DS flash carts a form of 'information terrorism,' says Japanese trade group

by Randy Nelson { May 20th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software president Yutaka Kubota expressed to Famitsu grave concerns about the proliferation and use of Nintendo DS flash cart devices, such as the R4DS.

Referring to the volume of illegally downloaded DS software, Kubota remarked, "It's not a matter of numbers anymore," adding, "The fact is that you can download any Nintendo DS game as much as you want, so there's no way to even calculate the damage. This is an issue that affects our national interests, and personally, I see it as a form of information terrorism that is crushing Japan's industry."

In the interview translated by 1UP, Kubota called on the magazine's readers to stand firm against piracy, saying, "I want them to be aware that unless we do something, nobody will be able to make the games they love to play. Not only will gamers wanting to play new games not be able to play anything, but people who want to join the game industry in the future will have their dreams trampled upon."

Japan's laws do not currently forbid the purchase of devices like the R4, nor the downloading of commercial software for use with them. A new copyright bill under review would make it illegal to download copyrighted media, but doesn't expressly give authorities the right to arrest offenders.

Tags: association-of-copyright-for-computer-software, copyright, flash-cart, japan, law, piracy, r4

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Zertoss @ May 20th 2009 5:08PM

You wouldn't steal candy. You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't smite infidels in your righteous fire in the name of Allah.

Don't download DS games.

Rhamsey @ May 20th 2009 5:09PM

or have sex before your married

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ May 20th 2009 5:36PM

The following video is pretty much obligatory in any piracy discussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg

Spartan @ May 20th 2009 5:58PM

And remember to floss.

Moptimus Slime (PhilosoRaptor is the new Keyboard Cat) @ May 20th 2009 6:14PM

So wait, DON'T kill infidels in the name of Allah?

I gotta write this down

Brodo @ May 20th 2009 6:20PM

I guess everyone is a terrorist these days then.
Good luck finding someone who hasnt illegally downloaded music, movies, tv shows, or games.
We are such terrorists

Meh @ May 21st 2009 9:28AM

"Good luck finding someone who hasnt illegally downloaded music, movies, tv shows, or games."
"Everybody is doing it" is an excuse then?

milan @ May 21st 2009 5:02PM

Well, everyone -isn't- doing it, but a lot of people are, and you can't punish such a large group of peaceful citizens just because you label them as terrorists or criminals.

Although, if you are a government, you ARE allowed to do this.

bungiefan @ May 23rd 2009 9:19PM

If "everyone is doing it", doesn't that make it accepted by society, and thus it shouldn't be against the law since it is normal behaviour? Just saying, it could be a valid justification if it was true. It's not really true, but if enough of society does it and votes to change the laws, there you go.

KeenCommander @ May 20th 2009 5:09PM

I'd laugh if they weren't serious. I don't care whether or not you support piracy, that claim is absolutely outrageous. Nonsense, pure and simple.

Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 5:13PM

His statements are on the hyperbolic side of things, for sure. But, there is some truth in what the message he is getting across.

If you love playing great games and enjoy the hobby you only help to make things worse on yourself and everyone else when you illegally obtain them. Hyperbole or not we might all be playing Sony, Nintendo and MS's version of OnLive next gen where don't own anything just an EULA to play it.

KeenCommander @ May 20th 2009 5:38PM

I have no problems with supporting the developers, or with attempts to stop piracy. Attempts, that is, that actually have a basis in real law (unlike the music industry's lawsuits and The Pirate Bay's conviction) and don't interfere with fair use rights (unlike at least some overbearing DRM). Beyond that, the industries should do what they can, especially against commercial piracy. But piracy, especially in the form of downloads, is never going to stop, and eventually - they're going to have to stop trying to prevent it and just make products that will sell as many copies as they can, despite piracy. I have more than 100 CD's. Did I download some of them before purchasing them? Yes, probably about half of them I did. But I did still buy them. And it's not, though I appreciate that aspect as well, to "support the artist" as some people say. CD's offer something that MP3's can't. Even FLAC files can't. They offer something that you can hold, something that you can show off (no one wants to hear about your MP3 library), and most of the time - cool booklets and packaging. Games need to try to offer the same things. Additional incentives, booklets that are actually worth reading, maybe notes from the developers or concept art. Completely standard. And then add in limited editions that offer even more content. People who love the games will buy them. If they were to announce a Deus Ex 3 limited edition for $70, I'd preorder it ASAP. Of course I'm not going to do that for every game, but most successful franchises have a die-hard fanbase that would buy into that sort of thing. While we're not completely there yet - obviously console piracy, Dreamcast excepted, is quite a bit of additional effort - when it gets to the point where the games, music, movies, anything can be had for free - success is going to come from offering something that people can't download. They may not like it, but someday all content industries are going to have to "compete with free." And it can work, it's just going to take some innovation.

^^ Kudos to anyone who actually read that wall of text.

Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 7:53PM

Be that as it may most downloaders don't share your same outlook. The majority of them have no intention of purchasing the media they downloaded. In fact, it comes of as nothing more than patronizing to hear someone say they are simply sampling the product.

What I'm getting at is that eventually console manufacturers, developers and publishers will have little incentive to follow a failing business model. Eventually, something like the On Live model (where you don't actually own anything and the game isn't stored locally) could be more common place. It's true that it's in the future, but, not the all to distant future especially if things continue.

At the end of the day developers are closing shop because of low sales and it's very hard to make a profitable game in this current climate. Publishers aren't in a position to sit by and let their profits be undermined by rampant piracy. Eventually there will be a critical breaking point.

BigD145 @ May 20th 2009 10:13PM

The big names in DS games have been doing just fine in sales.

Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 5:10PM

Yutaka Kubota is just a Nintendo Fanboy. Where were his "grave concerns" when the PSP was being pirated? ;)

Sad thing is my buddy picked up a DSi yesterday ... when I asked him why when he already had a DS he told me ... The new R4 cards were out for the DSi now

It made me a very sad panda

As much crap as people talk about Blu-Ray it's still the only media that hasn't succomb to vast amount of piracy. As far as I know ... anyway .... I'm sure it will happen eventually if it hasn't already.

Vidikron @ May 20th 2009 5:28PM

I think that's more a function of the PS3 than the media itself. Because BR movie rips are readily available.

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ May 20th 2009 5:36PM

Blu-ray movies have been ripped thanks to Slyloft, PS3 Games have been cracked too....but ONLY on the PS3 Via Linux.....and I have yet to hear of someone uploading said ripped games to the interwebs.....they have only used it to play the games from the HDD and I dont know if that even works anymore thanks to firmware updates.....

Spartan @ May 20th 2009 6:06PM

http://www.aprmedia.com/product.php?pid=4201

It's only a matter of time.

Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 7:56PM

I know Sly Soft initially touted it could crack Blu-Ray and HD DVD but the Blu-Ray functionality hadn't been available. Then, there is another matter of the large size of the files you are downloading. It's not the same as ripping a 750 MB avi file.

I've read it's a combination of the security layers built into the discs themselves (and the updated profiles) as well as the PS3's hardware.

It will certainly happen at some point but it's certainly one thing Sony doesn't have to worry about that Nintendo and MS do have a big problem with.

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ May 20th 2009 5:13PM

Sure Cyber Terrorism is still Cyber Terrorism even if its on a Handheld game console......I mean you want to get your point across these day?? Just Use 1 of 3 phrases....9/11, Terrorism, or Swine Flu....smh

Zertoss @ May 20th 2009 5:21PM

Terrorists infected with swine flu did 9/11! Don't download DS games!

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ May 20th 2009 5:33PM

ROFLMAO!!!

You Sir have gotten your point across nicely....

ThornedVenom (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ May 20th 2009 5:23PM

It isn't terrorism if there's no political agenda, is it?

TheBigL @ May 21st 2009 3:11PM

It depends on the person. There are some people who believe information isn't something that can be valued monetarily. You could debate by using this information freely they are pushing a political agenda for copyright reform.

Even still you don't need a political agenda to carry out acts of terrorism, most acts of terrorism are based on religious agendas.

To call "using information freely" terrorism is kind of lame. Consumers are only showing that they aren't willing to pay anymore because of the options they now have. Consoles are obsolete, as well as publishers other then for marketing purposes. blah blah blah I could go on forever about this topic.

Sam @ May 20th 2009 5:48PM

I don't use flash carts for piracy though, I use flash carts to download homebrew games because nintendo is too high on their horse to support little developers.

Cammy @ May 20th 2009 5:55PM

Simple answer for Japanese developers, if they're so hung up about piracy.

Makes games exclusively for PS3, if you're so uppity about it. I'm sure Sony will welcome you and PS3 has exactly zero piracy.

Moptimus Slime (PhilosoRaptor is the new Keyboard Cat) @ May 20th 2009 6:06PM

Nothing can reach absolute zero.

KeenCommander @ May 20th 2009 6:24PM

"zero piracy" Which is slightly more than it has sales?

TheFreak @ May 20th 2009 5:56PM

*sigh*

Illegal or not, I feel Nintendo deserves the piracy it's getting. Until they get their heads out of the friggin' clouds and stop treating their fanbase as sales statistics (OMG asking the impossible LOL), It's only fair that they should be treated with the same amount of concern...or lack thereof.

And if they pull the same stunt at this year's E3 like they did with last year's, you'd have to stand on an impossibly-high moral plane to disagree.

Roto13 @ May 20th 2009 10:38PM

*world's biggest facepalm*

esposch @ May 21st 2009 2:56AM

Please jump off a bridge now TheFreak.

Martin @ May 21st 2009 1:43PM

Wow, really? Damn, you're sad.

superberg @ May 20th 2009 5:58PM

God dammit, no. It is not "terrorism." It is theft.

Terrorism implies an attempt

1. To strike TERROR (have we forgotten what root words are?)

2. To challenge and destroy established societies/governments/groups.

It's theft, sure. You can even call it bad. I won't argue with you. But to call it terrorism cheapens the suffering that people all over the world are dealing with.

sandwiches @ May 20th 2009 6:03PM

It's not theft either unless there were direct measureable losses of resources due to my COPYING of their software.

KeenCommander @ May 20th 2009 6:06PM

Stealing takes the original. Piracy makes a copy. It's not theft, it's piracy. They're different creatures. I'm not saying that makes it good, but the two are not the same.

Spartan @ May 20th 2009 6:08PM

"direct measureable losses"

You mean like the profit gained from a retail sale of a single copy of that game?

KeenCommander @ May 20th 2009 6:18PM

A downloaded copy does not equal a lost sale. For all we know, if no one downloaded the game - it could sell exactly the same number of copies as it did if a million people downloaded it. Now that may seem a little bit absurd, but the fact of the matter is - each person who downloads a game (or anything else) would not necessarily have bought it. I'd say less than half, probably less than a third, would have - but that is just my opinion. Since the actual rate can never be known, there is not and could never be a *measurable* loss.

superberg @ May 20th 2009 6:24PM

Fine, fine, it's not theft in and of itself(though I challenge you to find more than 5% of owners NOT having pirated games one).

The point of my post, however, is that it isn't terrorism.

Nook @ May 20th 2009 6:31PM

superberg, you nailed it. great post.

although i find most terrorists are in office.

David @ May 20th 2009 9:54PM

Piracy only escapes being defined as theft by the intentionally narrow-minded pirate view of the concept. Theft involves the illegal taking of someone else's property without their consent. Piracy easily fits that definition when you don't try to convince yourself copying data is different from taking it. That's how data is distributed, it requires a more nuanced understanding than the theft of something like an apple. Games represent a product for sale and you acquire these games illegitimately, without paying for them. In a world with Steam, PSN, WiiWare and Live Arcade, you have to be fooling yourself to think that stealing a game can only involve taking its storage medium.

On the one hand, pirates claim the developer hasn't lost anything because they wouldn't have bought the game anyway. On the other hand, if you weren't willing to pay for it, why should you have it at all?

Quattro @ May 20th 2009 10:02PM

People also download things to see if they'd like it and then buy it. I myself just purchased two games yesterday after downloading and playing them. In theft, you wouldn't steal something, decide you like it and then go out and buy it.

WiiFTW @ May 20th 2009 10:16PM

I'm not trying to justify piracy, but I'll explain why I have in the past.

I pirated Oblivion and played it for a helluva long time but would never have bought it. Why? I wouldn't have gone out of my way to go to a store/bother with a credit card online. Plus it was free. There's something about free vs. any monetary cost. I saw this study (on Digg some time ago) but I can't find it. It essentially concluded that people are often drawn to free over something that will cost the slightest bit because of a lack of loss by getting the free stuff.

BlackDove @ May 20th 2009 6:24PM

AHAHAHAHHAHA

"Terrorists"

What a tool.

Poddie @ May 20th 2009 6:48PM

God damn kids won't be happy until every entertainment industry collapses due to them thinking they have the "right" to a copy of anything they want whether they can afford it or not.

Justify all you want, you guys WILL be the reason many of the great developers move on (or are forcibly moved on) to more profitable industries. The sad thing is the same jerks complain that games are all the same and there are no risks taken with them. Then they make no connection to their actions and the way game companies are run.

Thanks jackasses!

TheBigL @ May 21st 2009 3:31PM

I hope the industry dies.

Take a look at many of the game modding communities, they make some stuff on caliber with what the big developers are making. Many of them accept donations and have successful communities, others do it individually, without monetary motivation.

I don't need a huge developer to charge a premium because they need to pay for advertising and physical distribution when I could just download the media, while only paying for bandwidth.

When the industry dies I'll go join some community working on a project or I'll give my cash to a group making a game I would like to support.

Poddie @ May 22nd 2009 2:34PM

Yeah... that makes a lot of fucking sense.

"I don't like the games made by big game companies so I'll be happy when they die so I can go back to playing N+ all day. BTW, I love to steal games that I hate playing too..."

You're an immature ass. If you don't like the games they're making, don't buy them AND don't download them. If everybody did that, we would then see the staggering number of people that are in complete disagreement with you because they actually want to play a quality title that provides more than 10 minutes of enjoyment.

If you don't download them now, then I have no problem with you (you're welcome to your opinion as long as you're not stealing) but your comment is completely irrelevant to mine.

RupeeClock @ May 20th 2009 6:38PM

Uh, where's the terror?
Terrorism isn't a word you just throw around, I mean piracy on the DS certainly brings up anxiety and concern for the industry, but TERROR?

Bones3D @ May 20th 2009 6:40PM

Sure... the industry is just gonna stop making games based on principles alone... riiiight.

Well, no fear. If the industry doesn't want our hard-earned cash, I'm sure the indie developers out there will be more than happy to take it. If the iPhone/iPod Touch market is any sign, there's quite a bit of demand for indie generated content... so long as Apple doesn't screw it up with their often vague approval policies.

Rather than worry about software pirates seeking to incite terror via the R4 card, perhaps Nintendo should open the DSi up to any developer that wants to create content for it and simply offer so much inexpensive new content, that homebrew offerings alleviate the desire to pirate unnecessary content.

(Unless of course, homebrew in itself is a form of terror by taking money away from "legitimate" developers... in the same way "blogging" takes money away from the "legitimate" media...)