DS Flash cards now banned in the UK

R4s (or Flash Cards) get the chop in the UK as Nintendo wins in the High Court

The UK now joins the ranks of countries that have deemed the ‘R4’ cards for the Nintendo DS illegal. London’s High Court has ruled that the R4 and all other types of flash cards that enabled piracy on the Nintendo DS are illegal. Now of course, not all flash cards are used for piracy but with the way the cards actually work, there is enough for the court to act upon the cards. The judge dismissed that shape of the card and that Nintendo’s logos where being used on the cards. Other Flash card names and brands such as the M3DS, DSTT, Acekard and the CycloDS were named in the case as well.

Software piracy in the UK for the Nintendo DS is huge and it’s believed that it caused a drop of more than 50% in software sales on the Nintendo DS in the last year, partially caused by these cards.

This ruling means the UK joins Australia, Japan and many other countries in banning the cards. But we suspect that we haven’t seen the end of DS piracy for the time being.