers to contra to other games that never made it to us. But most of the games are hack or variations that does nothing to game play or skip you a few levels or instantly crash the game.
Price - no where written or shown on the booth is the price. So you know you can price them down.
I've heard some people get it for 65.00 if you say the right words 40.00.
One other thing that makes it interesting is that the machine had the ability to handle Nintendo 8 bit cartridges. Mind you Asian / Japanese cartridges, not us, but if you had a converter it would still work.
Also the controller had the analog Nintendo 64 stick on it but it was glued into place. So you can't actually use the joystick in the games.
But happy they are closed down.... Though it would be nice if Nintendo made a 20 in 1 like that unlike the $20.00 game boy advance carts....
The PS2 is FULLY backwards compatible with the PS1, controllers and memory cards included. This isn't something Sony kept under wraps, it was common knowledge when the PS2 was released.
Also, every button on the PS2 dual-shock controllers is digital (save the start and select buttons), whereas the only digial component of the PS1 dual-shock controllers is the control sticks.
How's my typing? Call 1-800-eta-shut
You obviously haven't tried to use a PS1 controler with a PS2 game that requires the controler be "presure sensitive" (example: The Bouncer). The PS1 controllers don't work with that game.
The PS2 controllers have pressure sensitive buttons. You'd be missing out on that if you just used the old PS1 controllers.
Not a big deal though. Shoulder triggers are a much better way of implementing pressure sensitve inputs.
A relative bought me one of those systems. An N64-looking controller, along with a Sega Genesis-looking controller and a small pistol lightgun.
The name of the system? I don't know. It had one name on the box, another on its side, and the system itself had a different name completely.
The N64 controller had a slot which allowed you to play expansions...turns out that the slot was for Famicom games, which meant that it wasn't meant for American audiences really.
Also the thousands of games weren't really thousands of games. They were maybe 60 games, listed thousands of times by different variations on their names.
But that was not what irked me the most. What irked me the post was the game they called Pacman. It was actually a Mappy Land clone, which was weird because Mappy Land was one of the games listed! I want my Pac-man!!!
I have 3656.9 Bogomips. How many Bogomips do you have?
Also, every button on the PS2 dual-shock controllers is digital
I think you meant analog. This makes it fun for use in emulators on a PC, though, because my machine doesn't recognize much other than a pretty good press on the action buttons....
The PS1 controllers rock for emulators, though.
Karnal
I've seen these kiosks and was wondering how they licensed all those Nintendo games. Now I know, they just took them!
I hate those analogue buttons, especially in any racing game where you can't turn the damned things off. after an hour or so of play my thumb hurt so much i just plugged in my old ps1 controller and put the other one away pretty much for good.
This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
I played one of these at a mall, it had something like 75,000(?) games. Don't know how that works, but I played Duck Hunt with the light pistol there for ten minutes or so. Also, it cost $65 if I remeber correctly.
I saw one of these in a booth at a huge fair in Dallas and called information immediately to get Nintendo's legal department on the line. The nice lady gave me an email address, and when I got home, I drafted the following letter. Amazing how stupid the guy manning the booth was, by the way, as you'll see below...
To whom it may concern,
I was at the State Fair of Texas today in Dallas, and inside the fair are a variety of booths with local crafts and the like. One booth was a bit odd, however - it featured a video game system that plugs directly into a TV and features older, nostalgic games, much like the recently-popular Pac-Man joysticks and the like. This one was different, however -- it copied the N64 controller to a T, if done in a much cheaper fashion, so at first I thought it was the iQue that is currently being sold in China.
But it wasn't. This system featured over 7,000 NES ROMS in its memory: Perfectly-emulated copies of games like Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, Bubble Bobble.... I didn't even bother copying the list, because basically, every single NES game ever made was included in this controller. The controller, sold with a light gun peripheral, was sold for $40 a pop at the stand. I checked the box for any seal of approval from Nintendo, but all I could find was a Chinese copyright. Though I didn't write down that information, the guy behind the counter was foolish enough to hand me an information sheet with contact information for the responsible company, which I've copied below:
Super Joy III TV Game
Performance Marketing Co.
3861 Royal Troon Dr
Round Rock, TX 78664
512-244-7776
www.epowerplayer.com
The above website address actually includes all the information I listed and then some. This "Super Joy III" is some shady stuff, and as a dedicated Nintendo fan for many years, I am appalled to see such blatant disregard for Nintendo's copyrights in a for-profit product, so I called Nintendo of America on my cell phone and got this email address from the receptionist. I hope this is the correct contact information, and furthermore, that action is taken against this company's activity.
Please feel free to contact me with any further questions.
Thank you, (name and contact info removed)
Back when I was in grade 6, my Mom ordered one of these of The Shopping Network for us for Christmas. Damn thing would just cause the Nintendo to do a reset each time. IIRC, the cartiridge came with a note saying that the Action 52 would have to reset 4 or 5 times before it would start working. The casing was also clear plastic, and you could see that some of the circuits were wasting away and corroding. We sent it back and got another one, but it didn't work either. What a crappy waste of money...I should download that ROM though, always wondered how bad it really was.
I can't spell ripburger
My wife bought one of these, and not only are these things illegal, they are crap. The controls are ridiculously stiff. Perhaps it could be soldered to a real NES controller, but why bother when I've got a real NES downstairs? I've played it a few times, but would gladly trade it for a PC running a decent emulator any day. I think there's around 40 actual games, lots of clones, and not many of them actually fun to play.
www.voiceofthehive.com - Beekeeping and Honeybees for those who don't.
A "friend" bought me one of these for my birthday. A few minutes after I plugged it in, I noticed it was getting a little warm. I kept playing, though, and the next thing I know the thing was on fire, and molten plastic was eating into my flesh. Then the silicon chips exploded, sending a thousand razor sharp flechettes into my eyes and face. I AM WRITING THIS FROM THE HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM. I DO NOT HAVE LONG TO LIVE. PLEASE, IF YOU WANT TO SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE, DO NOT BUY THESE ILLEGAL PIRATE GAME CONTROLLERS!!
I'm not sure how old the page is, through, since I think some dates on the page list it as 2002.
I can't believe that people would do such a thing!
>>Goes back to plaing SNES ROMS
YES... NFS:U is a PAIN on the thumbs, but the place I was at had a PS1 and controllers, so I grabbed one and took it to the PS2...
Too bad. I could've made an uber Beowulf cluster out of 'em!
I am the Lizard king
The PS1 controllers worked fine with Need for Speed: Underground, which uses the pressure sensitivity. I was killing my thumbs on NFS:U with a PS2 Dual Shock, so I grabbed a simple PS1 full digital controller, plugged it in, and went. No, I couldn't do partial presses of the button to smoothly control my throttle. However, in that game, it's either tap the brakes and floor the gas, or just floor the gas...
You usually see these on QVC every so often.
I swear I'm gonna call in one of trhese days to teh testimonial line and verbally chew these people out.
Look for it on eBaumsworld when it happens as well.
Oops, you're right, I meant to type analog and got technology dyslexic.
I personally am not a big fan of the pressure sensing buttons on the PS2 controller, it's a royal pain in the ass to push hard on them. As much as I hate the Game Cube controller, the analog shoulder buttons on them are a thing of beauty, even surpassing the excellent triggers on the Dreamcast controller IMHO.
How's my typing? Call 1-800-eta-shut
I remember seeing these exact game systems being sold out of a courtyard kiosk just before this past Christmas at the Northridge mall here in LA. This extremely bored-looking guy with a beard was sitting on the kiosk stool playing the demo system to drum up interest. I asked him how much and he said $50.
I tried the other demo system on the side of the cart. Yes, the controller & system were 1 unit with this CHEAP looking PCB board with contacts sticking out of the back. It looked like what it probably was, a ROM chip, only instead of a plastic housing like a real console cartridge, the chip was loosely wrapped with a folded piece of notebook paper. Riiiiggght.
The system when booted up displayed list of "games" you could play on it, and it was not a short list, about 20-30 games listed on each page, and you could scroll down thru a couple pages of games, so the thing was loaded. Near the top was listed a "Teletubbies" game, which I chose so my daughter could watch me play it. The game was the NES version of Mario Brothers (not SuperMario, the original one) but with the sprites edited so instead of Luigi and Mario, you get Dipsy and Tinky-Winky! Eh-Oh...
I remember very clearly what happened next. I was so proud of my little discovery, I turned to my wife and said "It's like it's got an emulator inside and just using a bunch of NES ROMs!" And the guy manning the booth set his controller down, got off his stool, and walked off into the crowd without looking back. At first I thought maybe he took a restroom break, but we hung out at that booth for about an hour, me trying the various games, while my wife watched my daughted play on the nearby kids toys. The guy never came back and no came to replace him. After that we went to the Apple Store to play Nemo, and GameSpot, and even after that the cashier never returned. He just abandoned the cart and probably drove all the way to the state line!
Democracy. Whiskey. Sexy. Pick any two.
poorly made indeed! the cartridge fits very loosely into the underside of the modified n64 controller, so a wild index finger or a slight shake during an intense bout of urban champion will cause the game to reset, and the light gun pulled to right 30 degrees.
the unit i tried also had a modified genesis controller for the second player, so i'm shocked sega hasn't gotten involved.
This attempt to make these devices not exist won't work. At best, it might remove this one product from the market, and another two will spring up to replace it.
The allure of easy money and the fact there's a starved market mean these things are here to stay. It's no different than the illegal TV market. How many illegal cable descramblers have been discovered in the past few years?
And, just a while ago, thousands of people got letters in the mail saying DirecTV is going to sue them for pirating satellite TV. And there's still thousands of others doing it.
These markets don't collapse under the court of law. In fact, as the law makes the products increasingly illegal, the market for them increases. Yeah, that's odd, but look at the situation:
- Legal pirate device -- Easy to come by, near infinite supply, commodity pricing.
- Semi-legal pirate device (shady, not yet busted) -- Harder to come by, smaller supply, prices are driven up
- Illegal pirate device -- Really tough to come by, very tight supply, prices go very high
- VERY Illegal pirate device (active prosecution) -- Extremely tough to come by, rare supply, prices have to compensate dealer for risk of jail time
So, we go from a $40 pirate device, to a $1000 pirate device in no time. The funny thing is, in the end the people doing the illegal activities *benefit* from increased prosecution. It means they can raise prices. So long as they don't get caught, they make a killing scalping consumers.
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
These things are often referred to as Famiclones (Famicom clones) and dodgy peoples have been spitting these things out not long after the original Famicom itself appeared. Google for "Famiclone" and read all about it, the top site has over 240 variants. If you must have one then don't pay big $$$ for these, there is no telling how much bootleg 8bit Nintendo stuff has been spewed forth in the last 2 decades...
Whether or not someone would report a violation can be an indicator of how just a law is. If you don't report it, you imply a measure of consent for the activity.
Your wife buys you a crappy controller with 76 nintendo games on it that are freely available online via P2P. She spends $60 on it and it's a surprise for you.
Do you a) tell your wife she bought a stupid thing that's completely worthless, but you appreciate the thought or b) point out that it's a con and say "you know, there are some things I'll pirate online, but we probably shouldn't support the industry."
In the first case she chose a bad thing for you through ignorance. It's like you're disappointed in her. In the second, she was conned. She can feel righteously angry at the vendor. They're equally true.
B is much kinder, and there's really nothing wrong with it. It's the spin I'd use, and it's *certainly* what I'd use when lambasting the clerk for a return.
Hell, they were selling them on one of the home shopping channels! My wife bought me one for my birthday last year.
They're actually not too bad; some fun games on them. But they are obviously hack jobs; one game labled as "Super Mario Brothers" was in actuality one of those hacked versions of SMB with Mario running around naked. Check those ROM's guys!
They had them at Wolfchase in Memphis. I couldn't believe that in the days of the RIAA, they got away with such blatant rip-offs.
The covers of most of these things had pictures of FF7's Cloud, Mario, Master Chief, etc.
I asked the guy there about the legality, and he said something about copyrights being expired, then said Nintendo having approved them. Whatever.
has an article on how to turn these things into handheld nes's. And by god, you can make really small nes/snes cobos as well!
Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!
Pressure-sensitive buttons have their place. Ever play Metal Gear Solid 2 for PS2? The fact that you can ease up on the square button and put a weapon away instead of firing a shot... that's what the things were meant for; developers just misuse the technology.
That is another way to get in 1000A+++ games, include rom hacks. And I really doubt they check them for anything, even to see if what they shoved on there worked.
It would be funny if someone was playing that or one of the many other nude hacks, on one of the mall kiosks.
Who cares. I got my for $45 bucks (apparently some kiosks sell them for $60 and some for $45, they're exactly the same). It's a lot of fun. I actually own a hundred or so NES games (many of the ones I play on this gizmo) so I don't fell too bad about the ROMS being pirate. It also has a NES cartridge slot in the back so you can play your own NES games.
They have something on the informercial programs on TV here in australia called "arcade action" which looks like one of these things although instead of being a controller sized unit, its a larger unit that looks more like a traditional console.
In any case, its highly unlikely that the games on this thing are endorsed by Nintendo, Namco, Konami, Atari, Capcom or whoever else.
I was wandering how long it'd take to pull those. They also have DDR mats and Dreamcast controllers at my mall. 100% illegal ROMs.
Dear assmonkey,
I did not throw a fit to my wife first of all. You see, my wife and I have this thing where we talk about stuff, without being angry at each other. I told her I appreciated it, and explained to her that it was a bootleg product. She was surprised and a little upset that she had been taken. I know it's hard to understand how a successful normal relationship works, since you've probably never even talked to a woman. That's alright though. You'll get there someday.
X
When I say some for sale in a mall kiosk in the USA I went up to the young man that was selling them. I asked how they were able to import what was clearly a pirate device. He said, "If I'm selling it then it must be legal!" I told him that he clearly didn't know what he was talking about and he got angry with me. He was even madder when I told him in earshot of potential customers that what he was selling for $59.99 was available in Taiwan for $8.00.
Lasers Controlled Games!
They loaded up Contra. I, like all of you, I assume, remember the Konami code. I went to enter it....
The guy says, "No, watch this!" HE HOLDS B AND START and I get 30 lives.
I walked away scared.
They're $29.99 here.
When I asked the sales droid at my local mall about it, he explained to me that copyright on the games had expired and thus, they were "up for grabs." Good to know that I was skeptical about this for a reason...
"Whether or not someone would report a violation can be an indicator of how just a law is. If you don't report it, you imply a measure of consent for the activity."
Exactly. I personally don't worry about people playing games on console emulators on their computers, especially since the games and consoles are basically end-of-lifed, but I do object to a middleman taking profit in distributing these, especially when lots of people buying them don't know that these are unlicensed. Nintendo sold products, in the form of a cartridge that contained the game. To the user it didn't matter that it was software, as it was a thing. It didn't come in a format that was consumer-readable by anything other than Nintendo's console, and the prices weren't terribly unreasonable.
This is a direct application of old-school Copyright law, which was instituted to protect writers from publishers, who had the odd habit of running off extra copies of writers' works and distributing it for their own profit without paying the writer his or her due. In this case, people are copying and redistributing Nintendo's creations, without paying Nintendo or obtaining permission otherwise, and are making a profit in the process. These aren't some kids/people exchanging mp3s with no financial compensation to each other, this is outright, for-profit commercial piracy against a company that has typically been fair to its customers.
If you want Nintendo games, go to a used electronics store. They have bins and bins of them, often for less than $5 apiece. Pawn shops do too. Systems are cheap, frequently less than $20, and you own the real thing, not some cheezy, half-assed emulator that has bugs.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Dear ungrateful asshat,
... man ... EVAR!!!
If you even have a wife...
If you aren't lying to cover up your own stupidity...
You are still the lamest
Had a friend that was selling these machines at one of the local malls.
He told me they were really crappy, but only cost $40 (the woman who hired him said that she was making a killing on them).
I guess that most of the folks around here recognised how bad they were because he thought it was a "good day" when he sold two of them.
I don't think that it really would bother him to know that they are pirated though. You have to consider that as an overseas student, he has used copied textbooks, pirated computer programs, and worked in violation of his visa, to be able to afford an American college education.
Right or wrong, that is what A LOT of these people are doing, while attending Universities in the US. And many of them will be some of our leading scientists, IT people, and corporate officers in the coming years.
Anyway, I'd turn him in if he wasn't one of the hardest working, most reliable, and smartest people I've ever known. Guess I'll tell him bug out on his boss before the crap hits the fan...
Heh. I bought one for my g/f. Came with 2 controllers and a light gun. Seemed like a good way to get her interested in games. She liked SMB, the original Mario Bros, and a couple others on there. The guy wanted 60 bucks for it. I got him down to $35. Still a rip since they probably cost less than 10 bucks, but she likes it and we actually get to play some games together now, so it was totally worth it :)
Im with the guy that says you are a square. Like sirens will fill your ears and they will take you to illegal Nintendo prison. haha. Square.
If you want Nintendo games, go to a used electronics store. They have bins and bins of them, often for less than $5 apiece. Pawn shops do too. Systems are cheap, frequently less than $20, and you own the real thing, not some cheezy, half-assed emulator that has bugs.
:(
Not always legal this way either.
My memory of this is a bit faint now as time has passed. But a few years ago one of the big game companies (Sony I *think*) successfully sued a used games retailer here (here = Japan). Sony claimed and apparently proved that users have no rights to resell their games.
There was quite a bit of publicity around this at the time, but it has died down since and there are still a lot of used shops around. If the verdict stands though it is only a matter of time before shops start to get shut down.
It isn't any different than MS limiting your ability to transfer an OEM Windows license from one machine to another. Sure, you "own" the license, but that doesn't always mean you can do what you want.
Ian
Some people are like slinkies--basically useless but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
I feel no obligation in complying with laws that arn't in sync with my own moral code.
As far as I'm concerned trademark law & copyright law should be treated & enforced no differently than Patent law. Meaning Nintendo's only recourse should be to use the civil court system to sue the makers, sellers & end-users of products that break their copyrights or use their trademarks. Copyright law should not be the business of the criminal court & if copyright holders want to prevent end-users from buying & using products that break their copyrights, it's only recourse should be to sue each end-user individually.
So while the corporate world's lobbyists & the US govt have been using their influence to get govts arround the world put copyright provisions in their criminal law codes (a process that's been going on in one form or another since WWII), I'll make my protest by feeling no obligation to comply with copyright laws. As such if you have some hangup over your woman's game controller, I'm quite happy to take it (or maybe her) off your hands.
I walked by the kiosks thinking, "no way, excitebike, but over 100 games? That sounds like a rom rip".
I was tempted to get one, but it didn't occur to me that they were actual pirated roms.
Walt Whitman's a ritsy mall, I'm surprised they sell roms like that.
These game controllers are a product nintendo don't make, very convienient + nice... most people who buy one have bought nintendo products already (not to mention the rediculous way nintendo milks their licensees)... Jesus, I suppose the same person never home taped!
They've been available in other countries for ages, in fact I'm pretty sure the ligit ones are blatently trying to cash in on whats worked for the pirates. Theyve done the inovation and now the ligit companies are doing it too, if everyone was as uptight as this bloke then this inovation would never have happened.
Sould have picked up a few when I saw them at my mall. They were nifty little things. Most of what was sold was old games that you can't really get here anymore (some being the key word here). I'm kind of sad that they got closed down so fast. But then again these people really didn't have the snap that a classic Korean game counterfiters has. When they pirate something they make it look like art.
Didn't think so.
I'm with the square. I think relationships should be based on mutual trust, understanding, and the ability to talk through issues without resorting to anger.
Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. --Nietzsche
Japan has odd IP laws - I believe that games have to specifically licensed for rental - you can't just buy some at the store and rent them to anyone.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
- Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Japan has odd laws in general, many of which are ignored by society and police.
You are correct about the special versions for rental. Not only games, but also CDs, DVDs, video tapes, etc. A CD for rental is about 15,000yen. You certainly do *not* want to lose a rental CD -- you get to pay for its replacement.
Ian
Some people are like slinkies--basically useless but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
I will admit that I'm tempted to grab one of these things were it not for that I have no idea how hardy/fragile they are, let alone the legalities. Well, and of course I'll probably get it online where it's cheaper.
This sig has absolutely no significance and serves only to take up screen space and waste the time of the reader.
It isn't any different than MS limiting your ability to transfer an OEM Windows license from one machine to another. Sure, you "own" the license, but that doesn't always mean you can do what you want. :(
They key difference here is that you actually are purchasing a video game rather than a license AFAIK. Things like Windows and 3D Studio are not able to be resold because they explicitly state that you are only purchasing a non-transferrable license for use. I've yet to see such an assertation on a video-game box.
This sig has absolutely no significance and serves only to take up screen space and waste the time of the reader.
There are stores offering them for play and sale in New York, on 14th street between 5th and 6th avenue.
Every morning I walk past and see someone playing Mario Bros. or Contra.
Most of us dumped a bazillion dollars into nes games back then. Did you happen to own all the games that were on that device?
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
No, I think you threw a fit. Yeah. You threw a fit. A great big fit! And your wife cried. And you gloated. And then you went to beat up some minimum wage college student that you continually berated in your post. What a dick.
There are a handful of PS games that use video modes that the PS2 cannot handle, like some games on the Arcade Party Pack.
"There are people who do not love their fellow human being, and I _hate_ people like that!" - Tom Lehrer
For any game that does not directly benefit from the analog pad/buttons (like racing games) I stick with my PSOne controller as the buttons seem to react a bit faster, and just feel better.
"There are people who do not love their fellow human being, and I _hate_ people like that!" - Tom Lehrer
I bought one of these, the only problem I have with it is the low quality of the digital control pad. It works great with my NES games (with a NES->Famicom convertor). I'm finally able to play SMB3 again, my old NES would occasionally work with my other games but not this one. Upon opening the controller I found a screw missing that holds the main circuit board (with the contacts for the buttons), inserting a screw here seemed to help matters a bit.