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NEWS: Nintendo File Lawsuits Against 2 ROM Sites




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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:40 pm Reply with quote
At this stage, shutting down two ROM-hosting sites will be as effective in the fight against piracy as killing two locusts within a swarm.

Presumably this has been done either in the hope of setting a precedent, or simply as the sites in question (unlike more established repositories) were easy targets from a legal perspective.
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Replica_Rabbit



Joined: 23 Aug 2015
Posts: 354
Location: Portland
PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 5:03 pm Reply with quote
Zin5ki wrote:
At this stage, shutting down two ROM-hosting sites will be as effective in the fight against piracy as killing two locusts within a swarm.

Presumably this has been done either in the hope of setting a precedent, or simply as the sites in question (unlike more established repositories) were easy targets from a legal perspective.

I think they just defending their trademarks and those sites are easy targets. I think the law is you have to defend your trademarks once awhile or risk losing it (not a lawyer)
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Chiyosuke



Joined: 06 Oct 2003
Posts: 366
PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:40 pm Reply with quote
*sees "unfair competition"*

*proceeds to die of laughter*
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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
Posts: 13540
Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:03 am Reply with quote
Chiyosuke wrote:
*sees "unfair competition"*

*proceeds to die of laughter*

How could there be unfair competition of a trademark if they are fighting to where there might be no competition?
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SpaceTheGamer



Joined: 17 Dec 2016
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:55 am Reply with quote
*Nintendo shots Virtual Console*

Nintendo: Why are people downloading ROMs illegaly!?!?
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Escaflowne2001



Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 468
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 5:26 am Reply with quote
I guess this is why Nicoblog took down there Nintendo stuff (well hid them on a different website anyway)
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Lady Multi



Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 673
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 5:44 am Reply with quote
I actually never heard of those sites. The Emu sites I'm aware of aren't those.

Not to mention that you can seriously download every SNES game in one torrent file. It's quite possible you can do that with every other console's game library as well.

..And the Switch has been jailbroken since release, you think they'd worry more about the current new games instead of games that are possibly to the age to end up on Archive.org.
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SejinPK



Joined: 22 Dec 2013
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:56 pm Reply with quote
This is completely ridiculous. The names of the sites and the imagery in the screencaps indicate that the ROMs are for older games, which you have to purchase secondhand these days because Nintendo doesn't make or sell them anymore. And as far as I know, none of the profits from such sales make their way to Nintendo. So Nintendo isn't losing money or facing unfair competition because they don't actually sell these games or make money off their sale anymore.

As far as using images, logos, etc. trademarked by Nintendo, I do feel like there should be some punishment, but nowhere near as steep as what Nintendo wants. Unless the Mathiases are ridiculously wealthy, Nintendo is essentially asking in its filing to ruin them financially for the rest of their lives, which is taking this much, much, much too far, especially considering how little (if at all) the Mathiases actions have actually hurt Nintendo.

EDIT: Oof, I forgot that digital console was a thing. >.< Given that, I think there should also be some punishment for the ROMs for games that Nintendo sells through digital console, but I'd imagine that there are a great many games that they don't sell that way. I still think the amount of money Nintendo wants is obscene, especially when you compare the harm done to Nintendo here relative to the company's financial success.
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 7:35 pm Reply with quote
Zin5ki wrote:
At this stage, shutting down two ROM-hosting sites will be as effective in the fight against piracy as killing two locusts within a swarm.

Presumably this has been done either in the hope of setting a precedent, or simply as the sites in question (unlike more established repositories) were easy targets from a legal perspective.


regardless, THIS IS SOOOOOOO DUMB!!!!!

its like the H.Y.D.R.A motto! "You take off one head, and a new one takes its place!" people will just go to other ROM sites!

if they really want to curb this, then all they needed to do is to make those retro games to be played legally and is able to keep those licenses permanently!
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TheAnimeRevolutionizer



Joined: 03 Nov 2017
Posts: 329
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 10:36 pm Reply with quote
jr240483 wrote:
regardless, THIS IS SOOOOOOO DUMB!!!!!

its like the H.Y.D.R.A motto! "You take off one head, and a new one takes its place!" people will just go to other ROM sites!

if they really want to curb this, then all they needed to do is to make those retro games to be played legally and is able to keep those licenses permanently!


As a connoisseur of video games and ones through emulation, I will admit I have a limit, being roms and dumps that are of games in the current market. These games have nothing to do with that, however.

It isn't merely because "they are free", but because even if the retro trend is in, I highly doubt they'll listen to release even Japan only roms to the US or even translate them. I've got to play many games that have never ever reached the shores of the US through the mainstream market, and for myself, games that were well past beyond their marketdate with a secondhand market near non existent. Nintendo best also not tell me that back in these days "they cared even after the console's lifespan" because they were just like everyone else back then: looking for the next best thing. The Gamecube never had an SNES or N64 adapter slot back then, so why do they care now? Easy.

Unless they're going to go crazy awesome with releasing SNES minis with themes like "The Ultimate JRPG Throwback Mini" or the "Mega Man X Trilogy Mini" or even a "Fire Emblem Chronicles Mini" or even a collector's "Earthbound SNES Tribute Mini made of 24 Carat Gold with an Ultimate Starman adornment" or some other great business tactic that would blow the lids off of the market, I doubt they'll do it.

I like Nintendo. This however is not one of the things I like about them.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5886
PostPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 4:38 pm Reply with quote
TheAnimeRevolutionizer wrote:


Nintendo best also not tell me that back in these days "they cared even after the console's lifespan" because they were just like everyone else back then: looking for the next best thing. The Gamecube never had an SNES or N64 adapter slot back then, so why do they care now?


....I know you're not serious but honestly why would those have had adaptors for old systems that easily had been found on the second hand market if not still on store shelves by 2001?

jr240483 wrote:


its like the H.Y.D.R.A motto! "You take off one head, and a new one takes its place!" people will just go to other ROM sites!

if they really want to curb this, then all they needed to do is to make those retro games to be played legally and is able to keep those licenses permanently!


You're never going to be able to play half the library of these systems though so no GoldenEye 64, Madden 94, or Turtles In Time. But yeah they really need to get with the times on digital content retention.
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TheAnimeRevolutionizer



Joined: 03 Nov 2017
Posts: 329
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:44 pm Reply with quote
BadNewsBlues wrote:
....I know you're not serious but honestly why would those have had adaptors for old systems that easily had been found on the second hand market if not still on store shelves by 2001?


I grew up in small town USA, and buddy, let me tell you the tales I've been through regarding this. Back in those times, the only way you could find older games were at pawn shops, and believe me when I say that they went for exorbitant prices that are on par right now with scummy Ebay matching resellers. By the time the Playstation hit the shelves, even the rental stores phased out their library for the latest thing, and they went about as fast as the dust in the wind. This isn't even counting flea markets, where they were going as high as 20 dollars a game before the return of the retro gaming craze going by a dime a dozen, and the early 2000s internet boom, where anime and video games were hand in hand with fan sites and emulation. FantasyAnime was only the pioneering oasis of letting people in on what emulation was really about, and it's thanks to them that anyone gets to know what older JRPGs and games were all about.

The main point to all of this is that there's a big world out there, and that humankind will not ever bow to the whims of strongarmed power and absolute control. For any of you who want to major in business, believe me that to really earn the big bucks and the respect of your customers, love is what will drive you to the very end, and will drive you to seize the entire situation. Nintendo is kinda doing that especially with their local events these days, but this is just them giving themselves a black eye.

Granted, all angles must be accounted for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHAxc_u_zqk

A video on the topic by Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson about this topic. As I've learned, LoveROMs isn't all that squeaky clean. Much like the movie Blow, don't get fooled by the defendant's squeaky clean looks.
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