Nintendo teams up with customs to crack down on Wii modders

Hide away that soldering iron, Nintendo is on to you crazy kids. The company has issued a press release "in support of" recent raids by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents, which executed 32 search warrants in 16 states to weed out those responsible for the distribution of "illegal modification chips." Apparently this is the largest enforcement action taken against video game piracy, and Nintendo has been working hand in hand with the Department of Homeland Security to pull it off. Since April, Nintendo claims to have seized more than 91,000 counterfeit (er, "backup") Wii discs globally. Of course, the whole issue of whether mod chips, when used harmlessly to enable homebrew and backups, should be illegal in the first place is still a sticky issue (the DMCA seems to frown on the idea), but it looks like if you are indeed trading in the illicit stuff, Nintendo and the fuzz are hoping to track you down for a little chat.

Update: Looks like Wii modders aren't the only ones on the run. No console is safe!

[megatron @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:14AM]

does his include the r4 ds and m3 ds cards?

[ssuk @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:20PM]

No, they're legal devices as they have legitimate purpose for homebrew, music and video. Just with the added option of playing backups. =P

[Alexander @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:42PM]

Wrong. Those are included. They are cracking down due to the stupid DCMA which basically says you can't circumvent any technology that is designed to prevent you from circumventing it. it says other stuff too, but most of it is not applied here.

basically, if I put ANY sort of protection on my [noun] to prevent you from copying, changing, or using it in another manner than what I say is allowed--you are breaking the law, and will go to jail for it.

Technically, the microphone on your computer is illegal under this loosely-worded document. You can record sounds that were encrypted with it, and therefore it is a security-circumvention device.

[ET @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:05AM]

Nintendo did this in a perfect timing. A portion of people buy Wii because it has hacks to play backups. When those people are on board, it's time to cut the bridge.

[tyler @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:06AM]

It surprises me that Nintendo would be doing something like this. I would think Microsoft and Sony before Nintendo.

[oGMo @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:51PM]

Typical Nintendo view through rose-colored glasses. It shouldn't suprise you *at all*. Nintendo has done this already in the past: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/06/19/nintendo_wins_liksang_piracy_case/

They are the only ones with region coding this generation: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/15/wii-not-even-remotely-region-free/

Hell, they gutted their own console of the 2 big remaining titles for their new console, and they're selling everyone on a new console that's basically the same as their old one, with a new controller, for more than the Cube was ever priced. Why does everyone think they're somehow this altruistic company that's just out to make the industry better? They're a company out to make money, just like Sony or Microsoft.

[tyler @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:59PM]

This is very true. Come to think of it they are making tons of cash by selling the GameCube 2.0 at a lower price point than both the 360 and PS3. Sony and Microsoft are in the red from both of their consoles but they at least made significant steps from the original XBox -> 360 and PS2 -> PS3. I definitely don't think Nintendo is out to make the industry better. And personally, I think the novelty of the Wii will wear off soon enough while the 360 and PS3 continue to plug along.

[Kurtis @ Aug 2nd 2007 2:59PM]

umm... okay...

[Glazun @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:09AM]

Well Microsoft already did something.. and I dont know of any exploits on PS3's..

[Matt @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:11AM]

@tyler

I really wouldn't, I don't know why people cut Nintendo so much slack, they're basically the same as every other game company.

[Carlton @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:26PM]

Agreed. I'm a Nintendo fanboy just as much as the next guy, but they have always been very serious about cracking down on stuff like this. They don't care if it stops legitimate uses, such as backups and homebrew games, they just want their money, and that's the bottom line.

[Jimmie @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:18AM]

I think this is such crap - why is homeland security in on this? You'd think they'd be foiling terrorist plots or something - but I guess when you sit around twiddling your thumbs on the job because you've got nothing else to do the boss gives you some busywork.

[Pastry Chef @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:26AM]

What else have they got to do? They certainly aren't catching terrorists...

[ac @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:33PM]

DHS is in on it because US Customs and Border Protection is part of DHS, and I would say this is very much a function of customs.

[Cx314 @ Aug 4th 2007 4:02PM]

Freakin moron. Since you seem to think you're smarter than everyone else, why don't you tell us where all the "terrorists" are hiding so Homeland security can go arrest them? You are a grade-A armchair warrior who sucks at life. Our own citizens cause more damage to this country than terrorists ever have/ever will... short of a nuclear bomb going off.

I almost want to go join the FBI and start sending all these computer geeks to jail for life. All these losers who think that they have the right to sit behind a computer screen in relative anoymity and hack/cheat/pirate/spam/grief anyone whom they please.... screw them all. They are LOSERS. Worthless individuals who ought to have the hammer dropped down on them.

[SHOpkins @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:47AM]

It doesn't suprise me at all... this is the same Nintendo that still goes after folks trading in 8bit NES and 16bit SNES roms 10 - 15 years after those systems went out of production.

[Craig @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:55AM]

i would have had the same logic, until nintendo started selling games on the wii shop channel.

[SHOpkins @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:14PM]

Well I guess they had the retro collection for GBC and GBA even before that... but they went after not only the ROM users but the emulator software developers saying it infringed on their hardware copyrights... luckily that case was decided against Nintendo.

[megatron @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:42AM]

are R4 ds cards illegal?

[radamand @ Aug 2nd 2007 10:39PM]

so, if i buy a weedwhacker i cant soup up the engine?
I cant make alterations to a piece of hardware that i own?
what BS is this?

I own it, i'll do whatever the hell I want with it.



welcome to the fourth reich.

[drtekger @ Aug 3rd 2007 12:44AM]

Heil Satoru Iwata!

[CowboyGA @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:45AM]

Since when were mod chips illegal? The chips supposed to be perfectly legal, it's the illegal backups that break the law. When did this change?

[miyagi @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:50AM]

This shouldn't be a surprise at all. Nintendo has always been the most outspoken console company against piracy. Even back in the NES days. I remember reading Nintendo Power as a kid in the NES/SNES days and seeing articles/press release on video game piracy all the time.

[Matt B @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:51AM]

Go get em Nintendogs!!

I see "Anti-Piracy Training" coming to the DS and Wii soon.

[InstantBoner @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:56AM]

All you people that say stuff about Terrorists is funny. There is no terrorists that they are going after. That was all a bunch of bullshit to get more "Laws" passed in the government so they can control you even more. This world is getting worst and worst. Give it another 5 to 10 years, and see where this world is at.

[SHOpkins @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:23PM]

Nintendo's anti-piracy fervor goes back even further... they locked out third party game developers on ALL of their cartridge based systems unless officially licensed by Nintendo, and those companies they did license were limited to 5 games per year (in the NES days) with cartridge production controlled by Nintendo. This may have prevented a flood of low-quality games from causing a crash similar to the one in 1983 but it also lead us to a place today where they want total control of everything that makes it into your Wii/GC/DS/GBA.

[Alex @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:26PM]

They aren't trying to "control" you, they are trying to protect their property under the laws that our society agreed upon, and the government is assisting them.

If you don't like that, don't buy their products...

[raindog @ Aug 4th 2007 9:29PM]

Saying that "our society agreed" to a law pushed through Congress by Hollywood lobbyists bearing bribes is disingenuous at best. But since this isn't a political forum, I'll leave it at that.

Anyway, responding to the previous poster, Nintendo wasn't actually the first to lock out third parties from their consoles. Atari was. The Atari 7800 encryption was years ahead of its time and was never broken, though I think someone was eventually persuaded to leak the signing key a few years back. Nintendo only followed suit when they brought the Famicom to the US; the original Famicom had no lockout chip.

[dak148 @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:59AM]

Nintendo HATES piracy. Why do you think they stuck with carts for so long? Their decision on carts for the N64 was largely based on it being a lot harder to pirate than CDs. They were right but it cost them dearly.

[Big Win @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:05PM]

100% true!

[Glazun @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:18PM]

hear hear

[chris @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:38PM]

I love my wii key, now when my gf 3yearold grabs the disc and bites them. I know the original is still in safe keeping. I paid 50 bucks for the right to play the game, should be allowed to play my legal backups!

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 2nd 2007 2:35PM]

Ever thought of putting the discs higher than the reach of the child?

[chris @ Aug 2nd 2007 3:20PM]

ever had a screaming child

[mrnoone @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:49PM]

If nintendo spent as much time and effort into security measures put into the consoles, then this wouldn't be an issue. Nintendo's machines (all of them) are the easiest to mod or just buy a new cartridge. The ps3 still has no mod chip and if it ever does it will be a nightmare to install, like the 360's is. The ps2 is a bit easier, as well as the original xbox, but sony and microsoft learned their lesson, nintendo never has. How easy is the wii to mod with only 6 solder points and a chip that is $25? ever easier is their handhelds. This is nintendo just trying to make up for their poor engineering and though it's big news now, it will die out and nothing will change long term.

[Grey Acumen @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:27PM]

That'd almost be a good point, until you take into consideration just how huge the homebrew community is for the PSP. Doesn't the PS3 also have a Linux application for it? If you can install Linux, I'm sure you can install just about whatever you want on it. I'm pretty sure that the only reason people aren't heavier into homebrew for the PS3 is simply because there isn't any reason to.
No indie developer is going to have the funds to make a game that works with the hectic architecture of the PS3 AND also can take advantage of the graphics on the PS3. On top of that, there are some 4 million owned worldwide? Why bother when you could more easily mod a Wii, DS, PSP or PS2 which have far more widespread use and more games to be "backed up"

Maybe it's just my limited experience with both the PS3 and Homebrew in general, but I just don't see any advantage in modding the PS3.

[trancer @ Aug 2nd 2007 12:55PM]

its good to know that Homeland Security is using my tax money to save me from game pirates.

[Iain @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:06PM]

I think it is dumb for the government to be spending money on this! Our tax money used to track down 13 year olds modifying their game systems?

[Alex @ Aug 2nd 2007 3:46PM]

Our tax money is to stop crime, whatever it may be. Piracy is the most profitable illegal business anyone can get into, putting narcotics and everything else to shame. The fact of the matter is that we are losing a lot more money from the fact that it isn't contributing to our economy (sales, jobs, etc) than we are spending to prevent it. You guys should be complaining at the low-lives who make a living selling pirated software out there instead of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony for wanting to protect their investments and get the money they deserve.

[Iain @ Aug 2nd 2007 4:29PM]

It's the job of the companies not the government.

"which executed 32 search warrants in 16 states"
Do you know how little this does to fight piracy?! 1,000s+ modify their systems. This does no good what so ever! Just a gigantic waste of tax payers money(I'll guess many of thousands). There are better uses, the government is slow and inefficient, it's a fact.

[roc ingersol @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:08PM]

... what the hell games are worth pirating?

don't get me wrong, i've got a wii and i enjoy the crap out of it.
but it's only got 2 games worth a damn. (wii sports and rayman). nothing else i've played seems to 'get' the wii's place in gaming. (accessible and fun co-op games. and not necessarily nonsensical party games either. twilight princess is ok, but it's not the sort of thing the wii does well)

[Joe Anstine @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:18PM]

I'm so glad that the Department of Homeland Security feels that people modding their Wii's is a threat to the American public. Thank god the government isn't wasting my tax dollars to help an overseas company and not a local company which might actually help our economy.

[Mike N. @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:36PM]

Uh, what do you call sales tax? At 6% sales tax, each Wii sold at $249.99 nets ~$15 in sales tax revenue for the respective state/municipality. FYI, Imigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a part of the Department of Homeland Security--ICE is the unit that is working with Nintendo to block the importation of mod chips. ICE works to prevent the importation of a variety of different products--counterfeits, illegal products, etc...

No matter how you feel about the issue, Nintendo has a right to protect the integrity of their products--some companies just try harder than others.

[John Stracke @ Aug 2nd 2007 2:41PM]

It seems like cracking down on mod chips would make the Wii less valuable, hence reduce the number of sales, and the amount of sales tax collected.

[T.H. @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:35PM]

Where there's a will there's a way. I won't be surprised to see blank eeprom chips being sold with a USB adapter for about $50. No software and nothing else with it. Of course the internet will be rampant with sites providing the necessary rom programming and instructions to mod up your favorite console. What are they doing to do, catch everyone selling a blank eeprom?

[Chris Derry @ Aug 2nd 2007 2:12PM]

Hmm

[madamrobt @ Aug 2nd 2007 2:17PM]

This doesn't make me as furious as the INSULT TO ALL US HARDCORE GAMERZ that we know as WII FIT.

[DWells55 @ Aug 2nd 2007 2:49PM]

Cracking down on the illegal sale and redistribuition of pirated games is 100% fine by me. But cracking down on mod chips themselves is something I disapprove of. I've been considering modding my Wii and 360 for the sake of legitimate backups of my own games. Why? I have a younger brother in my house I share my consoles with. However, he absolutely can't be trusted to handle a game properly. As it stands right now, every time he wants to play a game, I have to be the one to remove the current game from the console and replace it with a new one so nothing gets damaged.

Consumers deserve the right to have backups of their property, especially when that property is data on a reasonably fragile medium. Unless manufacturers want to allow us to run backups, it shouldn't be illegal for me to modify hardware I purchased with a chip I purchased to play copies of games I purchased.

[KineticOnline @ Aug 2nd 2007 3:13PM]

Fact is its your hardware, you own it, you should have the right to do whatever you want with it.

Do car manufactures come after people who modify the engines to run on alternative fuel? - NO
Do building contractors come after people for modifying their houses? - NO
Does god (or who/whatever) target people with modify their body? - NO

The simple fact is that modifying your own property isn't and should never be illegal. Games software & hardware companies need to realise this, and stop trying stop us from modding our own things and just make it so we can easily create our own legal backups, and start targeting the pirates who produce thousands of copies of their software daily.

[Scagnetti @ Aug 2nd 2007 3:00PM]

HLS consists of multipe federal agencies. This started after 9/11 so that the feds could be in better cooperation with each other's departments. That said, piracy costs businesses potentially billions of dollars. With that revunue lost so does all those taxes to the government, and Uncle Sam isn't about to let that happen. I can't see how the DMCA would make mod chips illegal. Just because something has the potential of being used illegally doesn't necessarily or constitutionally make a blanket ban on such devices. If the government can prove such that they were used in the manufacturing of pirated discs and the parties made a profit off the discs, than they would have a case. Just selling mod chips or modded consoles I don't believe would be illegal. If The Digital Millenium Act so made such devices illegal and that law was challenged in court, I would believe it would be considered unconstitutional.