DS Flash carts are 'information terrorism', says Japan

Japan's president of the Association of Copyright Software has been speaking to gaming magazine Famitsu about the growing concerns over DS Flash carts and the damage they apparently do the the games industry.

It's not a matter of numbers anymore," says Yutaka Kubota, in the interview translated by 1Up. "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."

Nintendo has been at war with the Flash cart manufacturers for some time now, pinning many of its platform's problems on the memory cartridge's ability to play pirated DS games.

"I want them to 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."

Legally the devices fall into something of a grey area, though can reasonably be compared to a CD burner, VCR, or even a computer - all are devices capable of being used extensively for piracy, yet have just as many legitimate uses and aren't tarnished with the same criminal brush.

The Association is currently pushing Japanese courts for stronger legislation, and even the criminalisation, of DS Flash carts.