R4 Flash Card imports seized by Customs

Wow they really are cracking down on piracy! It's only a matter of time before all those rom sites get shut down now.

But they're not on Australian servers, right? Not much they can do outside of that, unless the get Nintendo Japan and suchforth to take some action too.

R4? pfft, M3 is where it is all at :P

Good work NIntendo Australia. It's about time!

Good thing basically everyone who wants one has one by now.

Gonna have to go to Japan if it breaks though :(

I wonder how long before the "mod shops" that sell flash carts etc will get taken on by Nintendo or someone else.

I think he was being sarcastic.

How could customs detect an R4 flash card if it's in your luggage? Train some Beagles to catch their scent?

Well, my. It seemed a bit reaching but I took it seriously anyway. :p

Next they'll be searching every DS owners home.

...can they legally do that? I'm sure they'd have to get a warrant first, and have a good reason. Targetting every DS owner would be quite the task!



(:P)

Internet filter guize.

oh, wow, I wasnt expecting this to happen.

WOOHOO!!!! Suck on THAT cheapskates!

No, I was being serious. I'll admit I didn't think of the sites being hosted in other countries but with mininova already going down (all the illegal files atleast) something is bound to happen even if it's minor. There's a tonne of flashcarts still circulating so while sales won't drop too much more in Australia, piracy will still be at large.

Gusowned.gif

...

somebody make this .gif! I mean, we'll never get to use it, but still! :p

Oh! Does anyone have that Flash video that bourb made with Gus and... Dominion in it? :) That is awesome.

I'm sure Stephen "Beelzebub" Conroy and his internet filter would beg to differ...

Nintendo Australia demonstrate once again that their stance against piracy is a serious one, particularly with regards to the Nintendo DS. Cracking down on counterfeit products is certainly a good thing, as genuine pirates should not profit from the work of others. Cutting the supply side of flashcards will certainly impact the availability of the devices in Australia and damage future sales to the masses, whilst the press release itself may partially educate the mass consumer of the legality, or lack thereof, of using unauthorised copies (ethics is another debate, however).

None the less, Nintendo's current approach towards continues to overlook the deeper roots of why people will use flashcards or pirate their content in the first place, which will continue to be to their detriment in their war against "game copiers". Given the way things have been going thus far though, Nintendo may not need to bother.

Except that shutting down such sites will achieve very little in preventing the distribution of illegal game content. More and more of these activities are performed through BitTorrent or other file sharing protocols, which, although aren't infallible (as you demonstrate with Mininova), are certainly more difficult to control than your typical webpage (which you initially referred to). Many users will simply find another torrent tracker should their favourite one be closed down, or even pursue alternative means to acquire the content they seek. Granted, there is a limit to such a process, but the foreseeable future doesn't hold much hope in changing the current situation.

That's....ah...."optimistic". For one, "the mass consumer", in general, won't even have read Nintendo's press release. But more importantly, they already know piracy is illegal. Everyone knows piracy is illegal. Just like they knew it was illegal to tape movies off TV but went ahead and did it anyway.

I bought an unofficial Wii Wheel off Ebay for like $4 and it should have arrived by now... It better not have been confiscated.

That's why I weakly covered myself with "may", but an excellent counter-point regardless; the comparison to TV recordings is a powerful one. :)

If R4s were actually illegal then this would be one thing, but that "R4s illegal" story was actually incorrect and Nintendo just scared some company into setting out of court (hence no legal precedent), and thus far there any time similar "enablers" like mod chips have been taken to court the law has always sided with the modders.

I'm aware with the DS there is no region lock (the DSi not so much, which could be Nintendo's undoing in this fight in Australia) takes away one argument for the R4, but from a legal perspective I can't see how they can say in all fairness that R4s should be illegal.

From the viewpoint of someone who uses an R4 legally, its no different to an MP3 player. Instead of having to carry all your CDs around in a wallet, you use an MP3 player. Just because some people might download some or all of their music, this does not make MP3 players illegal.

While I understand that people here don't like piracy, I would advise we stop and think before we champion Nintendo or the Government for their actions. Just because your interests are the same this time does not mean they will be in future. I can assure you when this action was made they weren't thinking of you. Who knows what they might decide to take away from you next?

For once the Australian government is doing something right.

Why do I even bother posting.....

Do you think they'll cut me a deal if I plead guilty to using a Cyclo for the purposes of Colors! and NES on the go? Oh god I hope they will I don't want to go to prison.

Meh, I've got my SUPERCARD and they can't take it from me. Homebrew isn't illegal.

I don't think there was a Flash video with myself and Gus in it. Maybe you mean Gus and Smoko?

I think it was that Tetsokunio guy, or whatever his name it was, with Gus and Smoko. I think I do have a copy of it buried in my computer somewhere, but I dunno about a link to it or anything.

Anyways I spoke to OzModchips and they said its all media rubbish. Sure its in their best interest to say that, but the evidence all points to it still being as legal as ever.