14 DAY TRIAL // Last week I reported the epic battle started by Nintendo against the biggest enemy of the DS handheld - the R4 chip (or Revolution for DS): 55 companies filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the distribution of the chip. However, the effects of the measure were opposite to what Big N and the other companies were expecting: both sales and pricing of the chip skyrocketed in just two days!
A report from website qj presents the situation: the price of the R4 chip has increased from 2,980 yen ($28) to 4,980 yen ($55) overnight! Even bigger price increases are anticipated for the following weeks and one thing is certain: if Nintendo and its allies manage to win the lawsuit, this little chip will become a real moneymaker for those who have it. Because we all know that old habits die hard - this includes, unfortunately, piracy.
However, the company is probably prepared for a rather lengthy lawsuit, since it appears that the R4 chip itself is not illegal, but what people do with it is - it is basically a direct and illegal download conduit for games and other software. It fits a Nintendo DS' game cartridge slot and allows the transfer of anything previously stocked on a flash memory stick, using SD micro cards.
Among the 54 companies that filed the suit together with Nintendo, there are top names such as Arc System Works, SNK, Capcom, Koei, Jaleco, Square Enix, Sega, Taito, Takara Tomy, Tecmo, Hudson, Bandai Namco Games, The Pok?mon Company, Yukes and Level Five. We don't know if they were aware of the fact that it's possible to give a helping hand to the chip manufacturers by increasing their income, but one thing is clear: they did and they'd better win that lawsuit if they want to get something good out of this entire situation.