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Nintendo On the Hunt For More Scalps
rjch writes "After its recent win against mod chip piracy in the Australian Federal courts, Nintendo is now on the prowl for other companies to sue. 'Nintendo will pursue those who attempt to jeopardise the gaming industry by using all means available to it under the law. In particular, Nintendo is currently contemplating bringing further actions against other sellers of game copying devices in Australia.' The game company said since 2008 it had pursued over 800 actions in 16 countries to stop game piracy, confiscating 'well over' half a million game copiers for the Nintendo DS. The company said piracy affected sales, the price of video games, and employment in the video game industry."
Reader daria42 sends in a related piece asking whether Nintendo is being too harsh over this and the recent $1.5 million settlement with a man who leaked New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
I'm glad I don't buy gaming consoles. I wouldn't want to be supporting this sort of legalistic chicanery.
It's all about the business model.
Another way around it could be to actually offer the game itself for free, but it's restricted until you connect to an online service where you can upgrade and interact with other players.
But that only works for some games and consoles.
It's a balancing act to get everything right since if you get it wrong you will insult your customers and loose the business.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
"The company said piracy affected [...] the price of video games" Amusingly enough, "the company" didn't mention whether or not this effect was positive or negative, or for whom.
Somehow I doubt their claim that piracy effects the price of video games - im sure they would keep charging whatever they can get away with either way. Conversely though I think if they reduced the price of games it would reduce piracy too.
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a reference to Godwin's Law approaches 1
Conveniently what gets forgotten with "anti-piracy" jackbooting is my right to tinker. I don't give a damn that console makers want to totally lock down "their" systems. It's not "theirs" its mine, I bought it at the store. All this crap preventing me from running Linux on my XBox without screwing up Live (if I wanted it) is bull. Go away, it's mine - you don't like that? In a perfect world it wouldn't be my problem, but hey, we get the best laws money can buy.
Shh.
Personally, looking at what homebrew was available and such for a DS was a large portion of the reason I bought it in the first place. I also got good use out of DSLinux for random stuff until I got my ipod touch (jailbroken, of course) which gives me everything dslinux has and more.
It's a shame there's not a better way to separate out the homebrew and piracy. Although I suppose Nintendo probably wouldn't like the homebrew either since it's "competition"
Conveniently what gets forgotten with "anti-piracy" jackbooting is my right to tinker.
There are devices designed for tinkering, such as Macs, other PCs, PDAs running Maemo (now MeeGo), PDAs and phones running Android, and PDAs and phones running Windows Mobile. There are devices designed for controlled tinkering, such as Xbox 360, iPod Touch, and iPhone. And then there are devices not designed for tinkering, such as Sony or Nintendo video game systems and "feature phones". If you plan on tinkering, take the potential for tinkering into account before you buy a device.
All this crap preventing me from running Linux on my XBox without screwing up Live (if I wanted it) is bull.
It's Microsoft saying "There are other devices more suited to Linux than an Xbox." If you want a console-sized PC with NVIDIA graphics, I'd recommend an Acer Aspire Revo.
Nintendo On the Hunt For More Scalps
Certainly one way to look at it. Here's a spectrum of possible headlines:
So, congratulations, you had one final step to go before I would have considered your headline over the top or 'spin.'
My work here is dung.
If you took away the ability to pirate DS or Wii games by snapping your fingers. You'd find most of the people that download these games would never buy them. I bet sales of the consoles themselves would decline too. I don't know the numbers of people that pirate vs buy games but I'm sure a lot more time is wasted worrying about it over what they actually accomplish.
The company said piracy affected sales, the price of video games, and employment in the video game industry.
And stealing from pirates affects the sales, price and employment in the piracy industry.
The 1.5 million dollar "Judgement" over the SMBW leak was actually an out of court settlement, it never went to trial and the agreement was sealed. The likely scenario is that Nintendo had him by the balls but offered him a deal...become the posterboy of "Piracy Baaad, Nintendo Gooood" and they let him off the hook. The way they have been wheeling around liking a walking public service announcement I highly doubt real money was involved at all. But so far its done the trick, lots of people freaked out.
No, Nintendo is not being too harsh to the guy who leaked Super Mario Bros. It's one thing to leak software/games that have been out, but to release it before it's out? He's stupid for thinking it was a good idea.
The only reason I kept my Wii is because of all the homebrew you can run on it. If it weren't for that I'd have sold it a long time ago. Why is Nintendo so eager to alienate everyone who isn't a housewive or a "casual gamer"? Why are they trying so hard to alienate their entire former fanbase? First they stomp down on the fanmade Zelda movie, now they're prowling around sueing everyone they don't like. Why? As if piracy is really hindering their profits. The main customers for Nintendo are now casual gamers who don't even know about homebrew and therefore shove enough money down Nintendos throat anyway. Everyone else wouldn't want to buy or keep a Wii on the account of there being less and less worthwile games, so the result is that Nintendo is actually losing business by hunting down everything piracy- and homebrew related. I know I'm gonna get modded down as Flamebait, but I don't care.
Why exactly should any company be allowed to refuse to provide a service to a compatible device?
Discrimination against customers can be illegal if it is against customers in a legally protected group (e.g. race, color, creed, sex) or if the seller has "market power" in the relevant market. Microsoft has no monopoly in set-top video game players (Sony, Nintendo, and Acer make nice ones), and modders do not form a legally protected group. So this discrimination falls under freedom of contract.
Instead of buying hardware (DS, iPod) from hostile manufactures and having to crack them simply to use your own devices, why don't you vote with your money and buy a SmartQ V5? It's small, cheap, waaay more powerful than a DS and it runs Ubuntu 9.10 and Android.
Or the V7 if you want a bigger screen (warning: don't confuse them with the older SmartQ 5 and SmartQ 7).
Or any of the many lesser known cheap Linux tablets/MIDs from small Chinese vendors. Many of them are just one apt-get away from being extremely useful pocketable computers.
There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
I'm disappointed and refuse to buy Nintendo products from now on, but this pretty much resolves to a nop. Nintendo hasn't made a product I care about since I was in high school and there isn't really any sign of that changing.
I can't help but wonder that the cost of "800 actions in 16 countries" isn't somehow costing Nintendo more in attorney's fees and court costs than they ever likely originally lost in the piracy in the first place. From all the cases I've read about in piracy proceedings, the person the company goes after never has the kind of cash the company would need to pay back the lawyers. If they wouldn't charge so much for the games (movies/TV/etc.) in the first place, people would probably be more inclined to purchase legitimately. Apple's about to break the 10 billion mark in the ITMS, so clearly there's a willingness to pay for content.
Ich suche die Leidenschaft, die keine Leiden schafft.
Sorry guys, but I agree with Nintendo fighting the copy devices... I am generally favorable to free movements and all, but out of curiosity are the guys giving the copy devices away for free??? No? So they are not defending freedom at all, they're just earning MONEY the easy way. Not too different from thiefs.
The only reason I kept my Wii is because of all the homebrew you can run on it.
What makes a Wii better for homebrew than, say, the Aspire Revo that drinkypoo mentioned? Is Wii's Hollywood GPU really that much more powerful than a GeForce 9400M, and if so, does homebrew really take advantage of it?
All I'm asking for is a menu option: "Boot other OS"
I understand that. Have you tried a used fat PS3 instead of an Xbox 360? And have you tried joining XNA Creators Club, which (incidentally) Apple copied for the iPhone developer program?
It's simple, and if mandated by government
I don't see that happening any time soon. In 2002, when the current President of the U.S. Senate was a senator, he introduced anti-counterfeiting legislation that would have pretty much criminalized homebrew for being "counterfeit".
If tinkering was addressed separately
Then it would be called XNA. Not that it's without flaws, but at least Microsoft is trying to make a sandbox for Xbox 360 tinkerers, doing more than Nintendo has ever done.
why don't you vote with your money and buy a SmartQ V5?
Because it didn't exist in the fourth quarter of 2005 when I bought my DS. PassMe + GBA Movie Player did exist. I was going to buy a Pandora PDA instead, but after it got delayed so much, I bought an Asus Eee PC and put Ubuntu on it instead.
we're not obligated to buy games from any maker. If we don't agree with the pricing, why don't we MAKE OUR OWN?
The article is about Nintendo DS. Without copier hardware, all DS games must be digitally signed by Nintendo, and Nintendo has a notorious "your organization must be this tall" policy. This policy is why you won't see Bob's Game on a DS.
the issue needs to be worked through across *all* manufacturers.
Sony and Nintendo have this problem. Acer, Dell, Motorola, and HTC do not.
it would take government to step in
This was true a couple years ago but not anymore. Nowadays, devices running Android OS and games for Android can replace a DS and games for DS, and a nettop PC with NVIDIA ION and PC games can replace a console and console games. The market came up with a solution without any government interference because manufacturers realized that in a world of doesn't, some people are willing to buy a device that does.
It's mine
Then give your money to manufacturers that understand that it's yours.
Next: North American Indians file "IP" infringement claim over the collecting of scalps.
Then: Nintendo releases "Custers' Revenge", "Dr. Mario: Smallpox Edition"
I have no problems with them going after legitimate game pirates or real sea pirates. I DO however have a huge problem with them/corporations trying to make it illegal to tinker, modify, sell, wipe my ass with hardware that I own. I bought it and its mine if you don't like it you can come and pick up your "rented property" and give me my money back.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Why would nintendo care about the piracy of mod chips? As consumers most of us only care that our mod chips work. We tend to hold little brand loyalty as it is and so there seems to be little reason for mod chip manufacturers to contemplate etching a competitors logo on their boards.
since the 80's when they sued Tengen and Galoob. Both for reasons not relating to "piracy" (or as people in the know call it, copyright infringement).
Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
.. you've got to keep the parts.
I am kind of shocked at how few Nintendo defenders there are here, usually (like Apple), the fanatics will defend to the death any move their beloved company does.
the current President of the U.S. Senate
IQgryn wrote:
Last I checked, Biden was Vice President.
Of course he is. Perhaps you're not from the United States, but its constitution states the following:
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate
This is pretty much how this is going to end in meme form:
First they came for those selling counterfeit games, but I did not speak because I don't play counterfeit games.
Then they came for those rip games for personal use, but I did not speak because I don't rip modern games.
Then they came for those who play decades old games on emulators, but I did not speak because I don't play on emulators.
Then they came for those making novel romhacks, but I did not speak because I don't play romhacks.
Then they came for users of homebrew games and applications, but I did not speak because I don't play homebrew games or use homebrew applications.
Then they came for users who keep backups of legally owned games, but I did not speak because I don't bother keeping backups even if I have to buy again the occasional game.
Finally they are battling against my right of first sale because I though these companies actually gave a shit about law and there was no one left for me to speak because they had their voice silenced by a worldwide three strikes law.
But... the future refused to change.
that puts the price at $60 vs $80
Until the number of players climbs beyond two. This might be two gamers and the friend that one of them invited over, or several people at a family reunion, or two kids and a babysitter, or two kids and a parent. (Remember that kids in K-12 school are part of the audience for any title not rated M.) Let's compare the price for four players: A Wii + TV + three Wii Remotes + three Nunchuks cost $700, but four Dell gaming PCs + four monitors cost $2400. (A PC with Intel's Voodoo3-class "Graphics My Ass" GPU doesn't cut it.) A Wii game costs $50, but even after a discount, four copies of a PC game cost $120.
It was understood that you couldn't put any technology in your console that would effectively cut out competition (e.g. the console checks to make sure your copyright appears in the cartridge before it will let it run).
Then the courts screwed things up.
If guys you spent half as much time working in the system as you did fighting it you'd have enough wealth to not care if you could run Linux on your Xbox.
The only way to beat the man is to be the man.
The company said piracy affected sales, the price of video games, and employment in the video game industry."
Game prices have been consistent for 20 years. I remember finding an old kmart or toys or us catalog recently that had Sonic the Hedgehog for 59.99
What game player does Acer make?
Aspire Revo. Like other nettops, it's the size of a Wii console. But unlike most other nettops, the Aspire Revo has an NVIDIA ION chipset, so you get GeForce graphics instead of the Intel "Graphics My Ass" that you normally get with Atom PCs.
idiots at nintendo. dont forget that your gaming industry depends on the gaming community. which is, us, the people.
it would be advisable not to go around being a fascist about your products, lest you may end up having your products shoved up your ass by the very people you want to sell them to.
Read radical news here
Setting aside the bad idea that is using Steam
How is Steam noticeably worse than Wii Shop Channel or DSi Shop? Besides, GOG.com.
you're going to just be playing old games?
For the first year and a half, Wii Shop Channel was just old games through "Virtual Console" emulators.
1.6GHz and a gig of ram aren't that beefy.
They're beefier than 0.73 GHz and 0.09 GB of RAM, which are what Wii has. Sure, Windows and Avast eat up about one-fourth of the 1 GB RAM, but that still leaves more RAM available to the game than on an Xbox 360.
Maybe the modder could have settled out of court by offering to add the famous printer to his business model.
So can any of a dozen sub-$60 HTPC cases that look for all the world like a Hi-Fi receiver.
The advantage of an Aspire Revo over a PC with a Hi-Fi receiver case is that an Aspire Revo is far cheaper including motherboard, CPU, RAM, hard drive, operating system license, and (importantly) labor to put it together. Most people don't build their own PC from mail-order parts; instead, they buy a ready-made device sold in Best Buy stores, such as a game console or an Aspire Revo.
And those can be expanded with tuner capture cards and actually make a real HTPC
I don't know the situation with broadcast and cable TV in Australia, but in the United States, an ATSC tuner card can receive NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and PBS. A clear-QAM tuner card can receive NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and PBS; everything else is encrypted now that companies like Comcast are switching everything above the "lifeline" service to digital.
And if any individual or startup company were making games of any quality rather than lame knockoffs or boring casual games that don't interest me
What game isn't a "lame knockoff"? The last new genre-making game was Parappa the Rapper in the mid-1990s. Even Katamari Damacy is just Bubbles on a bigger map.