Nintendo strikes back at modders! Piracy with the
R4-Revolution for DS system has been
running rampant, with surprisingly weak legal barriers to stop it. While it isn't necessarily advertised, the R4 system has been a large contributor to DS piracy in certain countries. Outside Japan it has become a hot import item due to ease of use. The user simply plugs it in and turns on the DS, without the need for any hacks or mods.
Enter Nintendo's alternative, the
DSvision. The hardware components seems nearly identical, consisting of a microSD card reader for the DS, a microSD card, and a microSD card to USB 2.0 adapter for PC. The difference is that the DSvision parts are all proprietary, with built in copyright protection.
The manufacturing of the DSvision system is being handled by AM3 and Dai Nippon Publishing, with an expected shipment date in March 2008. A web site to host content is also proposed; offering pictures, movies, and digital novels and comics both for purchase and for free. The site is expected to host 300 titles at launch, and expand to over 10,000 titles by 2010. Each title will sell for around 1000¥ (US$10). The kit itself will cost 3980¥ (US$37), and will include a 512MB microSD card. It appears that this too may shape up to be a hot import item. Combined with the TV tuner and web browser, the DS is shaping up to be a big portable media machine after all.
More information is available on the Japanese
DSvision website.
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