The Tokyo District Court granted an injunction yesterday against sales of the R4 DS cartridge in Japan.
The original lawsuit was filed last July, when Nintendo and 54 game companies, including Capcom, Square Enix, SEGA and more, pushed for the cease of marketing, sales and importation of the Chinese-made cartridges.
Nintendo had expressed an interest in the cart in Nov. 2007, when a spokesman said the company is “keeping a close eye on the products and studying them.”
The “R4 Revolution for DS” cartridge is a hollow shell that fits into the Nintendo DS cartridge slot. By placing data onto a Micro SD card and placing it inside the R4 cart, gamers can play pirated and homebrew software on their Nintendo DS systems.
R4 is advertised in some Japanese stores with signs stating “New R4 shipment has finally arrived! You know what it does! Absolutely no questions will be answered concerning this product” and “Guaranteed for one week only! Of course, we can’t explain what the R4 will do.”
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SoldierHawk
Moderator
Title: Warrior-Poet
Joined: Jan 15 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 6113
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 01:25 am
When R4s are criminalized, only criminals will have R4s.
Seriously, I doubt this will slow the sales much at all. People will just become sneakier about it.
It's a product that seems to have no purpose other than to pirate copyrighted software.
This isn't shocking in the least.
For the record, they're not "illegal" yet. The injunction simply stops them from being sold while the case is heard. Unless Japanese courts are worlds different from ours, though, it's a bad sign for whoever makes these things...courts do NOT grant these kinds of injunctions unless they're pretty sure the requesting side is gonna win.
But yeah, R4s are out of date and there are plenty of other types of flashcarts. Not to mention making them illegal, won't do jack to all of the online retailers. Trying to beat the pirating community is like trying to beat a small mound of ants that all regenerate and have enough armor to withstand getting sucked into a black hole. It's small, but incredibly resilient.
Knyte
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Posted:
Mar 09 2009 01:26 pm
Yeah, stopping R4s will stop DS piracy.
Just, like stopping Bleem!, stopped people from playing pirated Playstation games.
JoshWoodzy
Joined: May 22 2008
Location: Goshen, VA
Posts: 6544
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 01:28 pm
Wow, Bleem. I forgot all about that shit. Did anyone hear ever buy it?
tuddy
Title: can't defeat AirMan
Joined: Oct 11 2008
Location: The UK
Posts: 97
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 04:07 pm
Mr. Bomberman wrote:
And emulators. Lots of 'em.
I don't give a fuck about the R4 anymore for 2 reasons:
1. The original team has already been disbanded, and there was literally no support or software updates since last year.
2. There are much more DS flashcards than the R4, and they're all better than it.
True, I only have an R4 now because I'm way too lazy and stingy to get a Cyclo DS or Acekard or something. That, and the YSMenu custom firmware is actually updated, so pretty much everything still works, if you're willing to compile YSMenu.
DarknessDeku
Title: Deku Scrub
Joined: Dec 08 2007
Location: The Forest
Posts: 3285
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 05:43 pm
I bought an R4 chip a month ago, but it's falling apart already. What a ripoff.
i'll_bite_your_ear wrote:
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Mr. Bomberman
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Posted:
Mar 09 2009 06:38 pm
DarknessDeku wrote:
I bought an R4 chip a month ago, but it's falling apart already. What a ripoff.
Probably 'cause it's a knockoff. A fake. And they make wayyy too many of those these days.
I've had mine for about a year, and never had a single problem with it. The only issue I had, was FFIII didn't work when it came out, but I just had to download an update and all was well.
It was one of the first non-pass through, all-in-one devices to come out. Is there better now? Sure. Does that mean that the R4 is useless now? Nope.
A 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé may have the finest of technology and comfort you can find in a car, but just because it just come out, doesn't mean the 2007 model is now crap. (And, personally I would rather have a 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III.)
Ba'al
Title: Zerg Zergling
Joined: Mar 02 2008
Location: Uranus
Posts: 2286
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 06:47 pm
I don't hate it, I just called it out of date.
DarknessDeku
Title: Deku Scrub
Joined: Dec 08 2007
Location: The Forest
Posts: 3285
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 07:12 pm
Mr. Bomberman wrote:
DarknessDeku wrote:
I bought an R4 chip a month ago, but it's falling apart already. What a ripoff.
Probably 'cause it's a knockoff. A fake. And they make wayyy too many of those these days.
This is the kind I got:
Knyte wrote:
What's everyone's hate on the R4?
I don't hate it, I like it but it is cheaply made and falling apart.
i'll_bite_your_ear wrote:
DarknessDeku is already assimilated by the bots.
He knows your algorithm.
Optimist With Doubts
Title: Titlating
Joined: Dec 17 2007
Posts: 5042
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 07:53 pm
that's one of the rip offs deku, the real r4s just said r4 on the box
chicksdigit56
Title: I PWN at EarthBound!
Joined: Mar 05 2009
Location: A place
Posts: 5
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 08:12 pm
That's really all I gotta say. Most things like this are only used for pirating not much people look at the homebrew. If you do then props but it's only my opinion.
username
Title: owner of a lonely heart
Joined: Jul 06 2007
Location: phoenix, az usa
Posts: 16135
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 10:26 pm
hmm, i was thinking of getting an R4 but it seems it'll be a bit tougher now. and from what you guys are saying, i should probably get something else. any recommendations? i just got my DS back after my friend 'borrowed' it for ages.
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DarknessDeku
Title: Deku Scrub
Joined: Dec 08 2007
Location: The Forest
Posts: 3285
Posted:
Mar 09 2009 10:59 pm
username wrote:
hmm, i was thinking of getting an R4 but it seems it'll be a bit tougher now. and from what you guys are saying, i should probably get something else. any recommendations? i just got my DS back after my friend 'borrowed' it for ages.
Look for an M3.
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DarknessDeku is already assimilated by the bots.
He knows your algorithm.
IceWarm
Joined: Dec 22 2008
Location: Breckenridge, Colorado
Posts: 1691
Posted:
Mar 10 2009 12:57 am
Bleem! sucked...Connectix Virtual Game Station was so much better.
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Andrew Man
Title: Is a Funklord
Joined: Jan 30 2007
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Posted:
Mar 10 2009 12:59 am
I agree with IceWarm here, Bleem! was rather unimpressive.
That's really all I gotta say. Most things like this are only used for pirating not much people look at the homebrew. If you do then props but it's only my opinion.
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Mr. Bomberman
2009 Forum Champion
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Posted:
Mar 10 2009 11:47 am
A flashcard runs you about 30-40 bucks, which is the price of a premium DS game. Plus, you have to pay extra for the MicroSD card depending on the size and brand.
DarknessDeku wrote:
username wrote:
hmm, i was thinking of getting an R4 but it seems it'll be a bit tougher now. and from what you guys are saying, i should probably get something else. any recommendations? i just got my DS back after my friend 'borrowed' it for ages.
Look for an M3.
Yeah, the M3 Real is your best bet here. Got one last summer and never looked back. Plays music and videos too.
