Yutaka Kubota in a recent interview (translated by 1Up from Famitsu) said -

“…be aware that unless we do something, nobody will be able to make the games they love to play. Not only will gamers wanting to play new games not be able to play anything, but people who want to join the game industry in the future will have their dreams trampled upon.”

It is a particularly difficult issue in Japan because the laws regarding the download of these ROMs are none existent. Individuals are free to buy R4’s and download software with no fear of any legal ramifications (though recent legal moves by Nintendo resulted in stores removing them from shelves).

As president of ‘Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software’ Kubota is no doubt aware not just of the R4 and other such ROM devices but also the rampant piracy that has been perpetrated against the PSP’s software library. On every convenience stores magazine rack you can find publications telling you how to mod you PSP. But perhaps it is the popularity of the DS platform that is causing the group to make this stand now, especially in light of declining sales across the industry during this time of recession.

"The fact is that you can download any Nintendo DS game as much as you want, so there's no way to even calculate the damage. This is an issue that affects our national interests, and personally, I see it as a form of information terrorism that is crushing Japan's industry."

Ignoring the jingoism and hyperbole this statement makes the whole thing look like Kubota is jumping to the beat of Nintendo’s drum due to the interview's focus. But it could just be that the R4 card provides something physical for Japan to direct their attention towards, and its sales disproving the default assumption that everyone in Japan does what is morally right. With a new copywrite bill currently under review in Japan it will be interesting to see if the practice of downloading such materials will slow once it actually becomes illegal.

Kubota’s underlying point is valid of course, piracy always harms industry. Unfortunately the argument feels less compelling when the example is drawn from one of the few game companies that made a profit last year.

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