This week, 3DS hacking communities are clamouring over a so-called “ban wave” that permanently knocks systems offline.
On forums like GBA Temp, Reddit and 4chan, there are dozens of pages where people are trying to figure out if their systems have been banned. According to online reports, users hit by the ban hammer are seeing an “Error Code: 002-0102” when they try to load up their friends list:
Image via 4chan
While it’s difficult to pinpoint a commonality between all affected users, many admit to downloading custom firmware to the system. With custom firmware, users can alter their 3DSes, use emulators an dump game cartridges. Others say they have pirated games for the 3DS, while some claim they didn’t do anything at all, but were banned anyway. (We cannot verify such claims.)
Speaking to Kotaku, Nintendo gave a general sense of what systems they are targeting:
As a result of a number of users making unauthorised system modifications, playing unauthorised versions of one or more games and/or connecting to the game servers in violation of our terms of service, Nintendo has banned those users’ systems from accessing its online network, effective immediately.
Banned users say they can still use their systems, but are prohibited from playing online or using services like Miiverse. Some players say they’re calling Nintendo’s support hotline to plead for their systems, or using multiple 3DS systems to bypass the bans. Others, meanwhile, are having a more intense reaction to this turn of events:
Comments
9 responses to “Nintendo Bans A Bunch Of Hacked 3DSes”
Does the iPhone jailbreak ruling apply in this case? Nintendo haven’t bricked the device or anything, they’re just preventing it from connecting to their online service. It’s their service and it’s free (I think?) so they’re probably within their rights to block whoever they want, aren’t they? Although blocking access to other services as well (eg. Netflix) seems like it could be a step too far.
I guess you’d want to be careful of this if you’re thinking about buying a used 3DS.
I don’t think it would mostly on the grounds that, like all their copyright issues on youtube, Nintendo does all of their legal stuff through their Japanese head office and can use their laws when governing ToS style things.
That isn’t how that works. When you operate in a country, you are bound by its laws or you cannot do business there anymore.
Yep, just look at steam vs ACL, they tried to claim the same thing and lost badly.
I doubt they are blocking Netflix. There is most likely some ‘secure’ flag somewhere that things check to see if all is OK. Once it’s flipped, you can’t access a bunch of stuff. Netflix probably also checks the flag. From what I understand they are about to start banning rooted Android devices soon. Or at least not playing content on them.
It’s all good and well to be upset because ‘legally you are allowed to soft-modify your console’ within your local legislation… Nintendos online services aren’t bound by that law. If they don’t want to support the console you modified (and they advertised as such prior to you modifying it) I say you’re shit out of luck.
I’m not suggesting that all persons everywhere are using these modifications for illegitimate reasons; but by and large, once you modify it; Ninty aren’t ‘obliged’ to support it.
I love the people “who don’t know why they were banned!’
No-one believes this excuse anymore.
I tend to believe it more or less based on the company that does it, if it were Blizzard I would generally trust that the ban was genuine. If its a company who has in the past been garbage about this kind of thing I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt.
Agree. Nintendo have a history of anti consumer bullshit and logic-free decisions based around copyright.
I am dubious about any action they take.
Sad that there are completely untouched devices that never used a flash card or model their systems in any way. He got an hacked DS, and a completely new untouched, and only played legal games on it. Like a 8 year old kid that doesn’t even know what the heck cfw is. And that’s a very very big nogo.