Comments on: Is Nintendo being too harsh?

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:06:55 +0000

@Renai & @Fungyo – there are huges differences between the Sony case (2005) and the R4 case. The PS(1) mod chips circumvented region coding – whereas the DS has no region-coding. Circumventing region coding is legal in Australia – however circumventing TMPs or ACTPMs for any other reason is illegal (courtesy of our Free Trade Agreement with the USoA). Note that this law changed after the FTA in January 2007 – making it easier for Nintendo to prosecute than Sony (for many reasons – there were lots of changes around material form etc).

By: Renai LeMay

Renai LeMay — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:20:29 +0000

@Fungyo I do remember the PS2 case. To be honest I’m surprised, given that the R4 cartridge would allow some non-pirated software to run on Nintendo’s hardware, that Nintendo won this one. But the legal system is a maze whose logic is not easy to penetrate by normal people ;)

@patbaer re the fansub market, I think another argument there was that the anime producers didn’t stress about it because they knew the illegal online subs would only increase demand for the anime when it eventually did launch overseas, and because many of the fansubs actually maintained the advertisements intact that ran with the anime on free to air TV in Japan.

But the anime production houses have definitely been more active in cracking down on this recently.

By: patbaer

patbaer — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:05:30 +0000

If you don’t aggressively go after these people, if you’re “soft” on piracy, then it grows. And public opinion becomes that “They don’t care”.

Same is true for all the kids who used to (and still) fansub anime. It’s totally illegal. But because Japanese companies didn’t worry about fansubing in the US as long as the IP wasn’t going to be released there, suddenly the companies that DID enforce their copywrites became “greedy companies” and “Worth boycotting”.

Buy their products. Support the products. Or don’t. But don’t give pirates your hard earned money. Give it to developers.

And as far as Steam, there’s a lot more piracy going on online than there is in the console market…. because it’s easier to do.

By: Fungyo

Fungyo — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:38:01 +0000

Ok, read the other stories and it wasn’t even a mod chip, it didn’t modify the console at all. Nintendo make me sick.

By: Fungyo

Fungyo — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:28:07 +0000

Are you sure mod chipping is illegal? I remember sony with their ps2 tried to sue and lost over this and rightly so. I bought the hardware, I can do what ever I want with it. Screw Nintendo, just another company to boycott.
Also, steams DRM is BS, I boycott them too.
When will these aholes get a clue? Their anti-consumer ways is what fuels piracy.

By: Itchy in Sydney

Itchy in Sydney — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:47:35 +0000

It's the Disney/Mattel business model. That's all they (Lappin in Victoria) know to do.