If Nintendo's hardware was open to anyone who wanted to take the time to code for it, I would be on their side.

But gaming hardware has been for years jealously guarded,
and I'm a firm believer in the principle that no one should prevent you from running almost any kind of code you want to on a device that you own, if you waive the right to a warranty.

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I just bought an R4 card and got it on Saturday. I'm completely in love with it! I have ripped a few movies and loaded them up. I have a few demos and homebrew software loaded.

But, I am still buying games. I'm looking forward to Squad Command (the 40k game).

Having an R4 does not mean pirate, just as P2P does not mean pirate.

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I like to use the R4 to play games when they are released in japan so I can know if I like it and if i do then i buy the english release. I have also found it a great way to try games before I buy it as well as carrying around multiple games I am playing at the same time that I own. When I bought brain age 2 I simultaneously put it on my R4 so my mom could play the cartridge while i played it on R4.

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I'm a pirate.

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Oh, you'd be surprised how many people have these things...
There's two forums I frequent, a gaming forum on www.clockcrew.cc and the DS hardware board on www.gamefaqs.com, on clockcrew, many of the members I know have an R4, including myself, an there is an astounding amount of R4 discussion at GameFAQs.

Seriously, R4's just make piracy astoundingly easier...

Oh right, yes I have an R4, but I don't download any roms.
I use a rom dumping tool on my Supercard Lite.

Now if only I hadn't gotten myself banned for a month at GFAQs, I'd be posting this right away.

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We are all not pirates indeed, but personally I would glady give up homebrew if it would help slow down DS piracy.

Think about it; more games would sell, more developers would launch DS games, and a bunch of those new games ought to be good if not great.

Boo to piracy!

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I am looking into purchasing it for media purposes, does anyone know of a site thats trustworthy? Nintendo forced me down this path, they should have released the playan years ago!

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I've got an R4, loaded it up with some homebrew and some games, but personal use is okay here where I live.. There's also very good homebrew around, which is also very cool! And the R4 makes it accesible to anyone very easily, which is a good thing..

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I have R4 solely for a reason that I cannot otherwise carry lots of games with me. I want to have a choice - at any time. R4 provides it to me.

Piracy (or rather in my case mostly demoing) of game came as additional bonus. Sadly I already bought all the games I wanted. Not much left to be pirated. (Except of course the titles which take like *NEVER* to reach Europe.)

If Nintendo would release card which would allow me to transfer my games to it (and saves!!!) off DS cartridges - I would gladly buy one and will be legit user. Otherwise I'm sticking with R4.

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Second thought.

Popularity of R4 (as well as M3) are plainly pointing in direction of popularity of download services.

Nintedo, finally, please take a hint. I got bored trying to find a Metroid Pinball two years after its release. But on BitTorrent it is readily available. Hint. Hint. Hint.

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I've owned my R4 for quite awhile now. Homebrew has come along way and is starting to get really interesting(Colors, AXE), it's too bad this seems to leave out that whole side of the story.

That being said, as far as the legal issues are concerned, personally, I tend to use it just like I use Torrents, as a test run.

Too many times I've spent $10 on terrible movies at the theater, and too many times I've spent $30-50 on terribe games at the store. (Lets not forget the fact that video game retailers USED to let you try games in the store before you bought them...thanks ebgamestop)

If I get a movie illegally and it's good, I go out and buy it. Similarly, if I get a game illegally and It's good (New Mario, Hotel Dusk) I go out a buy a real copy.
Nintendo lets you download a demo copy at the store to try to entice you to buy a game, I use R4 for the same.

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Yes, I have an R4, and yes, I do pirate some games. But the thing is, I'm from Australia, and games here are ridiculously overpriced. For instance, Phantom Hourglass sells in the local EB's for AUD$70, which at current rates, is about US$62. At those prices, I can't afford to buy as many games as most. The R4 is a convenient try-before-you-buy system so I don't end up wasting money.

It's also allowed me to play many games that aren't actually for sale anymore (mostly GBA games via the EZFlash 3-in-1) and games that otherwise wouldn't be sold at all in Australia. Without the R4, the DS would probably sit in a corner, only to be played maybe once or twice a month. Now I find myself using it every day.

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On a parenting forum that I frequent almost everybody that owns a DS has an R4. People recommend it to each other and people are so grateful because now they don't have to buy those expensive games anymore. It is quite depressing, really (perhaps even more so since these are parents that on other subjects are quite holier-than-thou and all about modeling good behaviour for your children)

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Another Australian here. I use my R4 primarily to play homebrew, or SCUMMVM games. Having said that, I do occasionally download ROMs to play on it of games I'm interested in perhaps importing (either direct from Japan, like I did with Ouendan, or a game released in America that's not getting released here), games I already own (simply because it's easier to not take a stack of games around with me at all times), and seemingly out-of-print games. I continue to buy legit copies of games when I find something that interests me, and if anything, I'm probably more willing to put my money on a game, simply from having had a chance to try it before I buy.

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I've only gotten my R4 recently, a couple weeks ago, and I'm very satisfied. A lot of good homebrew (Like Geo Wars, Everlasting Love (thanks DS fanboy!), and World of Sand), and yes, I've downloaded a few ROMs. Three words: Zekkyo Senshi Sakeburain!

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Maybe not in America, but in Asian countries other than Japan, almost everyone with a DS uses R4. It's like part of the standard package. And I don't know anyone who runs homebrew on his DS either...

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