Nintendo's system updates for the 3DS are relatively frequent, and often simply cited as bringing 'stability' and 'minor adjustments' to the portable; this is often jokingly referenced - by us, anyway - as code for 'trying to lock down an exploit or hack'. The latest update, for example, appeared to take on a flashcard brand, not completely blocking it off but at least making it less convenient to use.
Nintendo's activities in targeting those playing illegal ROMs appears to have stepped up to assessing online sessions, as some users on the GBAtemp forums - which we won't link due to the many threads dedicated to getting around Nintendo system security - have reported informal bans being handed down. In over ten cases the trends match up - they've been playing ROM copies of games online, and now they've lost the ability to play any game online, legal or otherwise. They can still access the eShop and download games, but any attempt to check the Friends List or play a title online brings back error 002-0102.
This error is typically associated with a connectivity issue, but in this case is simply a proxy for a block - when calling customer services these gamers were told it was a ban that cannot, at this stage, be overturned. Trawling through the threads shows that in most cases the players were on the latest firmware, though there seems to be at least one user on the previous firmware version.
Tellingly, out of those that have had these 'bans' applied there are users of both main flashcard solutions currently used in the ROM community for the 3DS. Unlike the days of the DS when flashcards were easy to obtain, changes in laws (and/or retailer attitudes) in various countries mean these are very much a minority product in this day and age. It should also be noted that the first reports of these bans seem to be from 4th February, but there are plenty still doing the same thing that are not yet blocked from playing online. Quite how this is being implemented by Nintendo, and how wide reaching it'll be, is a bit of a mystery.
Naturally, there are some stating that they simply use their flashcard for convenience, only dumping ROMS from their own copies so that have their whole library with them on one cart. Be that as it may, that's still technically against the rules, and some - not all - in the ROM hacking community seem spooked enough that they'll be staying away from playing these copies online.
While Nintendo isn't exactly completely shutting down and successfully blocking off hackers and ROM flashcards, it seems to be disrupting them of late. We'll see how this progresses with subsequent firmware updates.
Let us know what you think of all this, though please observe the updated Community Rules when doing so.
Thanks to Ryan Millar for the heads up.
Comments 103
Little surprising it took so long is right, then again, Nintendo isn't always, if ever, up to date online.
By your logic, neither is the PC market...
Well, serves them right. Even if you own the original cart, you are not entitled to backups. It's piracy either way.
This should make people think twice about pirating, though we all know people will still do it no matter how hard Nintendo tries to punish them.
Good. If I were Nintendo I'd mess with them some more and have certain things randomly happen to people playing pirated games. Like deleting their save data or crashing them randomly.
Good, that should scare off most of the wannabe pirates. It's not only "against the rules", it's against the law in most countries to circumvent any DRM system.
baaai
Worth noting that people banned were all using public headers, which is the kind of "CD key" on Nintendo games. That is, on their servers it's like hundreds of people were playing the very same game online. To have a private header you'd need a legit cart from a game with online capabilities in first place AND be able to dump it, which actually needs a Gateway (and defeats the purpose for most people since you'll have to actually buy a game on most cases). So almost all people reporting bans were Sky3DS users (which can't really do anything itself as it doesn't exploit the system directly, instead it pretends to be a legit game, so you'd need another GW user to dump a private header for you). There are other ways to avoid ban like using CIAs or something, but I won't get into detail (and they don't seem like a long therm safety precaution).
I don't pirate on 3DS, but if I did, I wouldn't play online for safety purposes. It was just a matter of time until Nintendo admitted defeat on security and took the Sony/Microsoft route of banning. There's the logging rumor but I myself think it's bs.
To be fair, im a big fan of such flashcards under very specific restrictions:
Its a blessing for things like Fan-Translations or "Hacks" improving games like enhancing the soundtrack of FF VI Advance.
But piracy, although often heavily overdramatized as it literally is the number one system seller out there, is still a major problem.
Hackers and pirates should always be punished, no matter how.
Nice, those guys deserve worse things for what they're doing. Maybe a bricked system would be more fair
@Jahir, they can't just brick their systems as soon as they see a user using a flashcard. I'm pretty sure Apple would screw up all jail broken iPods/phones if they could, but they can't.
@Einherjar "But piracy, although often heavily over dramatized as it literally is the number one system seller out there, is still a major problem." Wait since when is piracy the main reason people buy consoles. Am I just misunderstanding you?
I find it perfectly acceptable if the game can no longer be bought from the publisher, other than that piracy is terrible and should be annihilated. Emulating Pokemon Collesseum isn't a bad thing since Nintendo won't remake it or put it up on VC and they no longer sell it. Now if someone was emulating something like Majora's Mask or Ocarina of Time, games that should rightfully be purchased either in remake form or VC, they should be reprimanded and forced to at least pay Nintendo for their "copy".
No surprise there since it is clearly stated that you can't make back up copies.
@Jayvir
Maybe not where you live, but here it is very much legal. One digitally dumped copy allowed for backup purposes in the United States.
I am one of those people who use flash carts, and not for illegal purposes. In fact I probably buy and own more games than most people on this site. The convenience is nice, yes, but it's also a way to patch English into a few select Japan only games (like Soma Bringer, all 7 Japan only Fire Emblem games, Tales of Innocence, etc), it provides a way to play DS games online again (since official servers are shut down), virtual save points, cheats if you so desire, and I'm sure there's more benefits as well.
It comes down to personal responsibility really. A person doesn't need a flash cart to emulate. There are emulators for every console and handheld under the sun out there and for free too- I can play DS games on my laptop right now if I wanted to. Many buy flash carts precisely because they don't illegally emulate. Because it does allow you to dump your own game.
@Einherjar
My rule is, I buy the game before I emulate it. And yes, Virtual Console does count. Owning the game is owning the game.
As for old games out of production that cannot be obtained without paying a large sum of money- here's my personal rule- I will personally commit to buy the game as soon as it releases on VC. Like Earthbound, for example. I bought it the day it released.
We support Nintendo and the devs. We don't cheat them out of money due them.
I can't blame Nintendo for what they're doing, but see, I won't use my cart on a 3DS anyways. I always wait until the gen is over- for example I modded my Wii and specifically bought a new DSi XL with flash cart. I won't touch my 3DS until next handheld is out. There's not really any fan-translated 3DS games I'm aware of anyways, and that's the number one purpose of my cart. The Wii on the other hand, was to avoid scratching my discs seeing as I collect and the Wii was horrible for scratching discs. Wii U is much better and discs much more durable. So I probably won't ever need to mod a home console again.
@JaxonH I know the rules of the road. In the UK you have absolutely zero rights to backup a video game. A lot of it is due to conflicting laws about the subject but as it stands you are not able to legally do so in the UK. Specifically mentioned in that rule is that you can backup up a PC game. Video games on any console, DVDs and CDs are completely illegal to back up.
In the US, it's not clear either considering the very rules state "computer programs" are entitled to one back-up for "archival purposes". I'm pretty sure if you are using a flash card, that's not exactly archival purposes. A big part of the problem in the US is that people don't dump their own cartridge, they simply download the ROM from a site. THAT is very illegal, even if you own the cartridge. The license exists only for your own cartridge.
Looks like Nintendy is a little upset about people backing up there games (something that is legal in every way) and playing games that aren't available to them because of stupid things such as region locking and Nintendo being lazy with the Virtual Console. You knew this was going to happen, Reggie. Instead of being a lazy jerk why don't you start releasing more Virtual Console games in make all Nintendo systems unregion locked. It sad to see some people will actually defend Nintendo for this. This is coming from a person that is the biggest Nintendo fanboy on the planet.
Oh pish posh. 99.99% of the people using those flashcards are filthy pirates who just wants to play games for free. Don't tell me otherwise and they deserve every bit of the ban.
Just watch it turn out to just be a glitch banning everyone
@Jayvir
Well right, a lot of people do download it. But is anyone really going to self righteously point a finger at someone for downloading a copy of a game they already purchased, even if it is technically illegal? I certainly wouldn't.
@Hy8ogen stereotyping much? If anything I seen I lot of people use these flashcards to get around region locking.
Bye bye "homebrewers"
@JaxonH, as @Jayvir said, those software backup laws are pretty specific. Also, Nintendo's terms of use have said from day one back ups are not permitted. I'm no lawyer so I don't know how terms of use stand up legally but....
@treeofmana
And again, who's really going to self righteously accuse another, or point a finger, at anyone who bought the game legally, regardless of what they do regarding emulation? Even if it is illegal, is anyone actually going to get on a high horse and condemn another for emulating a game they paid hard earned money for? I certainly would hope not
@Monado_III Before the 3DS came out, Nintendo was promising that consoles would be "bricked". Obviously, this turned out to be an empty threat, but I don't see why they couldn't get serious about it if they wanted to.
The age of homebrew 3ds begins with the New 3ds. Many will upgrade (for the second time) leaving a barely obsolete 3ds just lying around waiting to be tinkered with. Can't say Nintendo doesn't deserve it.
@Monado_III Youre not misunderstanding me, and since ever.
The PS1 got its biggest boost in sales once the Mod Chip came to life.
The original Xbox got second wind after it was discovered, that you could install games on it and boot them without a disc, and even the 360 got a giant boost in sales after it was modable.
People tend to buy consoles that are in some way modable to play pirated copies.
The best selling consoles are also the ones that were "cracked" pretty early.
Heck, it was the only lifeline the PSP had for most of its lifetime.
One of the biggest, most dedicated mod scenes ever.
Just look at Lumines for the PSP. Once the word was out, that it could be used as an exploit to softmod the system, it was sold out everywhere.
The modding scene was so big, talented and quick, that sony actually took the game down, instead of fixing the exploit in question since they couldnt keep up with them.
@JaxonH I honestly do believe those people exist. But 99.99% of the time they aren't. Also it's pretty hard for Nintendo to differentiate between those people. However, the bringing all your games in one cart argument is kinda invalid because there is digital download.
@Chaozrush21 That's possible. But again, you're doing what is not permitted in the first place. So if you got banned because of it you can't really point at Nintendo. Don't get me wrong, my hatred passion towards region locking is second to none, but utilizing hacks simply means you are account for the consequences.
@Hy8ogen
That was never my argument. Just a side benefit. My argument is I bought the game so I have the right to enjoy it how I wish. I'm allowed a backup, so I'll use it. Until the court sets a precedent otherwise that you can't actively use a backup here. Even then, I'd probably just disregard it and do it anyways tbh.
But I never blamed Nintendo for what they're doing. In fact I encourage it. Because those of us using them legally for games we own can still use the original copies for online if we want, or in my case, I don't even use it for 3DS games, just DS and earlier for Japanese games with English patches and games like DKC that I bought on Wii but can't play on a handheld yet, stuff like that. My cart stays in an offline only DSi bought specifically for this one function. Nintendo can block them all they want. That's good, because the ones using them on 3DS are statistically much more likely to be pirates. And I understand that exceptions should not be made on Nintendo's behalf just because a select few use flash carts responsibly. Not at all.
@theberrage too bad both 3DS's will most likely recieve the same updates
People who buy these things, and download ROMs of games normal people are buying, should be shot. It's no different than going to the store and stealing a loaf of bread. I work hard, oftentimes trying to make ends meet, while trying to put away expendable cash just to buy a 3DS game, while there's dishonest scumbags downloading them for free. I'm glad to hear of this online multiplayer ban, but now I'm looking forward to the announcement of the Nintendo Anti-Pirate Firing Squad to put and end to this crap.
@JaxonH Fair enough. If everyone were like you Nintendo wouldn't have to do all this. Imagine the amount of man power just to keep the 3DS secured. Those man power could have been used to make the next Metroid game.....
@Einherjar The PS4 hasn't been hacked yet. Apparently an jail break is coming in 2015 but still, over 10 million in sales and I'll grantee that over 90% of those people won't hack it. Only a minority will buy a console solely to pirate games on it, they'd normally wait on an emulator to be released instead.
@TruenoGT
Excellent post. It's a tough situation. All we can do is act responsibly ourselves really. I support whatever measures Nintendo takes against piracy, because I am comfortable in the knowledge that I most likely singlehandedly brought them back out of the red this past year (I kid I kid, but seriously I must've pre ordered and bought at least 40+ Nintendo games in 2014, friggin bank rollin off my dime lol)
@Hy8ogen
Agreed. As with anything else, there are a few who will act responsibly and a whole lot who won't. I will continue to support Nintendo and any anti piracy measures they enact, even though I myself do take advantage.
There's a lot of benefits for those who are responsible. I mean, who wouldn't want to play Fire Emblem Binding Blade GBA or Fire Emblem Heroes if Light (remake of FE3 and sequel to Shadow Dragon, 1st to incorporate a casual mode) in perfect English? Or Monolith Soft's Soma Bringer (Xenoblade developers) in English? Unfortunately very few are responsible, and see it as a free meal ticket which ruins it for the small minority.
Such is life.
Flash carts do really need to go, can't help but feel like they are the reason the pokemon bank got so effed up, and the best point raised in this convo is that digital downloads really do eliminate the ''all games in 1 cart'' lie some people try hide behind.
@Jayvir That instance isn't blocked. (Dumping your own cart has the same headers).
@Chaozrush21 Yes, let's copy money too while we're at it. After all, the government is so inconvenient these days, so it's justified
Oh, and if you're using the legal card, it's perfectly legal for Nintendo to ban you from using its services.
@Einherjar At the same time, hardware sales don't mean crap if they don't have software sales to match. Piracy as a hardware booster doesn't mean anything to the publishers
who cares about anybody playing roms of games from the last generation or even earlier? i mean seriously, who is that really hurting? nintendo is just lashing out like a jealous child and it will accomplish ultimately nothing since anyone who uses roms will just find another way or another console. sadly that may also mean that they shelve the 3DS for good too, so way to go nintendo, alienate your installed fanbase, great idea.
the whole war on piracy is pointless, its just bothersome at best and utterly ineffective. nintendo is losing basically no money except what they waste on trying to do the impossible.
@ouroborous Except you completely missed the point. There are ROMs for the 3DS.
Also, alienate the fanbase? You mean the fanbase that refused to pay for games in the first place? Why should Nintendo even give a crap about them?
@ouroborous I don't recall being able to play last gen games on any console, Nintendo Wi-Fi connection is dead. These are new games, and with free online multiplayer subsidized through things like software sales, yeah, they're gonna get banned. I'm only surprised this didn't happen sooner.
Okay almost completely unrelated but if you read the terms of service agreement for dark souls 2 there's a stipulation stating you're allowed to create 1 digital backup of the game, I thought that was pretty interesting, made me curious who else allows that 1 backup.
excellent news. This is a nother block to people who may want to cheat online.
On the other hand, I hope this wont block when playing with friends, as Mario kart 7 custom tracks are close to being a reality.
What do I think? I think people getting penalized for doing something they weren't supposed to be doing shouldn't even be an issue.
Don't see how this will help nintendo in the long run. I mean if they are pirating new games they haven't paid for how exactly would banning fix it when it wont recuperate thier costs other then draining thier money further going after them
Nintendo spends money on combating piracy, money that will not ever see a return on investment. Steam and Netflix make money on satisfying a market of otherwise honest consumers who just want convenient, fairly priced products.
Almost no one would be downloading illegal ROMs on their 3DSs if Nintendo just made them available and priced them right.
Is this affecting "loadcode.projectpokemon.org"? (if you know what I mean)
@Gridatttack All the proper cheat stuff only works on 4.5 anyway.
If the data transfer to the n3DS goes well i might see what i can do with my old model which i'll probably give away to my pops. He's not interested in playing the newest games or online so it should probably work just fine.
@Monado_III So...you take an 8th generation console as the sole example why it isnt the case ? Not even the president knows why the system sells that well, nobody does, as there is absolutely no reason for it.
No noteworthy features, next to no exclusive games.
Beats me why this brick is selling so well, but it sure doesnt serve as the one argument to debunk mine
Good. They deserve the ban-hammer for doing that.
@TingLz Tell that to the devs whining about the fabled "install base"
At least it's very clear - Nobody Likes Pirates. . .
If you're gonna play any illegal roms of any system, don't use it on that specific platform especially one that had online connectivity and is still active with updates. Just power up your PC and play there, of course don't be surprise if you get a visit from the authority either.
Why do I read the comments on these articles, they're always awful. "Those pirates deserve what they got!!!"
yeah please stop.
Online ban is probably the easiest way to tackle the problem. Bricking systems could go horribly wrong and affect users who aren't using flashcarts.
"Naturally, there are some stating that they simply use their flashcard for convenience, only dumping ROMS from their own copies so that have their whole library with them on one cart. Be that as it may, that's still technically against the rules, and some - not all - in the ROM hacking community seem spooked enough that they'll be staying away from playing these copies online."
That was fine by me for last gen, when having roms was the only alternative to be carrying around dozens of gamekarts. Know it just sounds like a weak-tea excuse for piracy. If you want convenience, visit the e-shop, trust me it works just fine (which maybe the reason folks don't seem to be getting banned from the e-shop )
Other than that, well done Nintendo.
@treeofmana it's irrelevant whether the EULA is legally binding or not.
if you break a law, you can be taken to court.
if you break a EULA you can be denied service.
banning someone from online play is a form of denying service.
The same mechanism could end up banning loads of people who unknowingly buy a bootleg Pokemon cartridge in the future.
@Commie
Too many do-gooders here who feel like Nintendo is their close friend they need to defend.
"in this case is simply a proxy for a block"
If its only proxy it can be broken pretty easy.
And as someone stated above each game card got something that you can say unique cd-key (even your digitall copy).
So they are pretty dumb if they use pirate game and play it online.
I wonder if any who dumped they original card got blocked.
Also as someone stated above:
Is this blockade will not block any original users?
And as i said before in other topic/thread on this forum:
"Piracy kill one "thing". Person who use it. You got many games. So many that you dont really enjoy/get fun any of it"
LOL, that picture!
@MasterBlaster well yeah, but the underlying ideology is even more concerning. It undermines any form of critical thinking. I'm not talking about, as my profile would suggest, a broad critique of capitalism (where one has to have a broader outlook on piracy), but merely a critique of Nintendo's business practices. Newell said that piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem (even thou, for Nintendo, eshop prices are an issue). What I mean to say, you aren't going to solve anything by building bigger walls.
One should really realize not everybody is living in the same conditions as he or she is. I mean being a gamer in Brazil is a bit different than being a gamer in Europe. It's not all about income either. This is way more complicated to dumb it down to legality or "morality".
@Einherjar
Why do people keep saying that pirating is the number one system seller like that actually means anything. Software is where the profit is. Hardware only provides small if any profit at all. If the software (games) keeps getting stolen, then the developers stop making it. if the developers stop making software, then why would you buy the hardware. So in actual fact, good software is a system seller not pirating.
@Jayvir
In regards to backups, its considered legal, as long as your not circumventing any sort of security (i.e. DRM). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's the case in the UK as well. Thats what makes backing up CDs and DVDs illegal in the first place, most have some sort if encryption.
As for piracy, interestingly, pirates apparently also spend the most money. Basically, its a case of being huge media junkies. Not to say that justifies it, but its interesting, and rather ironic.
http://torrentfreak.com/0-more-on-content-than-honest-consumers-130510/
my heart goes out to those banned... JK!!! X)
Enlighten me. Why is it okay to steal? (Rhetorical question)
I am willing to bet that 95 percent minimum of the people screaming "Hang the blessed pirate!" download music or movies.
If you do, STFU.
Unfortunately most people can only play one 3DS at a time.
Unfortunately if you bought the 3ds, the xL , and New 3ds you can have your Downloads only on one system. So essentially you have paid 600$ for your 3ds but can only use one. I have no sympathy for poor lil Nintendo as they are just as guilty of thievery .
I bought DKC trilogy SNES for Wii VC. My system became corrupt and I had to redownload everything. Guess what? These games were removed from Wii Shop. So Nintendo has 24$ from me and I have nothing for it. For the people asking for harsh punishments for the heinous act of playing a rom, I dare you to live a little. Maybe do something CRAZY like rip off the tag from your mattress.
@megamanlink
"If the software (games) keeps getting stolen, then the developers stop making it."
Piracy has been rampant in console video gaming since for well over a decade now.
Can you please give me one example of a developer that has stopped making games due to piracy? And I'm not talking about some tiny bedroom studio, I'm talking about those big powerful developers that are most affected by people stealing their games. Nintendo, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Capcom, somebody of that stature.
What game developer has gone out of business because of piracy?
@letsplay
Have you ever torrented a movie or a song?
Have you ever snuck into a movie theater?
Have you ever hidden inside a shipping container to take a trans-atlantic journey by boat?
If you have done any of the above, you have no moral ground to try and shame people who use emulators or roms/isos.
Ike's victory pose from Smash Bros:"You'll get no sympathy for me!"
@MasterBlaster Spare the crap and post elsewhere. I don't like piracy or pirates, so I will post about them as I please.
@TingLz we bow to your righteousness
Awesome, good job Nintendo!
I gave up with 3DS flashcards a while ago, it was getting to infuriating fighting the firmware updates.
@Monado_III Dreamcast sold a lot of consoles because you could basically download every game out there for it. Xbox and Xbox 360 got a lot of hardware sales from people that would "Mod" their console to play the pirated stuff. Even the Wii had a large group of "modders" that used their console to do all sorts of shenanigans.
It is simply a "feature" that a certain group of people look for in their console purchasing decisions.
@theberrage I sense flattery or sarcasm...either way I like it
@Darknyht As I said before, hardware sales alone don't mean squat to Microsoft. They want software sales to go with those hardware sales. If the consumers don't buy games, then Microsoft won't make much money from those sales anyway.
@TingLz
I don't even remember addressing you. Sorry you got offended though!
Well maybe if Nintendo released said games that users are "pirating" this wouldn't be such a problem. I mean, there is a reason why people are doing it.
@TingLz God you're so butthurt over this.
@Jayvir "Even if you own the original cart, you are not entitled to backups. It's piracy either way."
No, that's not piracy. The right to backup personal copies of games one buys is one of the tenets of DRM-free policy. It is also one of the tenets of copyleft, and open source projects. Many modern companies simply choose to reject those policies, even though it is viable to become DRM-free. (One example of a modern company that does, in fact, explicitly state that the customers do and should have the right to backup their games for personal use is GoG.com.)
The only reason why we, the customers, would not be guaranteed the right to back up our files is because of the dodgy legal jargon in Terms of Use Agreements, many of which often attempt to circumvent other ownership laws, including the USA's First Sale Doctrine. (Also including some prominent ones in the EU, of which do in fact state the right to back up personal copies of digital files. Those laws might not necessarily apply in the UK, but those laws do apply in Germany or Poland, for example.)
The most effective way to dissolve the rights of the people is to act as if we have none at all. Hand-outs and Entitlements are not the same thing as Hand-ups and Rights.
@TingLz You wouldn't happen to have stocks in Nintendo, would you? Their survival is their responsibility, not yours.
I don't agree with the use of flash carts for pirating, either, but if modding my Wii and PSP has taught me anything, it is that these companies purposely do not unlock the full potential of their consoles. Who would have known the Wii's disc drive was fully capable of playing DVD movies, but Nintendo disabled access to the feature somewhere along the way for some arbitrary reason? Who would have known that the PSP was more of a multimedia powerhouse than it seemed at first, during a time predating smartphones? There have been some amazing stuff produced by independently operating people over time.
We're heading towards a more connected world, and shutting down people who do awesome stuff that doesn't necessarily agree with corporate policy isn't going to do much good in the future. Not everyone is in it for the money.
@megamanlink No one talked about profit. I was talking about selling systems, not making profit through software sales.
And if you think that this isnt important, please tell that to all these devs, whining about a low "install base"
@PlywoodStick
Wasn't the DVD playback blocked cause Nintendo didn't want to pay the money for the licensing? And hell Sony locked down the speed of the psp in their games for I think was a power saving method. Dude I was shocked a Nintendo DS could play media back via a flash cart. A lot of things people do with hacking these systems dwarfs just piracy as a "feature", but people seem to be self righteous and feel like blanket shaming anyone who has a magic battery. But hey how many of you played Mother 3? And to those that said yes how many used the patch? And if you said yes and don't have the jp cart then you have no room to judge here.
@PlywoodStick
Wasn't the DVD playback blocked cause Nintendo didn't want to pay the money for the licensing? And hell Sony locked down the speed of the psp in their games for I think was a power saving method. Dude I was shocked a Nintendo DS could play media back via a flash cart. A lot of things people do with hacking these systems dwarfs just piracy as a "feature", but people seem to be self righteous and feel like blanket shaming anyone who has a magic battery. But hey how many of you played Mother 3? And to those that said yes how many used the patch? And if you said yes and don't have the jp cart then you have no room to judge here.
"Nintendo's activities in targeting those playing illegal ROMs appears to have stepped up to assessing online sessions... In over ten cases the trends match up - they've been playing ROM copies of games online, and now they've lost the ability to play any game online, legal or otherwise."
This would not only entail accessing online sessions, because if that were all Nintendo was doing, it would be easy enough for the end user to spoof their connection. How would one know the end user is on a flash cart if the data stream being sent has been programmed to be the same as an official cart?
If this is the case, then this alludes to Nintendo directly and covertly accessing end users' personal machines, then injecting code to intercept the end users' connection. Either the code just records the end users' settings and credentials, then leaves the end users' system, or... it sticks around on the end users' machine, acting as a form of malware.
If the former is the case, then it's reminiscent of tracker software that is so often used these days in advertising and security (e.g. Google Analytics, various research beacons, spiders, etc). If the latter is the case, then... I think that could potentially be grounds for legal action, based on directly tampering with an end users' property.
I'm not sure which of the two is the case, but I hope for the sake of the workers at Nintendo it is the former, since that method is a legal option to track their end users, even if it is not necessarily morally just. The latter would have more dire implications...
@Jayvir
you know that when you copy data from the 3DS to new 3DS via a computer as in the official instruction video. you copy the contents of your SD card including games to your PC`s desktop. i sure hope Nintendo wont ban me from playing online for doing that
You stinky filthx pirates. Those developers got a job to do and a life to feed, just like the hundred thousand breeding and cutting swine for you.
Get faced with it & Pay for it!
Edit: No, I'm not that bad. In reality I think everything should be free for everyone. And everything created should be accessible for the ones interested, just because it was created. but as long as we live in this prehisoric monetary system we have to pay if we want to support. And anything we pay for is a support for them blooming in the industry.
@Arehexes "Wasn't the DVD playback blocked cause Nintendo didn't want to pay the money for the licensing?"
That's possible. Although, it is interesting to note that contrary to the Gamecube, it would seem there was a point when Nintendo's engineers intended the Wii to offer DVD playback. Otherwise, the disc drive would not be natively capable of playing DVD's with softmods.
"And hell Sony locked down the speed of the psp in their games for I think was a power saving method."
That does seem to be the case, but the default speed still messed with the code on some of their games. (e.g. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions had lots of slowdown, but softmod patching the game's code to calibrate properly, instead of with the default speed, fixes the problem.)
"Dude I was shocked a Nintendo DS could play media back via a flash cart."
I'm still amazed that the GBA was able to play back almost an hour of video in a single cart, even if it is low resolution.
"A lot of things people do with hacking these systems dwarfs just piracy as a "feature", but people seem to be self righteous and feel like blanket shaming anyone who has a magic battery."
Yeah, and the irony of that self-righteousness is that it doesn't even serve them. I never got around to making a magic battery, I've just been using softmod methods. I'd like to try that magic battery project some day, though! I'd also like to replace the ancient antenna in the PSP, so it can be a radio!
"But hey how many of you played Mother 3? And to those that said yes how many used the patch? And if you said yes and don't have the jp cart then you have no room to judge here."
Yep, pretty much, I bet there's some guilty people here... I wouldn't do that, though... COUGH...
@SKTTR "You stinky, FILTHY pirates! Those developers got a job to do and lives to feed, just like the hundred thousand breeding and cutting swine for you.
Get faced with it & Pay for it!"
Lol, I laughed when I imagined that being said by a belligerent queen's voice.
@Zombie_Barioth Thank you, I was trying to find that article.
I don't know anyone, excluding myself, that has soft-modded their Wii or vWii, heck, I don't know anyone who has soft-modded anything other than an iPhone. I didn't buy my Wii U just for homebrew, but to play games. And because I was able to get Xenoblade without giving $100 to EB Games or some guy one eBay (notice how either way, Nintendo get $0 from my purchase), I now fully intend to get XCX. And if I was going to get a n3ds I would buy XC on there as well.
You guys all know that pirates that have been banned have been able to get back online in a matter of minutes or hours, right? I mean, having morals makes you all kinda dumb.
I can understand people wanting their entire game library in one easy-to-access location, but flashcards like these are too easily used for illegal ROMs and hacking. It's not wonder Nintendo is looking for ways to shut it down, and so they should.
@Blaine I know, didn't it have something to do with people using public headers on the ROMs? I was an easy fix for people who weren't yet banned.
*It, not I.
@Vriess actually, this only applies to people who were using flash carts. Homebrewers are uneffected.
@Monado_III Your kinda right, but they are all using the same tool to do it. Its easy to get a private or a public header and use it in the same way. Litterally 80 percent of the bans do not matter and have not effected anyone.
@TingLz Wow. lol
Grab the torches and pitchforks! Let's get them dirty pirates!
@Trapleton Aren't homebrewers using flashcards then?
Hmm, what should I do, spend upwards of $250 to import a Japanese 3DS and ONE game, or $70 for a flash card that lets me play from any region? I don't have money to burn, so of course I would choose a flash card if I wanted to play Japanese games.
Nintendo needs to wake up and do away with their draconian region-locking nonsense.
As much as I understand game devs on topic of piracy, some guys in comments here push it waaay too far.
First, game pricing. I mean, c'mon, paying 30-60$ for a game I might not even like? What am I supposed to do? There are some countries where Nintendo community is scarce, so no option to trade/resell. The games themselves are pretty rare to come by, save for ordering off eBay, for example. And here comes Nintendo's region lock, God forbid getting US game for my European 3ds.
I'd rather have them charge 500$ for console but cut game prices and remove region lock. Until then, I'll be using ROMs as much as I want (no hacks/cheats though, that would tale out all the fun)
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