Yarrr, we DS users be pirates

When I got up this morning I saw an interesting tidbit of news surface during my breakfast RSS feed. The UK's Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) has declared that 90% of North American DS owners play pirated games on their DS by using the R4 chip.
90%? 90?! Seriously. (This is where I wish I could do the Jon Stewart eyebrow-raise) From gamer reactions around the Internet, it's easy to tell not many have even heard of this DS modification, let alone most of the casual gamers who own a DS. Let's be realistic here, do you think your Nintendogs-playing 8-year-old or that Brain Age-playing businessman are cruising the Internets looking for these hacking tools?

The Sunday Post cites a "Nintendo DS user in Lanarkshire" telling them roughly 50 games are available for download with the R4 chip.

A good number of articles have cropped up across gaming and tech sites, but this article appears to have originated on The Sunday Post. The next site it appeared on was GamesIndustry.biz, which has contacted ELSPA to back up those stats.

This provides a chance for a completely insane conspiracy theory. The R4 chip was obviously very under the radar before this morning. Now it's all over the Internet and will no doubt see an increase in sales. If the Sunday Post was the kind of publication you could point a finger at and accuse of having an agenda, which after clicking around their site it does not appear to be, I might think someone in the industry really wanted Nintendo's stock to drop a little more. Alas, I realize this is simply a crackpot, conflict theory idea.

Still, the proliferation of this story on the Internet will hurt Nintendo's sales more than help. While I definitely don't see the DS going the way of the Dreamcast and getting pirated out of existence, it's upsetting to see gamers stoop so low to get free games.

Using an R4 chip would definitely be lowest of the low for piracy. Nintendo DS games are the cheapest in software. It's hard to argue with titles priced at $19.99 or $29.99. True, there are some titles that sneak up to that $34.99 price point, but considering you could be paying half of that per month for World of Warcraft or almost double that for a PS3 or Xbox 360 game, it's not bad. In fact, that's one of the reasons I love portable gaming. It may lack the graphical appearance, but it still provides a solid gaming experience if you know what games to pick up.

Will we see something like the PS2 mod chip raids if this "crisis," as the Sunday Post paints it, continues? (Just FYI, PS2 modification chips were mostly used to play imported games on the PS2; not to play pirated games) Doubtful. I'd like to hope my fellow gamers would have enough integrity to not pick an R4 over the Internets from China, which is where they're made. It's one thing when my clothes, dishes, bootleg anime DVDs, everything, etc. are from China, but when something brings semi-destructive implications to the gaming industry--well, that's when it gets personal.

I shouldn't be saying things like this, especally because it's so ambiguous how much actual harm these chips are doing so far, if any harm at all. Never can tell with the Internet, after all.

_____________________

Edit: Feb. 3 2008, 8:00 p.m. EST

The 90% statistic has been officially declared erroneous. GamesIndustry.biz got to the bottom of it.

However, a spokesperson for ELSPA told GamesIndustry.biz that, "[John] didn't quote The Sunday Post on any figures whatsoever."

"ELSPA would certainly never presume to comment about America or anywhere else outside of the UK," added the spokesperson.

...

The report, said ELSPA, is a hatchet job consisting of facts from an article from Singapore, false quotes and a genuine conversation with Hillier on the availability of the R4 cartridge in the UK.

--GamesIndustry.biz article

So at the end of the day, only the Sunday Post's credibility suffers. Yay, Internet.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Delayed (Again)

Early this morning, gaming site Kotaku broke the news that Super Smash Brothers Brawl, possibly the most anticipated title for the Wii since the system's debut, was delayed from it's February 10th US release to March 9. Some gamers say they knew it was inevitable; some are just crying their eyes out.

Sources close to the company said the game needs more polish, according to Kotaku.

The poor Brawl team (above) is shocked by the news.
Will they ever see the light of day?

Staff Biographies

Meet the people who make the pulse of Your Family Games beat.

Meghan Ventura
Editor-in-Chief/Webmistress/Female Games-Journalist-to-be

Meghan Ventura is a sophomore journalism major studying at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and, now, a certified yoga teacher. She has been playing games since PokeMon Red/Blue (about 1995) and favors handheld games above all others.

Tired of seeing videogames get a repeatedly senseless flogging in the news, Meghan started Your Family Games with the intention of guiding parents into the crazy fray of videogames and their culture, ultimately hoping to set the record of games' supposed effect on children straight. She and the small band of YFG writers pay for games with money from their own pockets, and are unpaid (at least until they hit the big time).

Favorite Games: Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Golden Sun, Find the Egg

Christa Puccio
Staff Writer since Jan. 2008
Christa Puccio is a sophomore enrolled in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism program and a goalkeeper for the Women’s Varsity Soccer Program at Ohio University. She has been balancing school, soccer and video games since age four with her first old school Nintendo. Her favorite games are on the Play Station 2 game console, including Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3, SOCOM Combined Assault and Grand Theft Auto Vice City.

Will
Staff Writer since Jan. 2008
Will is a freshman journalism major at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. His favorite games are: the Madden series, Final Fantasy XII, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect,
Halo 3, Dynasty Warriors 4, Age of Empires 3, PokeMon (all of them), and Super Smash Brothers.

Sonic RPG

Bioware for a younger audience?

Waking up at the crack of 12pm, I found something very interesting waiting for me on the Internet: according to the latest issue of Nintendo Power, there is a Sonic RPG, called Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, on the horizon for the Nintendo DS. From what videogame website and community NeoGAF summarized about Nintendo Power's article, the game takes after the same stylus-controlled adventure the Zelda: Phantom Hourglass showed us last year. Sonic RPG departs from Sonic's traditionally bright, well-defined graphics and goes for a more of a watercolor, hand-drawn effect. Bioware Corp., the same developer that brought Neverwinter Nights and the award-winning Mass Effect, will be producing the game. If Mass Effect was any indication of what Bioware can do, this will be a very interesting ride.

The gameplay combines several aspects of play from other games, but I think what surprises me the most (or maybe this isn't so surprising considering this is a handheld system) is the turn-based battle system. RPGs on pretty much every platform have moved away from traditional turn-based fighting because real-time fighting is considered to be more fun and taking advantage of the advanced gaming technologies we have now. Of course, in line with other gaming trends, there is more than one game genre intertwined with the game-play. Sonic RPG will have rhythm-based special attacks (think Elite Beat Agents or Ontamarama) and also team attacks (like in Crono Trigger), according to NeoGAF.

Eleven characters will be available for play, but so far, we've only had seven characters confirmed: Sonic, Tales, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Rouge, Shadow, and the Big Cat. Each character will have their own unique out-of-battle ability (for example, Tales can float over obstacles). You can have up to four characters at a time on your party, and choose which stats to increase when you level up. You can also buy and level up special attacks. Some instances in the game will call for you to split up the party to complete separate missions (always a fun, nerve-wracking RPG element).

And even though Sonic is transcending genres (as popular videogame characters often do), some aspects of the game are making sure he's still in touch with his roots: remixed classic Sonic tunes, the typical Act 1/Act 2 level set-up that hearkens back to the oldest of Sonic games, and Rings, which act not as an extra-life giver, but as money. By looking at the last screenshot below, you can see Sonic still has his super-speedy loop-the-loop abilities.

Not a whole lot is known about the storyline, but it does involve Sonic's archnemesis Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik), Knuckle's getting kidnapped and the 6 Chaos Emeralds going missing. What is particularly mysterious is that Eggman is not the main villain and there is a "twist on something between Sonic and Eggman that goes back to the earlier games." These hints make me think there might be some darker aspects to this Sonic storlyline, especially since the second half of levels "take part in a darker world."

If there ever was a time to get excited about a Sonic game released since the 90s, this is it (because let's face it, those 3D Sonic adventures with awkward hedgehog voiceovers just don't cut it). There are some really interesting elements of this game that are very promising, as long as they don't get tangled up and trip over each other in gameplay. A reputable franchise in the hands of a reputable developer? I have some high hopes for this game, but mostly just a hope that Sonic can return to Nintendo with a game that won't flop (*not-so-conspicuous ahem at Olympic Games*).

Here are some screenshots/scans from the Internets:



These graphics are super-enticing to me. The scenery is reminiscent of Odin Sphere's art style, but toned down to portable dimensions.

Holiday Archive

While quarter 4 (the infamous holiday season of videogames) brought some solid titles, it has long flickered out of existence (trust me 1-3 weeks in the games world goes by in a snap).

This page is home to the holiday information:
2007

Free Wii Remote Accessory!

A Wii accessory that's not set at a price-gouging $20? Amazing! Cynicism aside, Nintendo recently launched an offer of providing free Wii Remote jackets that provide a nice cushy casing for your expensive investments in controllers. The jackets are included in all new Wii systems being shipped, so this offer applies to Wii owners who bought their Wiis before the jackets debuted. They're suprisingly not cubersome and easy to slip on and off your Wiimote.

Follow this link to the Wii Remote Jacket order site to order your set of jackets. Be ready with your Wii's serial code, which can be found on the back of the Wii system and begins with "LU" followed by nine numbers. You can order up to four Wiimote Jackets per Wii and shipping, which ranges from 5 to 10 days, is totally free, and also check the status of your shipment on the Jacket order site.