
Nintendo reserves the right to brick your 3DS if piracy detected - ukdm
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/nintendo-reserves-the-right-to-brick-your-3ds-if-piracy-detected-2011037/
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wzdd
This is (apparently) wilful misinterpretation of the translation of a
retailer's warning, here:

<http://www.gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=152082>

Key passage:

"In case if you use equipment which is illegal or unapproved by Nintendo or if
you do customization which is unapproved by Nintendo, there is a possibility
that Nintendo 3DS become non bootable by system update."

This is what Nintendo has been saying for years about Wii system updates. This
is because past Nintendo Wii updates _have_ damaged modded systems, not
because of any particular malicious intent on Nintendo's part, but because the
mods changed the system in ways that Nintendo didn't expect. On the other
hand, Nintendo could probably test that its updates work properly against the
top few system modifications -- but it's hard to fault them for not doing so.

~~~
jbrennan
Exactly. I remember a few years back there was a bit of an outrage at Apple
for "doing" the same thing.

But really, if somebody messes around with their own hardware, do they really
expect Nintendo/Apple/etc to have tested against that? Of course not. They've
got more important things to test and support.

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wildmXranat
Well, internet connected, always on, multi-player game consoles will not go
back to the way things used to be. I bought the most recent SFIV for PS3 and
it wouldn't let me play it until I did a system update, but that system update
wanted to delete my Linux partition. We pay more money for toys that in the
end own us and try to keep us in their sandbox. Just imagine if car makers and
insurance companies colluded to detect that you're driving into a high risk
neighborhood, your rates go up. Piracy is becoming a term describing plain
disobedience to overly strict rules.

~~~
RyanMcGreal
> Just imagine if car makers and insurance companies colluded to detect that
> you're driving into a high risk neighborhood, your rates go up.

Or worse, that your car simply stops working if you make any aftermarket
modifications to it. Try to add a sunroof and your car spontaneously gets
cinderblocked.

~~~
windsurfer
I could see them justifying this by saying "We cannot guarantee the safety of
this car due to modifications and will require X dollars to re-certify it"

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cletus
Nintendo needs to be careful. I'm not sure they realize just how dire their
situation is, especially in the handheld market.

Apple is _already_ in danger of making the 3DS (and other handhelds like the
PSP) extinct. The iPod Touch is a serious threat to every other handheld
"console". Yet Nintendo and Sony both (in separate ways) continue alienating
their fans.

The A5 processor has (allegedly) 9 times the graphics power of the A4, which
is already capable of playing some pretty decent games, even 3D games (eg
Infinity Blade, Dungeon Defender, Rage).

Just how long do you think it'll before Apple makes the Apple TV a gaming
console?

Now this is a fundamentally different model than the touch model their current
devices have. The importance of this can't be overstated but Apple has an huge
user base and all the distribution infrastructure it needs for this.

Nintendo has proven that you don't need bleeding edge graphics to sell
consoles (like Microsoft and Sony provide). There is (IMHO) _absolutely_ a
market for Apple to extend the iTunes ecosystem into console gaming.

~~~
cabalamat
There's also an untapped market for using the iPad (or similar devices) for
multi-player in-one-room games. E.g. you could have a poker game where each
player's iPad displays their cards, and where betting, dealing cards, blind
levels, etc are handled by the computers, so that the game mechanics flow a
lot faster than is usual in face-to-face poker.

Or e.g. with monopoly where the iPads handle all the game mechanics.

~~~
r00fus
Every time family comes over, we play multipong, wurdle (yes, works great for
groups) and battleheart (again, 1p but works well with multiple fingers).

This is a very interesting untapped market, but how to make a breakout hit in
this market is still not clear to me.

~~~
stcredzero
The Kinect has a tremendous potential here as well.

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mrcharles
This explains why nintendo has been so cocky about the piracy issue with the
3DS. They think they can arbitrarily nuke the systems of 'pirates'.

Of course, this will also nuke homebrew completely, as they generally rely on
R4 carts or similar.

This is just another shot in the war about who owns your hardware. I look
forward to the class action lawsuits. I will refuse to buy a DS until this
comes to a head. I am a game developer and I like messing around with hardware
when I can. I won't buy a 3DS if I run the risk of bricking it by being
curious.

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Bvalmont
If this handheld works offline the battle is already lost. Same goes for the
PS3 and the wii, if you disable the system from calling home you can easily
open it and do whatever you want with it.

These companies should instead focus on creating enough value and reason for
gamers to be online. Like Steam, introduce social incentives to create a game
collection and interact with your friends and half the battle against piracy
is won.

There will always be piracy, these companies don't seem to understand that
most pirates wouldn't even buy your console if they wouldn't be able to hack
it.

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Banekin
On another note, wouldn't it make sense for Nintendo to pull a Sony at this
point and create a Nintendo store for Android? In a year or so a good amount
of Android phones will have glasses free 3D.

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tvon
> _Enterking also asks that customers format their system before bringing it
> in to sell. This suggests that Nintendo actually keeps a record of any
> illegal activity on the 3DS which it can then analyze on a firmware update
> and react to._

Is it just me or is that an extremely paranoid interpretation?

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mashingkeys
They've been doing this very thing (bricking modded consoles via firmware
update) with the Wii for quite some time now. People will always find a way
around these things, but I think the whole region-lock nonsense that Nintendo
insists on is equally ridiculous.

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oct
Is there precedent for this? I can recall stories about getting cut off from a
service if modding is detected but not about this sort of thing.

~~~
jcl
Valve's subscriber agreement says that they can close your Steam account
(cutting off access to all of your games, even single-player ones) if they
catch you cheating in certain multiplayer games.

And apparently the Blu-ray scheme has the ability to stop non-compliant
players from playing new movies.

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TheSOB88
I hope someone figures out how to set off the bricking process on other
people's systems. That way, there'll be a huge controversy which will put this
procuedure in question.

Nintendo can make some great games, but their business decisions have a habit
of being borderline tyrannical. They have this attitude that they're doing
everyone a favor by existing.

~~~
mrcharles
If this link is accurate, then it should be as simple as popping your R4 cart
in and booting a game, then quitting.

