Sony and Nintendo Step Up Anti-Piracy Efforts 147
Edge reports that Sony and Nintendo are both expanding their anti-piracy operations in an effort to reduce piracy rates on the PSP and the DS respectively. Nintendo has hired Neil Boyd, who handled anti-piracy operations for Warner Brothers, to help them demonstrate their "willingness to take action against criminals who are making money out of the infringement of games developers' copyright." Sony has taken a more direct approach, choosing to alter the hardware used in the PSP Go so that things like the Pandora battery can no longer be used to alter the firmware.
Re:Oh please nintendo don't do it! (Score:2, Insightful)
How is $30 for an r4ds flash cart for my dsi TONS of cash? Thats less than the price of one new game, plus i can keep "backups" of all my games on one card. Cheaper and more convenient, not a tough decision for me.
Re:And yet they've given up on Wii piracy (Score:1, Insightful)
That's because they make so much money on selling systems and accessories. DS profits are primarily software related.
Sony removed the battery to stop Pandora? (Score:3, Insightful)
Come on, fixing the Pandora problem was as easy as changing the firmware that listened to the battery.
It is an enormous stretch to think that the PSP Go! doesn't have a removable battery because of the Pandora battery. Wouldn't you think it would be more because non-removable batteries are in vogue in high-line devices like the iPod Touch and Zune HD, both of which the PSP Go! competes with?
Re:Oh please nintendo don't do it! (Score:3, Insightful)
However, it's MUCH worse on the handhelds. A flash cart for the DS is something like $7, if you look in the right places (Cough*dealextreme*cough)... and games are generally well under 100 mb, so they're quick and easy to download.
And the PSP... cripes, I don't think ANYBODY uses it like Sony intended. I don't blame or begrudge Nintendo or Sony for tightening them down, so long as they don't adopt strategies that interfere with legitimate purchasers.
Re:Totally Retarded (Score:5, Insightful)
You did forget. It is not stealing, either way.
If I make a backup copy of a UMD game I purchased, it can never be anything remotely resembling theft. That falls under Fair Use which is not some bullshit argument that "pirates" throw up like a shield. Fair Use is my right, as in, legal entitlement. Of course, Fair Use is really just a legal test for copyright infringement, but the whole point is that I am just protecting rights that I already obtained by financially compensating the copyright holder in return for rights granted to the content.
No copyright holder should ever be able to claim that I don't have the rights to make copy after copy in my home so that I can enjoy their works forever (my lifetime, and those of my heirs that will inherit those rights). The very concept that I should be limited is offensive, bullshit, immoral, and legally retarded.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with making and playing a UMD backup.
Now, as for actually "pirating" the UMD's, that is not theft either. I'm sorry, that so many people out there just cannot get their minds around that. It is not about right and wrong. Promoting those arguments is not supporting piracy either. It is a simple fact that "piracy" is copyright infringement, and that is a matter for civil courts. That is the way it was set up, and it is the way it should be, and that is the way it is now. The act of theft must involve something physical. You cannot steal intellectual property. Not unless, you alter the very fabric of the Universe itself and somehow make the color Purple taste like an Orange. Intellectual Property is a TEMPORARY legal entitlement granted to you by the "State". It is not tangible. How on Earth could I steal that? I can't because it is impossible. The only thing I can do is to perform the act of infringement upon the rights granted to you the State. Nothing more, Nothing less. That does not require the Gestapo busting down doors as if these people are raping children.
Once again, none of those argument means that I support so-called "Piracy". I have stated before, and I will state again, I support compensating the artists, developers, etc. that make the games I enjoy. I own over 40 UMD titles, and ALL of them are neatly kept in their packages on a book-shelf having only been placed in a PSP a single time. I exclusively play my PSP titles via a PSP with a custom operating system and 8 gig memory stick holding the ISO images.
Yes, really. Absolutely. I said, "whether they knew it or not". "Snackables" is the biggest bullshit I have ever seen. First time customers looking at the PSP Go will realize rather quickly that ALL of the UMD titles at Wall-Mart, Target, etc. CANNOT BE PLAYED. So where the heck do they get their content? Snackables? Mofo Pleeeeease.
When it comes to a choice between a brand new product with ZERO legacy support for hundreds of existing titles, and an existing proven product with support for hundreds of games (and far more user satisfaction with custom homebrew) I think the choice becomes pretty simple.
Now what about existing PSP users? The vast majority have to be already using custom operating systems and UMDless methods of play.
It does not matter where you approach this. Sony created a product that has a primary appeal to the people that already play UMD backups, pirated or not.
So yes.... Sony made a PSP uniquely targeted to the so-called Pirates. I agree, they did not probably intend to do that at all. Given the complete sociopathic retards that run the joint (rootkit), I absolutely believe they have such a complete disconnect with their customers that they really really thought the PSN network and snackables would be enough.
Like I said, Totally Retarded.
Re:And yet they've given up on Wii piracy (Score:5, Insightful)
No, really. The've shown that they believe that Wii homebrew == Wii piracy (having attacked generic homebrew almost exclusively, not just piracy tools, and considering that they harassed us when we attempted to notify them of a security issue), and yet it's been over 5 months since the latest security-related update. Somehow I don't get the felling that Nintendo is interested in combating Wii piracy very much (it's not like they've done a whole lot to stop modchips either).
So somewhat, you not getting the feeling that Nintendo is interested in combating piracy equates to "They've given up on Wii piracy"? Seriously?
Looks like complete BS to me.
The fact is that the only thing separating the homebrew tools from piracy tools is what the user deem moral or not. The exact same tools used for homebrew are used for piracy.
I use the homebrew tools, and really, if it wasn't for the fact that my play time on a game is not registered in the Wii when I use them, I would always use the homebrew tools to play my games, that I have all ripped, just in case. And you can see how tiny of an argument I have already to not use these tools (but they're still installed).
Once someone starts continuously using the homebrew tools, all hell breaks loose, as they will be more and more tempted to download some games "just to see".
The sole thing preventing me from downloading some games and then play them on the Wii is in my head. If I didn't have enough money or if I played lots of games all the time, I guarantee I would have downloaded lots of games already.
So to me it's no wonder that for Nintendo, Wii homebrew == Wii piracy because that's exactly what it is. You can't scan people's heads to make a difference between pirates and legitimate homebrew users. And I'm sure there are far more pirates than homebrew users.
If Nintendo didn't put region lock in their console, I wouldn't even have considered homebrew. This is one of their mistake. That's the sole thing that pushed me to install homebrew.
Then again, modchipping your console is on another level entirely, and so I understand that they don't get out of their way to stop these people, because the return on investment is far too ridiculous.
Even installing homebrew is not for the faint of heart, and most people don't even understand how all of that work and don't care. I'm even sure that most people installing homebrew on their console don't understand at all what they're doing, which is evidenced by all the video tutorials I've seen people made just to install homebrew.
All of this is far more difficult than buying a flash card for the Nintendo DS.
Re:Oh please nintendo don't do it! (Score:3, Insightful)
NONE of the console manufacturers have even a measurable amount of respect for Fair Use. NONE. As far as they are concerned, they own the hardware 100% and should be able to 100% control every single one of your actions with their product as if they are in the room holding your hand. That game you bought gets a little too scratched? That cart get dropped in the pool? Well FUCK YOU. Buy another.
I see what you try to do, but your argument is stupid and wrong anyway.
If what you said was true, they would never allow you to download games you buy online as many times as you want. Erased that online game because you need place on your Wii? You can download it back as many times as you want.
The sole reason that they don't allow that on physical properties is because they fear you would get several legitimate copies when you actually paid for one.
Did you even try getting a new copy? Usually, a cart dropped in the pool will still work once dried up. And usually you can phone them and arrange for you to get back a new copy if you send the malfunctioning copy back to them.
Perhaps not in every country, I don't know.
It's just wishful thinking they are going to try to find a middle ground. They are just as extreme and inflexible as hard core pirates who will never compensate anyone for any intellectual property whatsoever.
It might as well be religious fundamentalism. Your reasonable position has no place here.
You just come off to me as someone trying to put them on the same level as hardcore pirates, thus deeming them unworthy of not being pirated. That's just a straw man to me.
Re:And yet they've given up on Wii piracy (Score:2, Insightful)
The fact is that the only thing separating the homebrew tools from piracy tools is what the user deem moral or not. The exact same tools used for homebrew are used for piracy.
Nope, at least not in the case of the Wii. The main homebrew community has been very cautious (and clear) on separating the war3z-related homebrew from the "original" stuff. For the later you can check wiibrew.org you will find a lot of legitimate homebrew applications and games that do not empower copyright infringement (I agree that emulators are a gray area, specially in the light of the VC)
Their strategy goes the wrong way... (Score:3, Insightful)
The real problem is that the industry - and that's not just Sony and Big N - still keeps ignoring is pricing. Maybe you gotta stop labeling crap the same as diamonds. (and yeah, I know Third Parties don't get a say in this!)
I think a general drop in prices is called for - and maybe the dropping of the belief that "Visuals are Everything".
Re:And yet they've given up on Wii piracy (Score:4, Insightful)
"Piracy" is copyright infringement only to most people.
Re:Totally Retarded (Score:3, Insightful)
Ironically enough "piracy" is justified in this case...
You may be right. But be careful. ANYTHING can be justified when the only person who needs to be convinced is yourself.