You may remember some time ago the news that the controversial R4 card, a cartridge that enables people to run homebrew and illegally-downloaded games on the DS had ruled as being perfectly lawful in France . Well, bad news for anyone looking to buy one over here – the card has been declared illegal in the UK.
The card is often hailed for its usefulness in allowing users to play and design their own games for the machine. Indeed, this ability is what swayed the Paris courts, with the judges ruling that Nintendo “should be more like Windows where anyone can develop any application if they wish to.” However, the majority of users prefer it for its other, more well-known feature, that of being able to play downloaded games from rom sites and torrent trackers.
In a statement, Nintendo assured that it “initiates these actions not only on its own behalf, but also on behalf of over 1,400 video game-development companies that depend on legitimate sales of games for their survival”.
While this is obviously a great blow for the company against piracy, the DS is nearing the end of its lifespan. Add to that the fact that most people who want a flash card have, more than likely already bought one, and the effect is not unlike bolting the gates of Hell long after all the demons have run out. And while it’s illegal to advertise or sell the R4, easily the most high-profile card on the market, it remains to be seen if this will effect any of the myriad copies and clones of the card still out there.











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