ELSPA joins in fight against R4 copying device

by Kyle Orland { Feb 8th 2008 at 11:10AM }

We already know that Nintendo alone can't smash all the R4 devices that allow for easy downloading and piracy of DS games. But could the aid of Europe's ELSPA help Nintendo complete its total smashing plan? Probably not, but that hasn't stopped the European trade organization from lending its help to Nintendo in battling the widely available device.

How exactly they'll help isn't yet clear, though. In a cryptically vague statement to MCV, ELSPA said they were "evaluating the R4 game copying device" and "working closely with [Nintendo] to consider the next step in the UK." While that statement doesn't reveal any concrete plans, it also doesn't rule out any potential "next step." S.W.A.T. team raids, tanks in the streets, nuclear strikes --they're all potential piracy-battling strategies that aren't eliminated by this statement. Pirates, start digging your fallout shelters ... NOW!

Tags: crackdown, ELSPA, Nintendo, piracy, pirate, R4, R4DS

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

FidliousWong @ Feb 8th 2008 11:14AM

Isn't the R4 the only way to work homebrew? I was looking into one for that reason. I saw a couple homebrew art programs that looked neat.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 8th 2008 11:17AM

Flashcarts in general are the only way to run homebrew, but the R4 isn't the only one capable of it.

Its just the best... or so I've been told.

Note to self: Get R4 before US jumps on the bandwagon.

Jon @ Feb 8th 2008 11:18AM

No, there are plenty of similar contraptions that allows you to run 'homebrew'.

R4's biggest claim to fame was it was one of the first microSD slot-1 cart that allows a person to run unpatched ROMs.

prateeko @ Feb 8th 2008 11:20AM

Forget this, the R4D4 is where it's really at.

deaftly @ Feb 8th 2008 11:27AM

The R4 is a beautiful thing.

LordMinogue @ Feb 8th 2008 11:42AM

First it will be baked, and then there will be cake.

jcd @ Feb 8th 2008 11:57AM

Arrr!

mike @ Feb 8th 2008 12:02PM

you know eventually when I do buy a DS (waiting to get one for $75 on a sale, lowest Ive seen so far is $90), the only reason I will be buying the DS is because of the R4 (er well I need to research some more, might use another device). The point is thats one more piece of hardware nintendo gets to sell. Assuming they are making a profit on the ds, thats good news for them. Without such devices, I would never purchase a ds.

Im not alone here either. the DS is really popular, and many people pirate games on it. Take a look at the powerhouse success of the ps2. piracy made it popular, popularity brought in more sales of software from non-piraters.

Then lets not forget the dreamcast. Everyone went out and bought one, but did any1 buy a single game? I mean all u needed was a boot cd with that system lol.

Piracy is a good thing. Think of the industry as a boat on the water and piracy as people aboard. Too many people and the boat sinks. Nobody on the boat and it will surely fail and be destroyed. Just enough people, and its a party, everyones happy.

Martin @ Feb 8th 2008 12:05PM

Who are you trying to convince here?

prateeko @ Feb 8th 2008 12:11PM

Wow. How about just blatantly saying you're a cheap bastard and you'll justify stealing games (i.e. piracy) however you can because you're not willing to drop money on games the rest of us legitimately pay for?

Sheesh. At least have the balls to admit you're a priate because it's cheap instead of trying to act like piracy is good for the industry!

Klick @ Feb 8th 2008 12:14PM

You're delirious if you think the only reason the PS2 was popular was because of piracy.

mike @ Feb 8th 2008 12:20PM

I never said it was the only reason, its one of the reasons ps2 is so popular tho

What do you mean have the balls to admit im a pirate, I did in my first post. Do I need to spell it out for you? I PIRATE GAMES. Thats not to say Im not gonna buy any games. I buy all my 360 games. HAve no plans to purcahse any pc game (except starcraft 2) or portable game

And for the other guy getting so worked up. If you want to pay for all your games go right ahead. No need to get angry because im not going to. Im not getting angry at you for buying your games.

dan stabbingworth @ Feb 8th 2008 1:16PM

So you don't pirate 360 games...because you can't. But you would if you could. Seriously, fuck you.

Zegim @ Feb 8th 2008 1:22PM

I love when people do illegal things and then they try to justify themselves, going as far as to claim that what they are doing is actually a good thing.

Piracy is illegal, we like it or not.

Farseer (GDI) @ Feb 8th 2008 2:49PM

The PS2 was not popular because of piracy, just as the DS is not popular because of piracy. Each respective console has a pirating community because of (and in many cases directly proportional to) its popularity.

The difficulty factor is, of course, a major variable, but even then, many pirates hack hardware and software for the challenge alone.

As long as there is digital media, there will be pirates. As long as there is money, there will be theft. As a company then, do you fight that fact tooth and nail, or do you adapt?

mike @ Feb 8th 2008 2:53PM

"So you don't pirate 360 games...because you can't. But you would if you could. Seriously, fuck you."

lol. Pirating 360 games is as simple as a 10 second, 1 time firmware flash. You get so angry and know so little. I dont pirate my 360 games because I enjoy achievemetns quite a bit and having access to every game just cheapens and nullifies the whole achievement system in my eyes.

I dont know why so many are getting so angry. Im picturing you guys yelling at the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of people who are browsing torrent sites, using ftp, irc, usenet, etc. etc. right now downloading all sorts of illegal files :p

And whats funny is I bet none of you stick up for your anti-piracy beliefs in the real world. When you friend brings a copied dvd over, do you refuse to watch it? When your family is listening to a song somebody pirated off the net, do you refuse to listen? Do you report them? Do you lecture them?

Shignami @ Feb 8th 2008 12:10PM

So... if i live in America (banditkeith.jpg) and already have one... im good, right?

James @ Feb 8th 2008 12:20PM

Good way to help stop piracy, I'm all for it.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 8th 2008 2:10PM

I'm not all for it, because the R4 can be used for plenty of other legitimate things: MP3 playing, MP4 playing, homebrew. Its just also widely used for piracy.

There's another such device that had similar traits: the VCR. It could be used to playback home movies and time shift films and shows. It could also be used to copy movies from one tape to another. The supreme court found that since the VCR could be used for legitimate, non-pirating reasons, it couldn't be banned because some people did use it for piracy.

The same decision can easily be argued for the R4 and similar devices. Sure, you can use it for piracy, but thats not its only use, and its other uses are completely legitimate.

[.sm0ke.] @ Feb 8th 2008 12:29PM

I download DS games because there aren't any demos available. If I like it, I buy it. If I don't, I delete it and get my hard drive space back. It's saved me from wasting my hard-earned cash on some godawful games.

As for homebrew, that's why I have a PSP.

[.sm0ke.] @ Feb 8th 2008 12:30PM

Oh, and I use it so I don't have to carry 20 DS cards around with me.

dan stabbingworth @ Feb 8th 2008 1:19PM

Piracy has legit purposes, like you say. I end up buying all the music that I download and keep. Amon Tobin got 10 sales from me he would not have gotten because I pirated his music. The problem is, very few people do what we do: demo then either buy/delete.

Unfortunately, most people are douchebags, like mike.

one i blind @ Feb 8th 2008 1:31PM

I actually use an EZ Flash V. I'm sure its about the same though. I put all my games on it. So sweet for airplanes where you don't want to bust out a huge pencil case of games and lose carts on the floor. All in all they have very legit uses.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 8th 2008 2:12PM

Thats exactly the reason I want one, One I blind. I have DS games spread in 3 different carrying cases between the wife and I. If I could have them all one 1 flash cart and select it with a menu, that would be awesome.

I also rip all my game CDs and use images to play them with for the same reason: convenience.

sifer2400 @ Feb 8th 2008 12:30PM

i love my R4 im playing chronicles of Altair ion it right now BOOOAYASSS hahah not paying for games is so much fun I am A pirate and im proud of it XD

B1gC72 - PSN: KillaKornbread @ Feb 8th 2008 12:33PM

im not really into the homebrew thing. im probably one of the few people that actually hacked his PSP firmware to custom firmware and then switched back to official firmware. there was just nothing out there that interested me or that i couldnt already do with another device i carry with me on the regular. the only thing i liked were the Emulators, but i have to admit, there arent many old games out there that are as fun to me as i remember (besides scrolling shooters like Aero Fighters and Gradius).

maybe ill test this thing out though if i can find one cheap enough cause the touch screen on the DS does give alot more options than the PSP.

James @ Feb 8th 2008 1:25PM

I use my M33 firmware to play GTA games at a pleasant frame rate, 222mhz criples Tomb Raider and GTA for me. Especially the texture load problems.
And I've got a VSH theme that knocks the crap out of Sony's original theme (and font).
Youtube on an M33 PSP is second only to the iPhone.

There actually is more to the M33 than just pirating and homebrew.

Extinction @ Feb 8th 2008 1:49PM

I download DS games cause they aren't worth paying for when PSP games cost the same these days and offer so much more.

Chilly Willy @ Feb 8th 2008 1:54PM

Again with someone trying to justify pirating. If you want something and you didn't make it yourself, then it has a value associated with it and it's worth something. If you think the price is higher than the value you would get from it, then you don't purchase it. That doesn't give you an excuse to steal it.

You want to pirate software, fine. That's your choice. But don't try to justify your decision to do so, because it is stealing plain and simple (and hurts the industry to boot). There is NO justification for piracy.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 8th 2008 2:14PM

Chilly willy is right, except for one thing.

ITS NOT STEALING!!! ITS COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!!! ITS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!!

Don't swallow the RIAA/MPAA kool-aid.

Gapati @ Feb 9th 2008 10:52AM

ROM dumps of games aren't sold; how can they then be stolen??

TWD Industries @ Feb 8th 2008 2:09PM

So, I just bought the M3DS Real yesterday and the guy I was talking shop with behind the counter is claiming that they've discontinued the R4DS to make way for the G6DS, which uses the same firmware as the M3DS... Basically, all three are coded by the same people. So, why does the R4 get the spotlight when it wasn't the first of the three or the latest?

(also, for disclosure/rationalization sake, I'm using it for homebrew, music, movies, comics and discontinued games. Damnit, I tried to buy Electoplankton, it's just not around any more.)

ThornedVenom @ Feb 8th 2008 2:16PM

I had once often considered getting myself an R4 for running homebrew applications.

An opensource browser, music/video player, image displayer, etc.... that seemed really appealing to me, considering that it'd be maximizing my hardware resources.

PhrawzT @ Feb 8th 2008 2:30PM

I have a G6 which has a nice PDA function, can play video and audio files. There's more to flash cards than just playing game backups.

I got a flash card for my DS bacause I was sick of hauling around a dozen game cards when I could put all my games on one.

Ben @ Feb 8th 2008 2:32PM

I wouldn't be too worried about a company who thinks that the R4 can copy games. lol.

ALH @ Feb 8th 2008 3:23PM

Nintendo DS- £180
R4 flash cart- £40
2 gig microSD card- £14
Being able to put a large body of digital art onto a highly portable viewing platform with an easy to use interface to act as a on-the-go portfolio- priceless

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else..delicious homebrew :)

I don't condone piracy. Half of the time the same people moaning about the state of the industry are the hacks who havent actually 'bought' a game in the past 10 years. Thats not to say i've never dabbled and downloaded myself a few ROMS out of curiosity of course-but its not something i'd make a habit of. Having the physical copy in your hand is so much more satisfying.

Gapati @ Feb 9th 2008 10:51AM

My CycloDS cart is very much a physical device.

AnonyMack @ Feb 8th 2008 3:40PM

brothers! let us rejoice in piracy!

sifer2400 @ Feb 8th 2008 5:26PM

long live Piracy MUAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH

pedro @ Feb 8th 2008 4:01PM

viva la pirateria los americanos todabia pagando juegos please dude life is free well a least in mexico let us rejoice in piracy!
360,psp,nds,wii,pc and isohunt is all beatiful

Dansk @ Feb 8th 2008 4:09PM

" If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing "

-- Anatole France

pedro @ Feb 8th 2008 4:21PM

dude you need a mexican hug wake up is okay seremos siempre tu amigo

TrAcEr @ Feb 8th 2008 11:31PM

Where do you order this thing!!?? i want one now!

Psaakyrn @ Feb 9th 2008 12:12AM

Irregardless of non-piracy value, there's one single counterarguement which can block it entirely: regulation of R4 devices. If Nintendo was to step in and ensure that all R4 devices to contain specific software-filtering programs, they can safely say then that all other R4 or similar devices are illegal, period. Of cause, Nintendo has to accept and acknowledge that homebrew exists, but homebrew likewise have to accept that they cannot have full freedom if they wish to persist.

Frankly though, the main reason why I'm interested in R4 is because of it's vastly superior memory storage capabilities compared to normal DS carts. Of cause, storage without games is pointless, but it does have the possibility of encouraging games which uses more memory space (say for example... dragon quest?)