Hacking DSi/3DS Compatability Question

[jruschme]

As I was updating my AK2i for compatibility with the latest DSi firmware, I started to wonder something- why do card makers choose the ROMS they do for spoofing the DSi firmware?

For instance, in the case of the AK2i, an updated card shows up as Prince Caspian with the PC icon. I can remember an earlier card which showed up as Danny Phantom, along with a few others. In both of those cases, though, the original game is a licensed property from a company with deep pockets and plenty of lawyers (Disney in the case of Prince Caspian and Nickoledon/Universal in case of Danny Phantom). Aren't the makers of AK and other flashcarts leaving themselves open to big copyright suits by misappropriation of the licensed properties? I realize that the same companies would argue that a flashcart is inherently a device to facilitate copyright infringement, but that is a question of use by the end-user while this seems like a deliberate infringement by the manufacturer. (Think of the difference between making a generic cola dispenser and slapping the name "Coke" on one without prior licensing.) Ultimately, could Nintendo put pressure on cart makers by having their game licensees exert pressure. ("Gee, we can't let you publish that new 'Toy Story' game while AceKards still say Prince Caspian.")

So, back to the original question... why Prince Caspian? Why not one some utterly forgettable piece of shovelware like the myriad German equestrian games or one of the "Imagine" clones? Is it a technical issue (i.e., the original ROM has to meet certain size or other criteria) or a matter of being "cool" or incognito? (Would you buy an AK2i if it showed a My Little Pony game at startup?)

Just curious...
JR

 

[CannonFoddr]

Dunno - but here's a suggestion...

Perhaps they use 'well-known' games since if it was a shovelware game, Nintendo will know how many have been sold of them & if 'not many' then they could block THAT shovelware completely & block a lot of flashcards AND genuine cards.

Those that actually brought the shovelware may complain, but Ninty may think that it'll be a small price to pay replacing those with updated modified versions that do work

As for 'suing the card makers' for copyright infringement...can't think why ninty doesn't, but I'll guess it'll be 'cheaper' to block card with firmware updates instead of taking them to court (even if they only get blocked for a short while)
there MAY come a time that a firmware update actually blocks all cards & no workaround is found

Using a 'well know' game would most probably have higher sales & the price of replacement with new 'working' versions would be a lot higher & not so cost effective

 

[jruschme]

Now that brings up an interesting question... when Nintendo blocks a flashcart using a particular real cart, does the real cart continue to work?

 

[Rydian]

Yes.

http://gbatemp.net/topic/315784-flash-carts-and-dsi3ds-updates/

The carts only present the small bits of info that are checked for, so the updates make the DSi/3DS check for more info than that.