Piracy victory can win back DS sceptics

The High Court ruling that confirmed DS R4 piracy cards are illegal will get developers excited about
the DS again.

Last month, a UK specialist IP court helped solidify the case against the cards, encouraging some rogue retailers to confess to being guilty of IP theft.

The platform holder hopes this will deliver renewed confidence in the handheld amongst developers and publishers that scaled down work on the platform as piracy became widespread.

To get this judgement from a UK specialist IP civil court is an important step in the right direction,” Nintendo’s European anti-piracy counsel Neil Boyd told MCV.

It is important to Nintendo – but also for the developers. Hopefully it will give them the encouragement and confidence to continue to develop the best games for Nintendo platforms.”

Piracy has been a significant problem on DS over recent years. Back in February, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder blamed weak sales of GTA: Chinatown Wars on the R4.
Boyd also said the ruling will help protect the upcoming 3DS when it launches.

Only time will tell if the 3DS will be hacked,” he added. But in terms of security, and preventing people getting around those security measures, I think this case gives us a good, solid legal foundation. What comes ahead of us is pure speculation, but it gives us a good basis for future security threats.”