Nintendo

The Small Chip, The Huge Pirate

The R4 chip allows users to play pirated Nintendo DS games

By Calin Ciabai, Games Editor

26th of November 2007, 11:33 GMT

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It's just a little piece of plastic, not bigger than the back of your palm and easy to use. What does it do? Well... it allows users to play pirated games on Nintentdo DS systems. Its name is R4, it is made in China and costs around $40. It is already being sold all over the

Internet and even in game shops in Japan.

Many stores in the electronics district of Tokyo advertise the product, but refuse to explicitly explain what it actually is for, being afraid not to have legal problems. The very common ad-signs sound like: "New R4 shipment has finally arrived! You know what it does! Absolutely no questions will be answered concerning this product" or "Guaranteed for one week only! Of course we can't explain what the R4 will do . . ."

Actually, the R4 itself is not illegal, but what the customers can and probably will do with it is illegal - this is why many shop owners are nervous about it and consider it to be in the "grey zone". Its function is simple: 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. To make it clear, Softpedia is against using any kind of pirated software, hardware or any other pirating tool.

This brings gaming piracy to a new level, as an industry analyst said: "The R4 gives ordinary users the ability to sit at home and just browse the Internet for any game that takes their fancy. A few clicks of the mouse and it is theirs free."

Having in mind that Nintendo DS users sum up to 35 million worldwide, the R4 chip could mean a serious blow for Nintendo and game developers by damaging the sales of legitimate games and software. "We are keeping a close eye on the products and studying them. But we cannot smash all of them", said a Nintendo spokesperson.

TAGS:

Nintendo DS | Piracy | R4

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