PC World‘s Darren Gladstone posted a story today about “the Nintendo DS’s dirty little secret” — the R4 and its progeny. Gladstone discusses the clandestine, Hammettesque process of purchasing an R4 in San Francisco’s Chinatown and then launches into a discussion about the merits of such a device:
When I first heard about the hard-to-find R4–a device that resembles a Nintendo DS cartridge but has a microSD card slot–I was intrigued. But I heard the buzz, too: “It allows you to play pirated Nintendo DS games. Just copy files from a PC to the microSD card, and pop that into the R4.” I’m no pirate! I support the guys who make my games! So at the time I decided to steer clear.
But the R4 isn’t just the key to pirate booty. The homebrew community has latched onto this elusive, illicit device too. Yes, some unsavory sorts pirate software, but indie game designers are crafting their own DS software and sharing it freely with the world. Sudoku puzzles. “Choose Your Own Adventure”-type “books.” Legal emulators for freeware adventure games, such as ScummVM. Arcade-worthy shooting games. Heck, folks have even made Web browsers, photo viewers, MP3 players, and e-book readers.
While the ability to run indie-developed homebrew applications is cool, there is little doubt that the R4 is primarily used for pirating retail Nintendo DS games. Additionally, Gladstone’s discussion of the R4′s ability to run emulators and media players is a bit dubious considering that the media and games played in these programs are typically pirated.
Hopefully Nintendo will offer indie developers the chance to publish games on the new download service launching with the Nintendo DSi. Creating a market similar to the iPhone’s App Store would eliminate nearly every argument in favor of R4-like devices.
Personally, I have mixed feelings on the issue. I’ve always been a tinkerer and closet programmer, so I strongly support a consumer’s ability to modify or otherwise augment his electronic devices to find more uses for them. However, there is little doubt in my mind that the stunning majority of R4 sales are used for nothing but piracy. Ideally, I think that law enforcement agencies should target distributors and “release groups” to stop piracy at it’s most basic level; however, I can appreciate how that task is nearly futile as these groups become more organized and stay abreast of the latest technology in online distribution.
[via PC World]
you have a very successful business.