Yutaka Kubota, president of Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software, has branded Nintendo DS players who download games (freely) and then play them on their own flash-ROM carts as terrorists, according to articles by TechRadar and 1Up.com. In an interview with magazine Famitsu, Yutaka Kubota said "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."Although it is currently legal (or rather, not explicitly illegal) to download titles and play them on a flash-ROM cart, an updated bill is going through legislation that would make downloading copyrighted material illegal.
In a copy of Famitsu, Yutaka said "I know that Famitsu's readers like playing games. 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."
"Just like some people make their living creating objects, others live off making data and content, and as everyone knows, it's the creation of this informational content that is helping driving our economy."
Whilst new laws have and are likely to continue assisting in the prevention of video game piracy, it seems the game industry has still yet to find a solution of it's own which will solve the issue completely.
I totally agree.
You could argue that HD gaming is ruining the gaming industry by increasing the development costs for games.
The 'sub-par last gen gimmicky games' are whats keeping most studios afloat after the high cost increase for 'next gen' games.
Go get a Wii. No one will ever have to know how much you enjoy it.
Trying to ruin the games industry?
God damn gamers can be a jaded bunch.
God damn gamers can be a jaded bunch.
The Wii can't be considered a gaming console to us "Core Gamers"
It's a successful sham to get people who don't play games to play them.
I'm trying to sell my sham(Wii) to someone else.
The DS however is a different story, I love the games on there.
God damn gamers can be a jaded bunch.
The Wii can't be considered a gaming console to us "Core Gamers"
It's a successful sham to get people who don't play games to play them.
I'm trying to sell my sham(Wii) to someone else.
The DS however is a different story, I love the games on there.
No, you "core gamers" think you make up some elite group of judges of what can and can't be called a games console.
Discussing the quality of the Wii's library is one thing, calling the console a sham is another, a funny remark at that.
Stop getting butthurt that Nintendo made a games console appealing to specific demographics, demographics that are currently buying it in larger numbers than your 360 or PS3 which is what 95% of people crying about the Wii are upset about.
Go get a Wii. No one will ever have to know how much you enjoy it.
Nintendo's success is nothing to be jealous about, because the attach ratio (average number of games per console owned) of the Wii was less than 1 last time I heard.
And I did buy a Wii back when it first came out, and I hardly played it in the end. I did play it for two days straight when I first got it, but that was pretty much it then. I sold it last Christmas and almost broke even, which is the only good thing to say about the Wii. it holds its value.
But regardless of your sole opinion, Nintendo is selling. It sells so well Sony can't sleep at night. They make up crap about "10 year plans" to reduce buyer's remorse of the few PS3 customers out there.
Don't blame Nintendo for making a product that they struggle to keep on the shelf, blame the people who keep buying them.
Besides, Nintendo makes the best games for Wii. It is third party developers who make all the Wii garbage.
But regardless of your sole opinion, Nintendo is selling. It sells so well Sony can't sleep at night. They make up crap about "10 year plans" to reduce buyer's remorse of the few PS3 customers out there.
Don't blame Nintendo for making a product that they struggle to keep on the shelf, blame the people who keep buying them.
Besides, Nintendo makes the best games for Wii. It is third party developers who make all the Wii garbage.
My friend you're bordering on sounding as bad as those you're calling out.
God damn gamers can be a jaded bunch.
The Wii can't be considered a gaming console to us "Core Gamers"
It's a successful sham to get people who don't play games to play them.
I'm trying to sell my sham(Wii) to someone else.
The DS however is a different story, I love the games on there.
No, you "core gamers" think you make up some elite group of judges of what can and can't be called a games console.
Discussing the quality of the Wii's library is one thing, calling the console a sham is another, a funny remark at that.
Stop getting butthurt that Nintendo made a games console appealing to specific demographics, demographics that are currently buying it in larger numbers than your 360 or PS3 which is what 95% of people crying about the Wii are upset about.
+1
http://www.stopgeek.com/wp-content/uploads...ktop_3oe4kw.jpg
Everyone was saying: "That's the way mario bros should be, not childish super mario!"
Just because these kids love Spawn and South Park and GTA doesn't mean everyone likes crap like that.
The 'sub-par last gen gimmicky games' are whats keeping most studios afloat after the high cost increase for 'next gen' games.
I'm not sure how many of those crappy Wii games have actually turned a profit.
the last part of that is a hilarious statement. thepiratebay and scene groups don't give money to terrorists.
The "terrorist" label is slapped on WAY too many things, nowadays...
It's amazing how many people struggle to understand this grade-school principle of economics.
It's amazing how many people struggle to understand this grade-school principle of economics.
Yeah I agree w. that statement but cause and effect people..
When the economy is in the sh*tter what do you expect. Of course piracy is going to be rampant and an altertenative toward buying things.
If that's the case, then please everyone go out and pirate any DS game that starts with "My" or "Imagine". The sooner that shovelware crap gets buried the better. Maybe then we'll start to get some decent DS games that aren't targeted at 7yo kids.
So uh, what are 7yo kids supposed to play? GTA IV?
My bad. I should have said "Maybe then we'll start to get some decent DS games that aren't all targeted at 7yo kids."
I was excited with the possibilities of the DS and the touch screen when it came out. Hotel Dusk pushed me to buy one. Since then, it's been a total disappointment. Hardly gets touched anymore. Too much shovelware.
However, the more I hear about other companies, and realise that there are real people behind each of these brand names, the more I feel people should support groups and companies they like.
I'm considering going into video game programming when I finish my education, and after reading through some of the most basic Direct X books, I can see the enourmous effort that developers put into games.
Sure, I know a large portion of the money made from sales could potentially be going to some fat cat at the top of an organisation, but at least it's some of that money has to go to the developers.
As of last Summer I've been putting my money where my mouth is and bought every game since.
These cards actually drive sales for nintendo. When they cut their hand, and it bleeds and won't stop, maybe they will understand what they fought for wasn't the solution to their problem... 120 Million in lost sales?
well take that likely 100 million of those downloads were of people who already owned the game, or keep downloading the game over and over cause they lost the files.. the other 20 million downloads are scene collectors who have no interest in ever playing the game, which wouldn't result in a sale and they likely don't even own a NDS or flashcart to play the download if they wanted to. Keep in mind theres nearly 4000 NDS games out too, Nintendo may be thinking 100 million more in sales in 2 years, but they won't see 10 million more in sales - and if they put targets on their back the masses will avoid them.... another jap company put its eggs in one basket - how are they making out right now:?
The real threat is textbook business operations. It seems the corporate world is deadset on making all the wrong decisions when faced with increased levels of IP theft. Use protections and online activation, sure. That's fine. There's no denying that the only people who have a problem with online activation are the pirates. There's also no denying the example that piracy-repellant games (ie., WoW) set for success.
Is the fact that consoles are designed not to depend on the internet going to hurt them? Possibly. Who knows? Maybe the next big move for handheld gaming will be adopting something like the SIM card to turn your gaming device into your next PDA phone and simultaneously making your platform internet-ready, with a promise to developers of a more piracy-resistant market. AT&T et al will make special 'game-mode' account addons so the kids can have a SIM card without it being a fully functional cell phone, keeping your bill from ballooning.
Above all, the industry needs to work toward a business model of cheap games. No video game should cost more than US$20. The current strategy of raising prices to compensate for piracy while pursuing legislation for tougher enforcement of the law will not work. Higher prices will gradually increase piracy, and the ignorant parents of the teenage pirates will be faced with future enforcement, while the Internet Tough Guys of the world lecture from their cans of Pepsi Max that parents should pay more attention to what their kids are doing online, and coders wind up jobless because tougher enforcement might prevent piracy but it won't force people to buy the games instead.
While angermongering might seem like a great idea to the overweight, drug abusing proponents of domestic violence that host AM radio talk shows, it's not going to actually accomplish anything but breed more anger. While I don't know the correct route to take to a better business model for the gaming industry, I'm confident that its current route is the wrong one.
I take issue with this statement in a couple of ways. First of all, the pirates usually are the ones who strip out online activation from the games they play, so it usually never touches them at all. Secondly, as someone who buys games legitimately and/or plays free/open-source games, I have a huge problem with online activation because it treats me like a criminal. It doesn't matter how quick and painless the process is, it doesn't matter that it's automatic and easy, and it doesn't matter if I only ever have to do it one measly little time. It's not a practical concern at all. It's a matter of principle - the game company is saying that my money and my word aren't good enough and that I need checking-up on every now and again to make sure I'm "staying in line." That's complete bullsh*t on their part and I resent them for it, enough to cause me to simply do without some games that, prior to hearing they had online activation or other forms of DRM, I really was looking forward to playing because I was unwilling to give my money to businesses that were going to turn around and treat me like the scum of the earth.
So no, it's not just the pirates who have problems with activation. They may have technical or practical problems, but other people have problems with the ethics (or lack thereof) of the entire practice of mandating activation itself.
so it has nothing to do with Nintendo DS sales
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