# US Raids 30 Sites for Mod Chips



## m|kk| (Aug 1, 2007)

Hrm....

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articl...34_FORTUNE5.htm


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## thieves like us (Aug 1, 2007)

more information can be found here:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/ar...1washington.htm


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## VmprHntrD (Aug 1, 2007)

Nice... that's a fairly well sized raid there on people too stupid to cover their tracks.  Just a teeny percentage of the pie, but it's still hurtful.


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## adgloride (Aug 1, 2007)

I can understand them raiding for the wii modchips as you can play copies as soon as they are fitted.  With the PS2 and Xbox modchip, I'm not too sure about the latest PS2 modchip but the xbox modchip comes with a legal bios installed that doesn't allow you to play copied games until you flash it with an illegal bios.


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## iTech (Aug 1, 2007)

This makes me wonder once more if Emulators, which allow backups to be played as well, are legal.
I have researched the matter thoroughly and still can only guess due to the massive amounts of ambiguity out there. Not being an American citizen complicates things even more. The matter is very important to me as, well, here's some code I am working on right now;


```
/*----------------------------------------------------------------*/
static inline void onExecute_R3000A(void * start_pc)
/*----------------------------------------------------------------*/
{
ÂÂÂÂ/* Execute a non-returning block of instructions (run a program) */
Â Â//register uint32 opcode;
Â Â//register uint32 pc;

Â Âif(start_pc != NULL)
Â Â Â Âr3000a_pc = *(uint32*)start_pc;
Â Âelse
Â Â Â Âr3000a_pc = *(uint32*)r3000a.program_counter;

Â Âr3000a_base = ((uint32)r3000a.memory[0]->data) - (r3000a_pc & ~0x1fffff);

Â Âfor(;;)
Â Â{
Â Â Â Âif(!r3000a.status_change)
Â Â Â Â{
Â Â Â Â Â Âr3000a_opcode = *(uint32*)((unsigned char*)r3000a_base + r3000a_pc);
Â Â Â Â Â Âr3000a_registers.name.r0 = 0;

Â Â Â Â Â Âr3000a_basic[r3000a_opcode >> 26]();

Â Â Â Â Â Âr3000a_pc += 4;
Â Â Â Â}
Â Â Â Âelse Â Â/* Do the shit below during idle CPU time! */
Â Â Â Â{
Â Â Â Â Â Âr3000a.status_change = 0;

Â Â Â Â Â Âif(r3000a.reset_status)
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ÂonReset_R3000A();
Â Â Â Â Â Âelse
Â Â Â Â Â Âif(!r3000a.power_status)
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ÂonPowerOff_R3000A();
Â Â Â Â Â Âelse
Â Â Â Â Â Âif(r3000a.freeze_status)
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ÂonFreeze_R3000A();
Â Â Â Â}
Â Â}
}
```

I don't want to spoil anything, but you could say I'm working on emulation for a particular system on a Nintendo platform as we speak. Though I am not an American citizen but a European one, my "primary place of business" would be considered the US if I released an emulator, which might still target me as a criminal under the DMCA. Even more complex are the issues around copyrighted/patented copy protection schemes. It seems that emulating those copy protection schemes that are protected by patent (as in a device) or copyright (as in a Rom) laws is "more" illegal in some cases than not including any copy protection at all (which would allow backups to be played, and would also be illegal)

To make a long story short;  The DMCA is The Great Whore Of Babylon and will kills us all my making our heads explode out of shear over-taxation (pun intended, bitch).


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## Taras (Aug 1, 2007)

QUOTE(iTech @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> I don't want to spoil anything, but you could say I'm working on emulation for a particular system on a Nintendo platform as we speak.



Dude, the game&watch collection is tired already.


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## iTech (Aug 1, 2007)

QUOTE(Taras @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> QUOTE(iTech @ Aug 1 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > I don't want to spoil anything, but you could say I'm working on emulation for a particular system on a Nintendo platform as we speak.
> ...



Ah come on, I gave it away in that post.
Not to mention this one;
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=55950

Officially though, I am silent. I never go out announce things that are not at least half finished.


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## Tribis (Aug 1, 2007)

QUOTE(Vampire Hunter D @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> Nice... that's a fairly well sized raid there on people too stupid to cover their tracks.Â Just a teeny percentage of the pie, but it's still hurtful.


Cover their tracks??? These are legal retailers not criminals selling bootleg dvd's in China Town. I know you all know ModChipMan.com....word is he was hit.


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## When Im Gone (Aug 2, 2007)

http://kotaku.com/gaming/piracy/massive-mo...tion-285007.php


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## iTech (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(When Im Gone @ Aug 2 2007 said:


> http://kotaku.com/gaming/piracy/massive-mo...tion-285007.php



Damn you! I was reading what you linked and after getting so angry I started yelling "People have been laundering money long before they invented some piece of crap computer chip ..." at the screen and jumping out of my chair at the same time, I lost my balance and fell back into my chair because I stood up too fast, pushing the chair with my back into a wooden rack behind me, and nearly snapping my fucking neck.

I'm not joking, I'm in serious pain... Fuck man!
You think it's just software _piracy_ that hurts developers? Think again!


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## Kiok (Aug 2, 2007)

*sigh* this aint good.


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## Mewgia (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(thieves like us @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> more information can be found here:
> http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/ar...1washington.htm
> 
> lol that page has the names and phone numbers of some of the people in charge of that. Has Anonymous done raids on them yet?
> ...



lolz


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## Legend (Aug 2, 2007)

Man I'm happy I live in Canada.


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## Spikey (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(Legend @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> Man I'm happy I live in Canada.


I'm happy that you live in Canada too!  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  I'm just messing with you, dude.


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## [M]artin (Aug 2, 2007)

Holy shit, m|kk| lives?!


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## Spikey (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE([M said:
			
		

> artin @ Aug 1 2007, 10:01 PM)]Holy shit, m|kk| lives?!


Oh, yes, of course she does. She was checking on our stock when she came across this is related news(to our stock), so she saw it and submitted it here.


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## [M]artin (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(SpikeyNDS @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> QUOTE([M) said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You guys are involved in the business dealings of the chips that be doing teh modding?[/whisper] :shiftyeyes:


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## Spikey (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE([M said:
			
		

> artin @ Aug 1 2007, 10:05 PM)]
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, we own lots of Nintendo stock.


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## [M]artin (Aug 2, 2007)

I own lots of WiiKey stock.


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## When Im Gone (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(iTech @ Aug 2 2007 said:


> QUOTE(When Im Gone @ Aug 2 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > http://kotaku.com/gaming/piracy/massive-mo...tion-285007.php
> ...


Wow all that just because I posted a link. I feel special now.
I don't think it hurts them that much, but what I do think is that they are just pissed people aren't spending money for their games.


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## directive0 (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(Legend @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> Man I'm happy I live in Canada.



This will effect the supply of chips to us, surely.


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## coolbho3000 (Aug 2, 2007)

From a comment on Kotaku:



			
				QUOTE said:
			
		

> This whole task force they have makes me laugh so hard. Illegal guns, drugs, etc all over the country and they act upon this type of stuff and focus on it.



So true. Before you focus on piracy, focus on the real issues. The issues that actually kill/injure people.


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## ugly_rose (Aug 2, 2007)

Is the US government in such dire need of modchips that they raid 30 places for 'em?

Good Lord.

So the pentagon likes their wii's modded, huh?


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## JacobReaper (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(SpikeyNDS @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> QUOTE(Legend @ Aug 1 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > Man I'm happy I live in Canada.
> ...




lol, but i hate it that there doing that with modchips.. like... LET US BE, wthere raising gas prices like 90% in US so, we'll save money on games and not be poor -__- lol *sigh*


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## Sinkhead (Aug 2, 2007)

QUOTE(ugly_rose @ Aug 2 2007 said:


> Is the US government in such dire need of modchips that they raid 30 places for 'em?
> 
> Good Lord.
> 
> So the pentagon likes their wii's modded, huh?








- Sam


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## DSGRIM (Aug 2, 2007)

*Since it is not illegal to sell those mod chips in legal areas like the US, they couldnt have been hit for that. They should have been smart enough to not ship to the UK (which was illegal) but they imported and now they are screwed. *


The UK Nintendo ect were having a fit about people over seas selling the chip when it was made illegal in their own country. US guys are safe peoples dont worry.

(Downloading games ect is still illegal so you can be hit for that, but just buying one/selling one to the legal public is ok)


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## ZeeMox (Aug 2, 2007)

I ordered the CycloDS Evo from Modchipstore.com yesterday. Now they have no advertised products on the main page and live support is off 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I think I'm screwed.


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## ZeWarrior (Aug 2, 2007)

Yup your screwed they killed modchipstore considering all their Modchips and case mods are out of stock.


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## aslacker55 (Aug 3, 2007)

It seems that one of the people raided was FallsInc, a moderator from xbox-scene. You can read his story at http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=615642. 
He was just a small time moder. An undercover agent bought a chipped Wii from him and then they raided him. It such a sad story, I hope he gets out of this ordeal without too much damage to his life.


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## JacobReaper (Aug 3, 2007)

QUOTE(ZeeMox @ Aug 2 2007 said:


> I ordered the CycloDS Evo from Modchipstore.com yesterday. Now they have no advertised products on the main page and live support is off
> 
> 
> 
> ...



i feel sry for you


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## directive0 (Aug 3, 2007)

I see kicktrading.ca no longer sells modchips... or at least my cursory glance didn't see any.  Related?


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## Hooya (Aug 3, 2007)

QUOTE(directive0 @ Aug 3 2007 said:


> I see kicktrading.ca no longer sells modchips... or at least my cursory glance didn't see any.Â Related?



Did they ever?  They're still selling flash carts, so I dunno what to make of it.


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## GeekyGuy (Aug 3, 2007)

QUOTE(Tribis @ Aug 1 2007 said:


> QUOTE(Vampire Hunter D @ Aug 1 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > Nice... that's a fairly well sized raid there on people too stupid to cover their tracks.  Just a teeny percentage of the pie, but it's still hurtful.
> ...



Yeah, I really have a hard time believing that these arrests will hold up in court. I doubt those who filed the complaints (likely a coalition of the Big 3 gaming companies) are after any actual prosecutions. They know all too well that a legal battle alone is enough to put most of these small businesses out of business permanently.

The Supreme Court of the U.S. has ruled that it is constitutional to create a reasonable quantity of back-ups of your legally owned media (that does not, however, include doing so via downloading -- in order to be done legally, it has to be done directly from the hardcopy). Of course, there's plenty of grey area to argue, but a device that allows you to playback back-ups -- such as a Wii modchip -- is not clearly a device intended for use with pirated materials. It remains to be seen what the courts will say regarding these retailers and the modchips, etc.

Again, though, it's a small price for the gaming companies to pay, considering the increase in profits they hope to gain by curtailing the use of pirated gaming media.


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## Linkiboy (Aug 3, 2007)

QUOTE(Hooya @ Aug 3 2007 said:


> QUOTE(directive0 @ Aug 3 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > I see kicktrading.ca no longer sells modchips... or at least my cursory glance didn't see any.Â Related?
> ...


No, they never have.


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## martin88 (Aug 3, 2007)

Edit: double post.


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## VmprHntrD (Aug 3, 2007)

Yes I stick by 'cover your tracks' as modchipping isn't exactly legal, not the act itself but what they allow to be done is just that.  Now I know that argument is fairly crap because you could say my CDRW should be illegal since I *could* warez games.  Thing is the US loves to clusterfuck with laws and twist things to work their way with lawyers and big companies.  Take Nintendo and them wailing on the asians who make counterfeits, or Sony kicking Lik-Sangs ass too.  They also do have that right to dictate what a system can or can't run, and using a chip circumvents that at the least even with a legal other region title, but easily lets burns play too.  And then you have your GBA copier dev kits and so on which got banned because of what Nintendo contorted the courts into thinking they were just meant for theft and essentially the gba copier is the same function as a vhs  or dvd recorder.

I'm not agreeing with what happened, the 'nice...' was sarcasm, but seriously with all the efforts the big 3 do to screw over people doing chipping, burns, modding hdds(xbox) and so on I'd think these retailers would be a bit more careful in their line of business as I know I would be.


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## JacobReaper (Aug 3, 2007)

yup, i hate wat the government is doing


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## chronjohnson (Aug 3, 2007)

Whatever, they don't want my business so I'll take it overseas.  I love when stores I've patronized faithfully for years decide to no longer offer product.  Actually I don't.  It causes me to hate them forever.  All these people who no longer have mod chips weren't raided, you know.  They took your money, your consoles, and whatever else you'd sent them and shut down, all because a few installers across the country had their doors kicked in.  Just like when Roberto kept the Barksdale's money but still set up the empty car in the garage for Bodie.  Let's not be boo hooing any companys that won't ship you what you ordered.  I've noticed that santimonious gamers who are actually against piracy tend to have trust funds.  And modchipman is a bitch.


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## GeekyGuy (Aug 4, 2007)

QUOTE(chronjohnson @ Aug 3 2007 said:


> ...Let's not be boo hooing any companys that won't ship you what you ordered....



Well, I wouldn't know diddly-squat about the rest of what you said, but -- yeah -- I don't feel sorry for the companies. I feel sorry for me and anyone else who's still waiting to receive the products they paid for. I'm not sure what's going on at this point, but it's still pretty early to make any assumptions. 

But I did order a CycloDS Evo card on the 31st, and haven't heard anything from Modchipstore, whom I bought it from; no shipping date, no tracking, no responses to the contacts I've made. I don't wish them ill, but I'm concerned about getting what I paid for, not their lot in life. Sorry if that sounds cold, but a deal's a deal, and I put up my end.

More importantly, however, what does this mean for the community we're discussing?


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