An anonymous post on a forum is the closest I'll come to a confession. But I'll admit it - I've had a number of DS flash carts, currently an Acekard 2i, and I have used them to illegally download copies of several games. At first, it was because I was strapped for cash. But it turned into a habit, and it was just too easy to download games instead of buying the carts. Now my Acekard has dozens of games, some of which I've spent several hours enjoying, and I didn't pay for most of them. I've even recommended flash carts to at least 2 others who I know no longer buy DS games.
Recently, a friend of mine took a job in Europe (I'm in the US). He plays DS, and we talk occasionally. I know his anecdotes may not be the truth, but as he describes it, DS piracy there is at a laughably high rate. In all of the EU market, games sell maybe 10% of what they do in the US. Publishers have all but given up on making a profit there. And the types of games that are the most pirated? Final Fantasy 4, The World Ends With You, Knights in the Nightmare, etc. - 3rd party games that don't have the history of Nintendo's characters to make them well known.
Well, I like those kinds of games. But the publishers don't know, because I've downloaded most of them instead of buying them. So, in this public forum, I will admit that I have a problem downloading games, and that I am making a resolution. From now on, I will purchase ALL my games. I will NOT use ROMS to "try out" a game to see if I like it. I will purge my Acekard of any game I don't legally own. I will purchase any game I downloaded that I spent more than an hour playing.
All in all, it won't be cheap. But it's right.
I'm not a shill for the industry, or trying to start a revolution, or trying to paint this site/forum as a den of piracy. But I'm hoping now that I put this out there, it will keep me honest in the future.
Recently, a friend of mine took a job in Europe (I'm in the US). He plays DS, and we talk occasionally. I know his anecdotes may not be the truth, but as he describes it, DS piracy there is at a laughably high rate. In all of the EU market, games sell maybe 10% of what they do in the US. Publishers have all but given up on making a profit there. And the types of games that are the most pirated? Final Fantasy 4, The World Ends With You, Knights in the Nightmare, etc. - 3rd party games that don't have the history of Nintendo's characters to make them well known.
Well, I like those kinds of games. But the publishers don't know, because I've downloaded most of them instead of buying them. So, in this public forum, I will admit that I have a problem downloading games, and that I am making a resolution. From now on, I will purchase ALL my games. I will NOT use ROMS to "try out" a game to see if I like it. I will purge my Acekard of any game I don't legally own. I will purchase any game I downloaded that I spent more than an hour playing.
All in all, it won't be cheap. But it's right.
I'm not a shill for the industry, or trying to start a revolution, or trying to paint this site/forum as a den of piracy. But I'm hoping now that I put this out there, it will keep me honest in the future.
