AfterDawn: News

Nintendo sues distributors of R4 device

Nintendo, along with 54 other companies, have launched an extensive new lawsuit against the makers and distributors of the R4 Revolution device that allows for playback of ROMS on the Nintendo DS.

The popular R4 device is a flash cart and MicroSD adapter that allows user to install the custom Moonshell software on their DS and then load ROMS onto the MicroSD card and play them back on the handheld. The R4 bypasses all Nintendo firmwares and loads the Moonshell allowing the game playback as well as music, movies and even classic system emulators.



Although the R4 can run all sorts of homebrew, most use it exclusively to play pirated games, and Nintendo has noticed. The new lawsuit hopes to stop the manufacturing and distribution of the R4 and among the companies supporting Nintendo are SNK, Capcom, Square Enix, Tecmo and The Pokemon Company.

Nintendo says the R4 is "causing severe damage to our company and software makers, and this is something that we cannot possibly overlook."

The suit was filed in the Tokyo District Court and is using the Unfair Competition Prevention Law as its legal basis.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2008 15:25

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• 34 comments

• core2kid

  Nintendo's way to get back money from the lost lawsuit about the controllers?

  29.7.2008 15:40 #1

• weedude99

  I don't understand why they have decided to focus on one of the many flashcarts. Even if they get the r4 manufacturing stopped what about TT,N5,Firecard,M3 etc?

  29.7.2008 15:47 #2

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by weedude99: I don't understand why they have decided to focus on one of the many flashcarts. Even if they get the r4 manufacturing stopped what about TT,N5,Firecard,M3 etc?They have chosen the R4 because it is one of the biggest and most popular and if they can win against the most popular, the others will have no chance in court.

  29.7.2008 15:57 #3

• dragnandy

  took them long enough. the R4 is great though. =P but the M3 simply/M3 real cards are just as big as the R4, could have sued them too.

  29.7.2008 16:11 #4

• SProdigy

  Nintendo really needs to take the precedent set by these "pirate/homebrew" flash carts and come up with their own solution. Ideally, the DS is supposed to be portable, but what about carrying around 10-20 game cards, when I could just fit all those ROMS on an SD card? Talk about an inconvenience.
  
  It could be as easy as an iTunes store. Yeah, we are talking about DRM, but in no worse way than the VC store on the Wii is setup. Plus we won't be getting raped $30-$35 for games.
  
  These flash carts wouldn't be so widespread if it weren't for the loads of crap games that cost so much. Outside of GameFly, do rental chains carry DS titles?

  29.7.2008 16:19 #5

• b18bek9

  didnt nintendo come out with there own device like this to play movies on your DS lol funny i think.

  29.7.2008 16:20 #6

• ThePastor

  So let me get this straight. Nintendo is saying that you do not have the right to use their hardware in any way which suits you?
  Next they'll be saying you're not allowed to install your own OS or any non-approved software.
  This is no different than the Iphone saying that you cannot "unlock" their phones.
  I hope they lose this because this would be a very bad precident.

  29.7.2008 17:59 #7

• core2kid

  Originally posted by ThePastor: So let me get this straight. Nintendo is saying that you do not have the right to use their hardware in any way which suits you?
  Next they'll be saying you're not allowed to install your own OS or any non-approved software.
  This is no different than the Iphone saying that you cannot "unlock" their phones.
  I hope they lose this because this would be a very bad precident.
  Basically what Sony says about the PSP but have failed in stopping it.

  29.7.2008 18:05 #8

• Ankoku

  "So let me get this straight. Nintendo is saying that you do not have the right to use their hardware in any way which suits you?"---
  
  Companies have always said this, from WAY back...but I don't blame the company, they want to make money and part of their revenue is being disrupted by people not having to buy their product...I hope they win...I hate piracy [Slides PS2 Magic Slide under carpet] lol

  29.7.2008 18:10 #9

• lxfactor

  i didnt know that existed! im buying a DS tomorrow. =D

  29.7.2008 18:14 #10

• ikari

  Originally posted by ThePastor: So let me get this straight. Nintendo is saying that you do not have the right to use their hardware in any way which suits you?
  Next they'll be saying you're not allowed to install your own OS or any non-approved software.
  This is no different than the Iphone saying that you cannot "unlock" their phones.
  I hope they lose this because this would be a very bad precident.I am sure if nobody was using it to play pirated games but music and movies Nintendo wouldn't care. It is the pirated games that they and the other companies are worried about. And it is a wee bit different from the iPhone "unlocking" fiasco in that regard.

  29.7.2008 18:21 #11

• varnull

  they tried this before and lost. The devices in themselves are completely legal. You can't ban cars because some people choose to use them for illegal purposes.
  Tendo can't see that their machines sell more because of devices like this. Every console so far has seen a leap in sales when it has been cracked.
  

  
  
  Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. OOps.. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/25/...es_dead_hurrah/

  29.7.2008 18:24 #12

• Mik3h

  I recently purchased one of these second hand, but I do understand where Nintendo are coming from, countless games can be downloaded (and are also relatively small) and can be played on the cart, with over 10 on at a time think how much money they lose this way (I wouldn't actually buy them anywway if these didn't exist, well maybe second hand) but it's still unfair.

  29.7.2008 18:27 #13

• aj123

  Originally posted by ThePastor: So let me get this straight. Nintendo is saying that you do not have the right to use their hardware in any way which suits you?
  Next they'll be saying you're not allowed to install your own OS or any non-approved software.
  This is no different than the Iphone saying that you cannot "unlock" their phones.
  I hope they lose this because this would be a very bad precident.lol, Nintendo didn't sell their hardware to have people play pirated games on it. This is the whole point of the lawsuit, to prevent pirated roms.

  29.7.2008 22:32 #14

• Joshewah

  Originally posted by varnull: they tried this before and lost. The devices in themselves are completely legal. You can't ban cars because some people choose to use them for illegal purposes.
  Tendo can't see that their machines sell more because of devices like this. Every console so far has seen a leap in sales when it has been cracked.Amen.

  29.7.2008 22:47 #15

• DoomLight

  never seen this R4 adapter. so i call BS on this lawsuit
  cause if the piracy was so rampant i think i woulda seen
  another person with a DS running custom firmware.
  
  maybe nintendo should whine about this so much if this
  R4 helps them boast large numbers sold.
  
  my only thing is. if i was a DS fanboy i'd prolly get the R4
  cause carrying a crapload of DS games is a pain. when u can prolly
  fit 20 of them on a 8 gig SD card.

  30.7.2008 00:20 #16

• isaacbomb

  Originally posted by DoomLight: i'd prolly get the R4
  cause carrying a crapload of DS games is a pain. when u can prolly
  fit 20 of them on a 8 gig SD card.i have an m3 real with a 4gb and i have over 50 of my personally owned & Personally backed up gba/nds games and i have 75> songs
  it can fit alot i think i still have at least 1-2 gigs left
  
  and yeah carrying them around was a pain just imagine being on a long trip on a plane and carrying around like 20 gba games in your pocket -_- it really sucks thats why i bought the card i didnt like carrying all my pokemon games in my pocket. plus the added homebrew/video/emulator/aim/yim/mim/linux/built in cheat device is a great plus

  30.7.2008 01:16 #17

• ZippyDSM

  I am sorry but my fair use rights over stretch your copy right, you may go after rom sellers and download sites but the device them self is fair use, so fck off.

  30.7.2008 02:05 #18

• ThePastor

  Quote:Originally posted by ThePastor: So let me get this straight. Nintendo is saying that you do not have the right to use their hardware in any way which suits you?
  Next they'll be saying you're not allowed to install your own OS or any non-approved software.
  This is no different than the Iphone saying that you cannot "unlock" their phones.
  I hope they lose this because this would be a very bad precident.I am sure if nobody was using it to play pirated games but music and movies Nintendo wouldn't care. It is the pirated games that they and the other companies are worried about. And it is a wee bit different from the iPhone "unlocking" fiasco in that regard.
  How is it diffferent? It's a HARDWARE device, not a license to use software. The R4 does not contain any illegal software and there are countless legitamate uses for it, as several have already pointed out in this thread. What this is really about is Nintendo trying to lock you out of non-licensed software so they can make their buck. Just like Apple trying to force you to use their carrier at their inflated monopolistic prices.
  
  If I owned one of these machines and wanted to completely delete any software on it and install all of my own software it is of NO concern to Nintendo, any more than it is DELL's business what software I install on my home PC.
  
  The only possible argument they could have here is that they could suggest that the majority of users of these devices are using it to use illegal software and as such the device could be seen as primarily a criminal tool. But this is MUCH harder to prove and the standards are MUCH higher. All it would take to defeat this argument is a couple of hundred people like the poster above explaining how they use the device in a legitamate manor.

  30.7.2008 15:07 #19

• SProdigy

  Amen Pastor!

  30.7.2008 16:32 #20

• rebekaeve

  Ah - i work in marketing and there is a BIG win/win situation with piracy in general because it is an informal or grass roots way of sampling. In the long run, users will purchase software or music that was once stolen.
  
  If I could afford to buy everything I was interested in I still wouldn't unless I gave it a test drive... How many of you have bought albums or games, before you learned how to 'borrow' from the peer network, and regretted it because it licked?
  
  In Nintendo's case - they will not win due to personal copyright laws. We are all allowed to back-up our DVD collection so why not our game collection? My son has a DS and is constantly losing the games since they are so small. I would love a way to save them all and have him only use the one card!
  

  i wish i could marry my ):computer:(

  31.7.2008 03:25 #21

• psplvanub

  shit, where can i get these cards, ebay?
  ill order 1 today!!!!

  31.7.2008 05:12 #22

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by psplvanub: shit, where can i get these cards, ebay?
  ill order 1 today!!!!
  No.....
  Ebay wont even carry import playing devices 0_o

  31.7.2008 05:23 #23

• Iecur

  Originally posted by varnull: they tried this before and lost. The devices in themselves are completely legal. You can't ban cars because some people choose to use them for illegal purposes.
  Tendo can't see that their machines sell more because of devices like this. Every console so far has seen a leap in sales when it has been cracked.
  You know I remember reading a few years back that console makers actually lose money for each console sold. This being because they sell them for a cheaper price than the cost to manufacture them. So, what you are saying is that this is no more correct ? Hmm..I have been out of the gaming loop for quite some time it seems. Well, either that or they are getting screwed when people crack the consoles. Anyone know the answer to this ?
  
  Also, my opinion on this is mixed. I own one and I have basically just stuck with the games that I already own as to not be required to lug them all around. But I have heard of many that have just bought a DS and an R4 type device and then never bought a single game. I can see both sides of this argument and whilst it would be a nice win for them I doubt that they will. As others have already mentioned the reasons for this.

  6.8.2008 04:06 #24

• turtlegod

  Hi I'm rather new to this forum been reading a lot and you guys have always been able to help me I am now posting my first comment
  
  The r4 is a spectacular device which allows we the consumers to determine wether or not something is worth buying if you watch a movie in the theaters and like it you will probably want to get the movie on dvd this is no different if you try a game first and you like it you will buy the original so you dont have the glitches of the copy plain and simple what nintendo is doing is just a classic case of wanting to only be able to work with their technology
  
  Verizon Apple and now Nintendo all trying to get their money they think they deserve even though console sales are still strong would you believe that when the ds came out it was almost $200 and now it has gone down maybe $50 bucks the Ps3's have gone down more than that and this just says that the demand for portable gameage is that high
  
  I hope I didnt ramble for too long like I said this is my first one and I hope you liked it

  6.8.2008 11:32 #25

• AUDIOMIND

  Hadn't heard about the R4 until now. Anyone have a link? Any other solutions?

  6.8.2008 18:47 #26

• Shifty_1

  If I have a legal game cartridge that I bought and I can plug it into my behind and play it without their system, then far as I'm concerned its legal. Don't make the game ROMs separate if they don't like! Reverse engineering rules!

  6.8.2008 20:02 #27

• IguanaC64

  Actually, the console manufacturers are set up to lose money when systems first come out. There is a point when you are sure you'll be able to sell them that you can increase quantities to bring costs down. Also, the prices on the components come down constantly during production runs on these things.
  
  In short, there is a point where they should not be losing money on the consoles and shouldn't need the licensing fees paid by game manufacturers to make a profit on the base unit.
  
  All that being said, I don't know Nintendo's numbers on these things.

  6.8.2008 21:20 #28

• wetsparks

  Got to love all the excuses people on this forum have come up with to justify stealing a game.

  6.8.2008 23:49 #29

• PrinceFX

  big deal !!! who cares abt the sukking DS neways...

  7.8.2008 09:29 #30

• AUDIOMIND

  Originally posted by wetsparks: Got to love all the excuses people on this forum have come up with to justify stealing a game.Your proof?

  7.8.2008 14:24 #31

• rstateman

  Originally posted by AUDIOMIND: Hadn't heard about the R4 until now. Anyone have a link? Any other solutions?Um,man.ive come here just to SPAM you with irrelevant sweatshop-made CRAP

  19.8.2009 21:25 #32

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by wetsparks: Got to love all the excuses people on this forum have come up with to justify stealing a game.
  The problem is you can't equate it with stealing because it dose not do direct damage.
  
  IMO shearing,copying,backups,modchips,copy circumvention thee are all natural parts of the media industry that much like weeds can never be removed no matter what you do. You can however marginalize it instead of trying to bomb 100 acres with napalm and defoliant and a Abomb just to remove the dandelions....

  19.8.2009 21:30 #33

• AUDIOMIND

  STOP charging $20-$30 for a single cartridge game. That price is ridiculous. Maybe then the tide of R4 will slow. Until then get over it.

  20.8.2009 17:27 #34