Nintendo’s anti-piracy measures on the 3DS are apparently so sophisticated, they can’t easily be described.
Piracy on Nintendo’s DS has been a major concern for platform holder and publishers alike, but according to THQ VP of Global Publishing Ian Curran, it’s going to be very different story on its 3D successor.
“The problem with the DS market in the last few years, particularly with the DS Lite, is that it’s just been attacked by piracy,” he said. “It’s made it almost impossible to shift any significant volume. The DSi combated it a little bit, but the 3DS has taken that a step further.”
“I actually asked Nintendo to explain the technology and they said it’s very difficult to do so because it’s so sophisticated,” he continued. “Therefore the opportunity for people to invest more in product development 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.”
In April Nintendo blamed piracy for a drop of nearly 50% in DS sales in Europe, and in 2008 ELSPA suggested that as many as 90% of American DS owners were playing pirated games. Hopefully, Nintendo’s anti-piracy measures for the 3DS will be as effective as it hopes, because as Curran suggests, publisher confidence is going to be key to getting decent third party titles on the device.
Source: CVG
