UK authorities bust DS 'flash cart' seller

by Randy Nelson { Dec 19th 2008 at 5:30PM }

Gamasutra reports that British police have raided a retailer in Cardiff, Wales, seizing 1,800 "flash carts" for Nintendo DS. The article doesn't mention if the devices were R4DS cards or clones, but does say that the 21-year-old man taken into custody during the raid had been selling them for two years – an act deemed illegal by the UK's Trademarks and Copyright Acts.

Police also confiscated sales receipts for the past two years; the report doesn't indicate whether or not they intend to pursue those who purchased devices from the retailer. An additional 1,000 carts were found at the arrested man's home, "along with hundreds of products packed and ready for mailing."

"The industry loses vital income and with it proper job security for its employees in the country, while the British public lose out because many circumvention devices actually damage irreparably DS Lite handheld consoles," according to a statement by Michal Rawlinson, Entertainment and Leisure Publishers Association (ELSPA) managing director. ELSPA indicated a desire to pursue sellers of R4DS and similar devices earlier this year.

Tags: elspa, flash-cart, piracy, r4ds

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

EdZ @ Dec 19th 2008 5:40PM

The article is a little light on information. Raid like this are usually only conducted when modchips/etc are sold ALONG WITH pirated games. e.g. a chipped xbox with a HDD filled with games, an R2DS with ROMS on an SD card, etc.

EdZ @ Dec 19th 2008 5:46PM

Ugh, errors abound. Pluralise 'Raid', increment 'R2DS' by 2, decapitalise the 'S' in ROMS'.

PCIV @ Dec 19th 2008 5:49PM

One thing. Last time I checked, no flash cart (slot-1s, anyways) does any irreparable damage. The dying triggers are from COD and M-Kart, and THOSE are irreparable. Maybe also EBA and the screen.

WiredKnight @ Dec 19th 2008 7:06PM

That's what I was thinking. There's no way a little flash cart could do any damage, they're just trying to gain the support of the public.

Emophia @ Dec 19th 2008 5:56PM

Man, I want the white M3 simply cart, my black one looks so lame in comparison.

Sam @ Dec 19th 2008 6:01PM

I'm still trying to figure out how flash carts themselves are illegal... when you buy the hardware you OWN the hardware, it doesn't matter what you do with it, so these people must have been selling flashcarts preloaded with ROMs, that's the only way this can logically be illegal.

Jinkin @ Dec 19th 2008 6:15PM

I think the UK police know what's illegal in the UK and what isn't.

Sam @ Dec 19th 2008 6:16PM

idk, the ones in the US sure don't... that's what the courts are for! :)

Sam @ Dec 19th 2008 6:19PM

and to be more specific I'm not saying ROMs are OK, I think it's a major problem and it needs to be stopped. What i'm saying is flash carts can be used for good. I use mine for a personal planner and play a few homebrew games. I still buy retail games, but I love playing games that another joe shmoe just like me made a game that you can play on a commercial system.

Ging @ Dec 19th 2008 7:02PM

I could've sworn that I saw something recently that stated that a judge here in the UK had ruled the flash carts themselves as legal, as they don't directly violate IP or copyright (or do anything else illegal) - if it were illegal to own something that *can* be used illegally, than everyone who owned a car would be in trouble.

This guy must've been selling pre-loaded carts, that's what tends to be the target of these raids.

WiredKnight @ Dec 19th 2008 7:09PM

Though I agree that they should be legal, as they have other uses besides pirating, I can see how they could be made illegal. Let's face it, the majority of people who own them are only using them as circumvention devices.

bigsofty @ Dec 19th 2008 9:39PM

Then its time to bang up anyone who has bought a blank DVD...

aristokrat @ Dec 19th 2008 9:55PM

The old "their main use is illegal" argument is a slippery slope. Make them illegal, and their only use is illegal, while if they are legal, people will innovate and maybe come up with something cool. And while in this situation not too many people will be harmed if carts were illegal, it sets a legal precedent that can bring harm (the previously-mentioned DVD's being such a case). And many things that used to be illegal have been harnessed for the good with a little innovation. This is simply a case of governments bowing to corporate pressure, which is a sad bastardization of democracy.

JCD @ Dec 22nd 2008 11:28AM

Flash carts are illegal in most western countries actually. In America, for instance, they violate the DMCA because they circumvent the copy protections built into the game media.

Unfortunately, the result is that these ill-conceived "pro-IP" laws wind up trumping the "fair use" standard that had previously been the law of the land (at least here in America).

For instance I have a soft-modded psp, all of my psone games copied into a format that my psp can play, and all of my UMDs ripped to ISO format. Its great because my battery lasts longer, I can tweak the CPU speed (which really helps games like GTA), I can usually bring a few games with me on a single card, I don't have to listen to my psp grind and whir, and if a game disc breaks (which happened to my GTA:LCS disc), I have a backup. I can also use alot of excellent homebrew, like streaming video to my psp, playing cave story, playing super tux (awesome mario clone), using the psp comic book reader (AWESOME app), etc.

Until the law recognizes the right of consumers to actually "OWN" the game media and hardware we purchase, as opposed to just "renting" it, the system is going to remain an "us vs. them" for the foreseeable future.

Sam @ Dec 22nd 2008 1:20PM

@JCD: Wow I didn't know the carts were illegal here in the US... Maybe the government will learn when Nintendo gets up and makes a Wii-bricking update on purpose, then makes you pay for an expensive repair, or charged a fee for updating because you don't OWN the hardware or the firmware. It wouldn't be low for them to try something like that, selling us a gamecube with motion controls and whatnot.

Josh @ Dec 19th 2008 7:05PM

I *really really* hope that this guy was selling pirated games along with the flash carts.

Otherwise this is just another example of the need for drastic reform of copyright law.

mr mobius @ Dec 19th 2008 7:23PM

I'm almost sure I saw Game selling an R4 card yesterday for the DS.

Jon2309 @ Dec 19th 2008 10:00PM

Amazon sell them.

Kye says: Ich bin keine Grammatik Nazi! @ Dec 20th 2008 8:50AM

Gamestation don't sell them, but staff have been happy to point me in the direction of stores that do sell them.

BigD145 @ Dec 19th 2008 7:40PM

My M3 has damaged my DS phat? Really? Someone should have told me that over a year ago. I've been playing all this time and never knew.

Lekko @ Dec 19th 2008 9:45PM

Yes, it's completely worthless now. You must go out and buy a new DSi.

...or two, just to be safe.

Evan @ Dec 19th 2008 7:40PM

I'm surprised there aren't more police raids, given how openly these products are sold (at least they are sold openly where I live in Canada, even in shopping malls).

Bowser Rogozhin @ Dec 20th 2008 5:56AM

With our economy swirling into the toilet, Sterling reaching record lows, we need the law authorities to crackdown on this piracy bullshit. Any lost VAT income lost today is only going to damage us adversely tomorrow. We have record levels of government debt so every penny counts, but these pirates are well too short sighted to see the ramifications of their actions. Shame, shame on him.

Dustin @ Dec 20th 2008 7:52AM

A Police raid!?

Really!?

A Police raid?

Is it really that big of a fucking deal? Aren't there better places to go raid, like warehouses full of dangerous drugs or dead babies?

Bowser Rogozhin @ Dec 20th 2008 8:35AM

Yes, yes it is. People's livelihoods are at stake here. Nintendo don't care about piracy, they can take the hit. It's the smaller firms, the Positechs, the Grasshoppers, the 2D Boys, they're the ones that are bleeding.

It's easy to say it's not a 'big fucking deal' if you're just a consumer. You're a greedy bastard who wants moar, that's all. But piracy is killing the entire media industry, not just gaming. I'm seeing it here in television today. If we don't push reality programming we'll die!

'Not a Big Fucking Deal'. What a moron. Slack attitudes like that will lead us onto a more bland tomorrow. An once that day comes, when your TV is filled with nothing but American Idol, Fifa, Madden, and your yearly fix of Call of Duty, I'll bet you'll be the first to jump online and complain that gaming is too samey.

Dustin @ Dec 20th 2008 8:46AM

Woah! Dude, you know nothing about me, so please refrain from personal attacks.

I'm not defending piracy. I was commenting that a police raid is extreme. Don't get all butthurt over my opinion about how the situation should be handled.

Bowser Rogozhin @ Dec 20th 2008 9:19AM

My New years wish list, from me to you: refrain from the use of the word 'butthurt*'. It's tired, it's cliche, it's lazy. Stop acting lazy; I know it's something innate within you, judging from your original post, but just stop.

*also, 'lulz', 'lolz', 'Micro$oft', 'FTW', 'FTL'. I'll add on if I think of anymore.

Alex @ Dec 20th 2008 9:59AM

What's your problem, Bowzer? My GOD...

Kye says: Ich bin keine Grammatik Nazi! @ Dec 20th 2008 8:37AM

Already got an EDGE card(Thank you Play.com) and a spare one, and an R4 for some reason.

My point? Don't have one, just wanted to chime in.

TJ @ Dec 20th 2008 2:38PM

At least they made a right statement this time.

The industry loses vital "income"

Some of them kept on saying they loose "money" due to this. How can you loose money that you've never had in the first place.

mister_d @ Dec 20th 2008 4:39PM

As others have said, if this guy was selling flash cards along with ROMs or advertising them as devices that enable piracy, he's probably screwed. On the other hand, if he's selling them as they are, and not actively encouraging piracy, he'll probably end up with some sweet compensation when all is done.

I'd put my money on him offering pre-loaded ROMs. The article says ELSPA conducted a test purchase prior to reporting the site, which would indicate the complaint was more than just selling the carts if they wanted to be sure of what they were getting.