3DS is Watching You: Activity-Logging and Anti-Piracy Features

[Illyasviel]

So you don't really believe that paying customers (which most of us are) are unworthy of trust?

Nintendo is kicking us in the privates for giving them money. I'd say it's Nintendo that is unworthy of trust.

I do believe paying customers are worthy of trust.

A great hacker once said, "there is no such thing as true freedom, there is only the maximum tolerated deviation from what is the accepted norm. Every time you wish to gain freedom, you sacrifice security, and every time you wish to gain security, you sacrifice freedom."

In other words, Nintendo wants security. There were a lot of developers, like THQ, who refused to or hated developing for the DS due to nonexistent security measures. This is the natural outcome. Its not exactly an ideal outcome, but, as I said, a few bad apples spoils the bunch.

Also: I said people are unworthy of trust. Nintendo IS people. Business IS people. Therefore, business is also unworthy of trust.

 

[Aris Khandr]

Which you will buy and they will make more money, see why this market research is so valuable?

I do understand. Obviously better than you do, as you seem to believe that we get nothing of value from this.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I am not that worried about the "privacy" of what games I play. I send the exact same information to Valve and Microsoft every time I use Steam or my 360. Nintendo, or any company, is not some boogeyman out to steal your identity. They're a company embracing modern technology to get direct feedback on their products so that they can then use that information to make products that we'll enjoy even more. Stop being so afraid of the future, embrace it.

 

[Illyasviel]

I suspect that when they start bricking 3DS's, the lawsuits will fly. You simply can't break other people's property.

I believe in compromise. I avoid extremes. Forcing businesses to hand over all their rights to defend themselves just to appease consumers is an extreme.

Both business and consumers have an equal right and equal expectation to be protected under the law.

And honestly, we should've been at the peace table a long time ago. Its just extremists, on both sides, always come and fuck everything up. Pirates a.k.a. "consumer protection activists" are probably among the worst. They punch business in the face all day long while hiding behind various fuzzy logic justifications and act appalled when business tries to punch them back.

I would love to see the gaming industry start offering incentives to turn pirates in. You report a dude. If investigation is warranted, a subpeona is obtained and the defendant is forced to turn over his hard disks and equipment. If enough evidence is gathered for the defendant, now pirate, to be convicted, you get a smooth USD500 reward. Publishers will have eyes everywhere, and people will be so busy backstabbing each other or avoiding getting backstabbed they won't have time to hate on you. Reward the just, drive the wicked deeper underground. For pirates, the enemy won't be "THE MAN," it will be his neighbor. Divide and conquer, and all so delightfully evil.

 

[andy.welbournW]

This is some scary stuff right here. Personally I have already stopped buying Ubisoft games, with the rare exception of Ruse, avoid EA games, and support games such as Star Ruler and Minecraft. I will avoid buying the Nintendo 3DS. I am against these companies having the ability to deactivate hardware which I buy.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Didn't Blizzard win some court case against the auto-botters citing the EULA as their reason for it?

There's a massive legal difference between terminating a service and disabling a product.

Blizzard were terminating a service not disabling a product.

 

[Illyasviel]

Look like Nintendo 2, Consumer -2 to me. Compromise....LOL

You can't shake no hands with a clenched fist mon.

Here's another pithy saying: "vote with your wallet."

 

[Kagim]

I'm not going to do anything illegal so i can't be bothered to give a shit. It always makes me laugh knowing that the majority of people here complaining about the invasion of there rights probably have facebook accounts. A service that overtly sells your information to anyone with enough money.

I also wonder if any of you are out of highschool and have a points card of some sort with any place of business. That's the same thing. It's intrusive for Nintendo to know what games you bought. and played.

It's not intrusive for the grocery store to know what you buy and when. Despite both groups needing your consent. After all, you gotta buy the 3DS just like you gotta sign up for the card.

"Ohhhhh they just want cha money!!" No shit eh? a Company wants to make money? Fuck and here i thought they were in the market of bringing sunshine and unicorn farts to all the happy children.

As many people have said, don't like it, don't buy it.

However I'll take it a step further. Don't emulate it either.

What all this DRM nonsense comes down to is two idiots slamming there heads into a brick wall. Then becoming baffled that it didn't fall over.

Companies keep releasing restrictive DRM to try and stem the tide of assholes taking there work for free.

People keep downloading there shit for free not realizing they are only making the problem worse by validating the companies who slap DRM onto there products.

Both groups are just making the problem worse. Then ***** incessantly that it's not getting better. Holding back changes in the market. Fucking over legitimate consumers.

So does Nintendo have the right to do what they are doing? To me, yeah. It's there product. You don't like it? Don't buy it. Plain and simple. Vote with your wallet. It's a video game system. Not a bleeding pacemaker. You know full well what they are doing. It's not hidden. It's not a secret. It's not being implemented six months after it's release without telling anyone.

It's out in the open, before it's even being sold. Use your judgment. You can live without a 3DS. Christ...

 

[daltonlaffs]

*****, please.

First of all, did you all really miss that the Wii did this too? Check your messages to find your "daily" report, detailing every Wii game and channel you were using and for how long. Mine is filled with "The Homebrew Channel" on most days, and Nintendo hasn't bricked me yet.

Second of all, do you really think the pirates are stupid enough to identify the R4 as an R4? Most of the flash carts already out there for piracy (AND HOMEBREW, that's still a thing, you know) already masquerade themselves as a game -- my EZFlash Vi flash cart that's currently inside my DSi appears to be a copy of "Tak: The Great Juju Challenge" from the system menu. Unless Nintendo has something to say about my apparent Tak fetish from the number of hours I use the thing per day, they can't do anything about me logging lots of hours in that game. I'm sure the 3DS carts will do the exact same thing when (not if) they arrive.

This isn't really invasive, either. As I understand it, all that information stays on your 3DS, much like, again, the Wii's daily activity reports. The auto-updates could be used to stop piracy, but they're much more likely to just be convenient, and the pirates will always find a way anyway. This changes nothing, other than giving you a convenient log of how much time you spent gaming and how far you walked today.

 

[daltonlaffs]

Im just curious, is their anyone one here whom actually believes that this will stop piracy I mean it wont im just curious if anyone thinks it will?

Really, it would if the pirates (and homebrewers) weren't already capable of disguising their flash carts as regular retail games. Which is something they already do to screw with the DSi's security measures. So, uh, fission mailed there, Nintendo.

 

[Illyasviel]

Tell that to Nintendo as I don't remember them ever attempting to compromise with customers. All this talk of compromise is just an attempt to excuse this action that Nintendo (not Nintendo and consumers) has taken.

You really, really, really think Nintendo hates your guts so bad that they wouldn't ever be willing to meet you in the middle? Really?

The harder you push them, the harder they'll push back.

Well, I think it's obvious why DRM is getting worse and worse, gamers not only put up with it...but they encourage it.

The pirate playbook. Chapter 4, verse 2.

Tell them "I'm a defender, no, CHAMPION, of the people, and I'm here to protect your rights." Secretly profit by stirring up enough trouble to maintain status quo so that you may continue to pirate games.

Honest people: God, I'm just sick and tired of douchebags fucking everything up. I just want to be able to enjoy my games.