Remote Pwnage for Pirates
Nintendo launches a broadside against pirates by remotely disabling dodgy 3DSs.
Nintendo have long been touting the 3DS as an always-on, always-connected console. But as well as letting players share and download data, the 3DS’s wireless connectivity also gives Nintendo a new weapon in their ongoing battle against software piracy. The company has started “bricking” Japanese consoles that have used pirated software.
How does it work? Well, the 3DS keeps a log of all the software you run on it. Every time you connect at a Wi-Fi hotspot, Nintendo can view the system log. If they detect anything iffy, they disable the machine by installing a “system update” which renders the device unable to run any software at all – legitimate or not.
Nintendo's nemesis - the R4 flashcard - has let more people play pirated games on the DS than any other method.
So a user that’s popped in a security-circumventing flashcard could find their machine permanently disabled. A Japanese retailer, Enterking, has already warned users wanting to sell a second hand 3DS that they won’t accept any consoles disabled in this manner.
The question is, is there a way around this? It’s only a software update, right? In the short term, the solution for any would-be pirates is to simply turn the Wi-Fi always-on feature (known as SpotPass) off, and leave it off. The problem is, Wi-Fi is one of the 3DS’s big draws, and anyone missing out on online play and downloads is also missing a big part of the 3DS experience.
In the long term, you can guarantee that this rather zero-tolerance method of tackling piracy will raise the hackles of hackers, so to speak. Doubtless, someone is already working on a way to modify the 3DS’s firmware and replace tainted system logs with nice, innocent ones.
Will Nintendo’s latest assault curb 3DS piracy, or simply anger gamers?
Source
Nintendo launches a broadside against pirates by remotely disabling dodgy 3DSs.
Nintendo have long been touting the 3DS as an always-on, always-connected console. But as well as letting players share and download data, the 3DS’s wireless connectivity also gives Nintendo a new weapon in their ongoing battle against software piracy. The company has started “bricking” Japanese consoles that have used pirated software.
How does it work? Well, the 3DS keeps a log of all the software you run on it. Every time you connect at a Wi-Fi hotspot, Nintendo can view the system log. If they detect anything iffy, they disable the machine by installing a “system update” which renders the device unable to run any software at all – legitimate or not.
Nintendo's nemesis - the R4 flashcard - has let more people play pirated games on the DS than any other method.
So a user that’s popped in a security-circumventing flashcard could find their machine permanently disabled. A Japanese retailer, Enterking, has already warned users wanting to sell a second hand 3DS that they won’t accept any consoles disabled in this manner.
The question is, is there a way around this? It’s only a software update, right? In the short term, the solution for any would-be pirates is to simply turn the Wi-Fi always-on feature (known as SpotPass) off, and leave it off. The problem is, Wi-Fi is one of the 3DS’s big draws, and anyone missing out on online play and downloads is also missing a big part of the 3DS experience.
In the long term, you can guarantee that this rather zero-tolerance method of tackling piracy will raise the hackles of hackers, so to speak. Doubtless, someone is already working on a way to modify the 3DS’s firmware and replace tainted system logs with nice, innocent ones.
Will Nintendo’s latest assault curb 3DS piracy, or simply anger gamers?
Source
like a 250 dollar kit back when DDR4 was Intel only
