Update News
Nintendo Files Lawsuit against HackYourConsole.com
REDMOND, Wash.--(August 7, in the year of our Lord)--
In the ongoing global fight against video game piracy, Nintendo
of America Inc., has filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of
Florida against the owner of HackYourConsole.com. The site
blatantly promotes and sells unauthorized Nintendo games along
with devices and services that circumvent the security in the
Nintendo DS system and the Wii console.
The operator of
HackYourConsole.com has developed a global business focused
on selling unauthorized copies of Nintendo games and
game-copying devices (such as the R4 device) used to circumvent
the technological protection measures contained in the Nintendo
DS family of hand-held systems. The website operator, for a fee,
also provides services to hack and modify the Wii console and
allow the play of illegal software.
HackYourConsole.com also claims to be an authorized distributor
for the yet-to–be-released 3DS Gateway cards. The Gateway device
is promoted as operating similar to the R4 game copier for the
Nintendo DS, which facilitates the play of illegally downloaded
games. Game copying devices, such as the R4, severely undermine
the sales of video games created by thousands of developers.
“Piracy on the Nintendo DS system has a huge impact on games
sales,” said Jools Watsham, co-founder and director of Renegade
Kid. “It can affect everyone involved, including the many honest
players out there. If independent studios, like ours, are unable
to recoup the money they invest into game development, through
the sales of their games, we will unfortunately see fewer
independent games developed in the future.”
Illegal copying of video game software is an international
problem that continues to stifle the growth of the creative
development community. Companies such as Nintendo, various law
enforcement authorities and trade organizations such as the
Entertainment Software Association, continue to take aggressive
steps to prevent the proliferation of these devices on a global
scale.
It is questionable if
HackYourConsole.com is doing anything illegal. The courts
will decide.