Question on legality of modding Wii game consoles

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Question on legality of modding Wii game consoles

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edko

Newbie

24. December 2007 @ 14:00

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I was just wondering if there are any potential legal gotcha's with the act of modifying a game console to allow it to play a backed up game.
I come from the old days of DTV testing, and was one of the thousands of testers who received cease and desist letters from DTV after they raided and closed down the card reader/parts distributers and confiscated their customer lists. This was a pure civil matter as no laws were actually broken. Loss of revenue by DTV was the driving force.
I suppose this hobby could jeapordize Nintendos game sales revenues if people were DL'ing games or making backups of rentals... but nobody I know does that. :)
Should we be concerned about future ramifications from Nintendo?
Should we be using MO's or cash for all purchases of mod chips and installations to protect our identities.
Can one be prosecuted for modding a console for someone else?
I'm new to this sport but have seen bad things evolve in similar areas.
Any thoughts?

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5couse

Junior Member

24. December 2007 @ 16:32

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I think its been illegal to modify consoles so that they can play "backups" for a while now in the UK( from what ive read). And chipping for someone else i think would increase the hefty fine you'd probably receive. As with everything its all money orientated and companies will constantly blame their poor sales on "software pirates" rather than the fact that most of their products are crap.

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binkie7

Moderator

24. December 2007 @ 17:04

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So true 5couse - companies always love to blame poor sales on 'pirating'.

@edko
In the US too modding a console is illegal - here's a news blurb - link.
Now will they go after the user who mods their console and plays back ups - probably not but this is just my opinion - nothing in stone :) They are more likely to go after the chip makers, moders and those who sell backup copies of games.

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larrylje

AfterDawn Addict

24. December 2007 @ 17:05

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In the USA it is kinda a double edge sword.

In the USA it is legal to make backups of your bought and legaly owned DVD/MUSIC/VIDEO games etc. etc. But it is illegal to use circumventing technology to bypass copy protection measures that companies implement on their stuff.

You need some sort of software/hardware to bypass the copy protection when backing up or playing a backup copy of your material. So as soon as you start that program that bypasses copy protection on a DVD or Audio CD you are breaking the law. As soon as you install and use that Modchip on a gaming system you are breaking the law.

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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 24. December 2007 @ 17:15

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