Its a super scummy and despicable business tactic, no question.
But it is still a 100% the Clone Manufacturers fault.
It could be the clone manufacturers' fault in one way, but this is just as much blamed on the Gateway team.
To the some other people on this and other threads:
Many people, me included, own quite a few different flash carts. If someone honestly says that the only potential customers for the Gateway are people without a clone cart/Gateway, I've got news for you. I've had (and still have) 4 different, completely working DS flashcarts. I bought them years apart, with some even offering the same user experience with a different interface or add-ons. I was perfectly pleased with the CycloDS at the time, but I still bought the DSTwo, AK2i and even an original R4. Because I could try them out. Now if this same thing happened at the same time, I'd have a bricked DS, since I used a modded loader on the AK2i (AKAIO) and R4 (WoodR4 IIRC). At that point, would I ever consider buying a card from the company creating a bricking firmware (albeit for clones only)? Probably no..
They aren't punishing their consumers, they're punishing clone cart consumers.
And that makes it just fine?