ELSPA considers legal action against R4 cards

[Darksaviour69]

ELSPA considers legal action against rogue retailers selling R4 cards; piracy damaging console sales

Sales of DS titles are suffering due to the rise in popularity and availability of R4 ‘piracy’ Cards, MCV can reveal.

The R4, along with similar devices such as the M3, N5 and TT, allow users to download games illegally and play them on a DS. And the cards can be bought from a host of retailers, including the likes of Amazon, eBay traders and independent retailers.

But ELSPA’s IP Crime Unit manager John Hillier has warned the trade that unless the sale of these items halts, the trade body will be forced to act.

“There are various SD cards for the DS that illegally circumvent the copyright protection in place and allows copied games to be played,” he explained to MCV.

“The supply of these items is an infringement and an offence under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Trade Marks Act 1994. ELSPA’s IP Crime Unit works closely with the enforcement agencies to stop this supply and prevent instances of intellectual property theft.”

A spokesperson for Nintendo added: “We are monitoring the situation with R4 cards and working closely with our legal teams to identify any infringements on our IP and will take action where and when appropriate.”

According to MCV sources, casual games remain largely unaffected by these cards; it is titles that appeal to traditional, hardcore gamers – those consumers who are also more tech-savvy – that are suffering a decline in sales. Doug Bone, UK sales director at Square-Enix, whose Final Fantasy titles are said to be amongst those affected,
explained:

“The growing availability of these R4 products is certainly alarming. The undeniable fact is that they are predominantly bought for software piracy and steps should be taken to restrict the distribution channels available.

“In the short-term it is the responsibility of the trade to ensure these products don’t hit the shelves. For every game pirated and so not bought, we suffer as an industry.”

Online retailer Simply Games stocks the R4 card, with MD Neil Muspratt explaining:

“Simply Games has only recently started selling them and it was as a direct result of larger retailers getting involved, mainly Amazon,” he explained. “They have been reasonably popular but we’re considering removing them in the near future.”

Via MCV UK

[zevende]

I sincerely hope that everyone in ELSPA dies of cancer.

[kcajblue]

lol. seriously.

and why is it that they only ever name the R4.

i always find that funny.

but seriously, this is stupid if they take legal action on flash carts.

[TechRat]

You should read the comments on MCV UK. Practically everyone is in support of the ELSPA. It's really sad how the mainstream public believes that these cards are used solely for piracy.

Unfortunately, the truth is that most people probably DO use them for piracy. This puts the homebrew scene in a really bad position. I wish these cards could support homebrew without allowing the execution of commercial DS roms. That, I think, would be a good compromise. Sure, you'd still have emulators for older systems, but that isn't nearly as bad.

As Uncle Ben once said: "With great power comes great responsibility". How true that is here. These are powerful devices; people need to be more responsible with them.

[goity]

but they don't actually illegally circumvent copyright protection, do they?

[JKKDARK]

Sadly more people use it for piracy than homebrew

[da_head]

I sincerely hope that everyone in ELSPA dies of cancer.

seconded

[Auriman1]

It's true. Deny it all you want, but piracy is the main reason for DS/GBA flash carts. Sites that offer them normally don't even mention homebrew, just the ability to play backups.

[Qmark]

Backups aren't piracy.

[kcajblue]

Sites that offer them normally don't even mention homebrew, just the ability to play backups.

and thats exactly why people get them for that reason.

the sites use that as their way of getting it sold.
they dont base it off of homebrew because people looking for them would say "wtf is homebrew?"