majicon
Latest
Nintendo tackling pirates again (with the aid of consumer snitches)
Police officers often employ the aid of criminal informants, a kind of double agent that works behind enemy lines to get all of the dirt on the lowlifes breaking the rules. That's the new strategy for Nintendo and the 54 other companies that have again jointly filed suit in a Tokyo District Court to thwart the sale of devices used by pirates, such as the R4. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_tackling_pirates_with_the_aid_of_consumer_snitches'; Despite winning the initial filing, Japanese retailers still sell the R4 and other flash carts, so Nintendo and (presumably) the same 54 companies have again filed suit. This latest filing aims for damages from those reselling the devices. See, Nintendo and the participating companies sent a letter to these resellers back in February requesting that they cease selling the device, but these resellers failed to comply. Back to the snitching: Nintendo has opened a consumer website to report offenders and retailers hocking the devices. There, folks can fill out a web form with the appropriate information and submit it direct to Nintendo for follow-up. In exchange from Big N, you ask? You don't really expect freebies for doing the right thing, do you? Also, there's nothing. [Via Andriasang]
Nintendo and others file suit against flash cart sellers
Nintendo is finally taking aggressive action against piracy, as the company is suing five Japanese firms over flash cart equipment. The Big N is just one of many plaintiffs in the case, though, with fifty-three others joining in to aid the fight -- just a few companies that you may have heard of, like, oh, Square Enix, Sega, Level-5, Hudson, Pokemon, Capcom, Namco Bandai, SNK Playmore, Koei, and so forth.While details are scarce, we can imagine a lot of popular carts (like the R4), if not all carts, will be affected. Should Nintendo and friends win the suit, selling and importing such carts will be illegal, meaning that people would have to resort to the black market to get their hands on one.We understand why Nintendo and other companies would want to fight the good fight against piracy, but we can't help but fret over the impact on our precious homebrew hobby. At any rate, we'll give you more information as this case unfolds. [Via Joystiq; Thanks, Kimiko!]
