The DS is one of the most pirated systems in the world, to the point where it’s amazing that publishers even bother putting out good games for it. It would appear, however, that Nintendo has had enough, revealing via THQ that the upcoming 3DS will feature “sophisticated” technology designed to keep out the dirty thieves.
“What excites me even more [than 3DS games] is that there’s technology built in that device to really combat piracy,” says THQ global publishing VP Ian Curran. “I actually asked Nintendo to explain the technology and they said it’s very difficult to do so because it’s so sophisticated. They combated the piracy on DSi, which they don’t believe is cracked yet — but they know they’ve been hurt across the world and they believe the 3DS has got technology that can stop that.
“Therefore the opportunity for people to invest more in product development [on the system] and bring more 3DS products to market comes out of that. It’s going to probably cost us more to do it all in 3D — so we want to make sure we get a return on our investment when we do it.”
I’m usually not one to applaud anti-piracy measures, but good on Nintendo. While I don’t think pirates are major league villains, I am disgusted by how raped the DS’ library was, usually by the same kind of people that whine and complain about not getting good games. So long as Nintendo’s tech doesn’t involve getting a Firmware update every two weeks, I’m all about the system protecting itself from mass theft.
3DS fixes Nintendo’s piracy problem – THQ [CVG]
