Jools Watsham's Blog: 3DS Piracy!

Jools Watsham's Blog: 3DS Piracy!: According to a report from Tiny Cartridge , hackers are starting to delve into the 3DS, illegally. This may open up pathways for pirates to ...


I posted this as a comment in response to Jools' post:


From TC:
"He adds that he has no interest in allowing others to use the hack to load pirated software."

In circumventing the region locking of 3DS, I will have greater motivation to buy 3DS. My two biggest deal breaking problems with the 3DS so far are the battery life and region locking. I'm very excited to support eShop games on 3DS, as I have with WiiWare and DSiWare. I'm especially looking forward to finally playing games like Mutant Mudds, Fractured Soul, Mighty Switch Force!, and NightSky. In any 3DS discussion, I am diligent in mentioning such titles. Also, with retail stuff, I even own BIT.TRIP SAGA already.

In regards to Try-before-buy,
I have tried several DS games and later bought them. Including (but not limited to):
Etrian Odyssey, Mega Man Battle Network 5, Mega Man Zero Collection, Ghost Trick, Custom Robo, Dragon Quest/Monsters, Final Fantasy, KORG DS-10, Lufia, Monster Rancher, N+, among others.
The funny thing is that most of these remain on my SD card, while the actual game box remains unopened. Now I'm not saying everyone is like this, but with my friends I can think of more than one example who are either, in another country and have to wait, or simply have to save up money, who pirate a game first but buy it later.

Piracy is invaluable for any creative medium. Piracy, to me, carries a positive connotation rather than the common negative one.
In speaking against piracy, usually a person isn't seeing the entire scope of effects, but rather only the first few dominoes that fall. Two example scenarios with different end results:
1) Person doesn't own the game. Can't pirate it or demo it to even try it. This person does not experience the game at all, and so ignores it and then goes on to play other games instead, which are spread around instead, as in the next scenario.
2) Person does't own the game. Can pirate it, plays it a bunch. Tells all his friends, off and on line, about how he's playing this new game and how fun it is. Personal recommendation is much more influential than a commercial or a review. Out of all those friends, some may even end up trying the game out, and in turn they tell all their friends, and lo - the word of mouth free-marketing domino effect. 10 people hearing about a game is superior to 1 person ignoring a game.

Supporting small developers is important. For a long time I've done my best to be aware of the scene to help promote these great games to people who otherwise don't take the time to wade so deep into the scene. While it is unfortunate that there are some who wholly and maliciously pirate things, I think there are an equal or greater amount of good people who instead support, contribute, and promote.

Also, in response to a previous comment,

"Case in point: Bob Sabiston, developer/publisher of the successful DSiWare app Inchworm animation and head of industry-acclaimed film studio Flat Black Films, was denied a license to develop for 3DS/Wii U for no specific reason, even though he has a solid reputation, meets/exceeds all the requirements and already has a successful app on the DSi Shop Channel."

I'm very disappointed to hear about Bob Sabiston.

4 - Can you make it jump out?

Iwata: With 3D graphics up until now, you [only] felt a sense of depth when the camera swung around.

Itoi: In other words, the movement makes it feel three-dimensional. But this is three-dimensional the moment you see it.  

Iwata Asks: Nintendo 3DS 

In the interview, they discuss the Virtual Boy, and how it was really the last 'toy' Nintendo produced. A toy, in the sense of the spirit of the their past products, like Love Tester and Ultra Hand. The gaming world thinking of it as a failure is the result of thinking of it as a console and comparing it to Nintendo's recent products, rather than the toy it was. That's all insightful, but what they aren't telling you is that the VB was rushed to market - an unfinished stop-gap product to bide time until the release of the Ultra 64.

They also talk about how they had 3D screens on GBA prototypes. The GameCube also actually has 3D capability built in, but Nintendo never sold the product which allowed this. Luigi's Mansion was originally built to work with this 3D system. They even released a 3D game for the Famicom Disk System, with special goggles. A racing game titled, Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally.

They also mention how Yamauchi was the person who first pushed for both 3D and dual screens. It's interesting to note that the GBA SP was a sort of preview for the upcoming DS, with it's clamshell design. While I'm here and on the subject of early GBA and GCN designs:

Another GameCube prototype - the first incarnation of the Wii and Wii Remote.

A prototype VB controller which has the GCN colour scheme!

3 - 3DS AR. Potential!

So you're playing the Pokémon TCG with your friend, and you yell, "Go Charizard, use Fire Spin!". In your mind, you see your Charizard card come to life, jumping out of the card, attacking and burning the other monster. But your friend just looks at you puzzled. He discards his fainted monster, starts his turn, simply declares an attack, and ends his turn - uninspired as per usual, ruining your excitement.

With the next Nintendo handheld on the horizon, we may be able to make such fantasies come to life on our portable screens. The idea is partially demonstrated here:

This technology could be used not only for Pokémon, but I bet there will be a 3DS Yu-Gi-Oh game which uses this augmentioned reality (AR) to finally make something like the holograms from the manga and anime come true.

Now, this technology is old news. Sony has already done it with Eye of Judgement, Kinect does it, and some iPhone apps do it (poorly). But Nintendo has the vision and resources to make a fun, useful, updated spritual successor to the e-Reader, using the 3DS's three cameras.

While I'm here, I would also like to offer up my prayers to the Nintendo gods for another Why Hasn't it Happened? idea: Pokémon Snap 2! Surely they could do it on 3DS, perhaps even incorporating AR to walk around and snap pictures of Grass and Bug-type Pokémon in the forest behind your house, or water Pokémon at your local beach.