The R4 Chip
The R4 chip (also known as the R4DS) is a controversial cartridge for the Nintendo DS Lite. The cartridge is the exact size of a DS game cartridge and fits in SLOT1 of the handheld console. The R4 has a MicroSD card slot in which any size MicroSD card can be added. By copying some operating system files on to the Micro SD card the owner has create a space to copy DS Roms and other multimedia files to the card and having access to play them through the Nintendo DS.
The R4 chip has raised concerns over the piracy of Nintendo DS games and has been blamed for the decline in DS Software sales worldwide. The minimal expense of getting one of these cards, from £20 ($40) and the simplicity of actually using the card only adds to debate as to whether they should be available. Many stores have reported high levels of sales but will not say what the R4 is used for over fears of legal action. The issue of backing up Roms is slightly different from one of sites having illegal downloads of games but both raise different concerns. A great use for me would be to have all my games backed up one one R4 chip to save the hassle of carrying multiple games around with me. This raises the issue of whether you are legally allowed to create a back up ROM of games you have purchased legally. Many users of the chip state that if the DS games were sold at the same price worldwide then many would not go to illegal measure of obtaining illegally downloaded ROMs. The prices of games can range from as low as $10(£5) in India to $50-60(£25-30) in the UK.
Legal Uses
With all the bad press the R4 chip has been getting the totally legal uses of the chip have been overlooked, these range from begin able to play:
- Music (inc. mp3’s)
- Video
- View pictures
- and play homebrew games and software.
What are your views on the R4 chip or other chipping methods that extend the functionality of gaming devices?
Tags: , Nintendo DS Lite, R4 Chip, R4DS
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June 13th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Im running one of these myself (well, its brother, the CycloDS). I love it to death and wouldnt have bought a NintendoDS if these werent available. I do alot of movie watching on the DS on plane flights and such.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I think these types of cards should be available to extend the uses of the DS. The PSP has storage cards, so I think the DS should as well.
June 24th, 2008 at 3:33 am
R4 is waaaay better than my supercard which im currently using.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:34 am
Well it’s a great idea for having a handful of games on one card instead of having to carry loads around. I’m pretty sure that if Nintendo designed something official for their products that they’d be able to build in some copy protection that would allow this feature but not allow piracy. Maybe if it was built into the device and not transferable and once a week you had to plug in the original to keep it active?
I’m sure they can come up with something - they spend too much time fighting piracy, rather than thinking about how they can produce devices like this that would create genuine benefits to their users.
Cheers, Dan
August 9th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I’ve heard that Nintendo is suiing more and more creators of Nintendo Chips cards (like the R4)… That’s no wonder, since Nintendo won’t make any money when someone buys a R4 chip.