The team behind the R4 slot one flashcarts think piracy is wrong. Well, at least when it effects them. They’ve had enough with knock-off R4 flashcarts, and have decided that, after September 15, 2008, they will change the programing in the R4 kernels so they will only work on official R4 carts.

Let’s say you already own a fake R4 cartridge. Well, you better not update the firmware for it after September 15. The new update will not only not work with the fake card, it will also turn your DS into a very expensive brick. R4’s development team has issued a firm statement that owners of the fake carts who ignore their warnings and render their DS units useless will have to complain to the shop they purchased the fake cart from.

Its ironic that the creators of a product causing tons of piracy issues are also being plagued by piracy as well. The R4 team is certainly taking an aggressive stance. I think it is a bit overkill - especially since unaware people might end up destroying their handhelds. The picture at the right from HKCC shows what official and fake R4s look like, so if you own a fake one, don’t go updating the firmware after September.

The fake R4 DS looks more like a solid rectangle, seems to have a navy blue case and the sticker has “2GB” emblazoned on it. The official R4 has a black case, a small indentation in the upper left corner for the memory card and no “2GB” on the sticker.

Read [HKCC] Via [GBA Temp] Via [DS Fanboy] Site [R4DS]