Japan: R4 pricing and sales increase dramatically after legal threat

Posted Aug 1, 2008 at 2:09PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: Nintendo DS Tags: Japan

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Shortly after Nintendo and 54 other software companies formally filed a lawsuit in an attempt to curb the distribution of the R4 flashcard, the demand and pricing of the R4 had significantly jacked up in the Japanese market.

It's no surprise, really, given the consumer panic that the recent R4-related developments in Japan had caused. In this case, many retailers in Japan (Akihabara in particular) took advantage of the situation and greatly increased prices in as little as two days; the price of an R4 in one retail store had increased from 2,980 yen (US$ 28) to 4,980 yen (US$ 55) overnight.

Is this what Nintendo wanted to happen when they sued Japanese R4 retailers? The legal attempt to eradicate the flashcard has quite predictably caused an increased demand and higher sales numbers for the much sought-out R4. Or does the Big N has something else in mind? Stay tuned for more updates.

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Related articles:

• Nintendo, 54 companies slap lawsuit on Japanese R4 distributors
• Retailers and independent game developers in UK call for R4 ban

Via Akiba Blog

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Comments 

 

# hmm... — SHGill 2008-08-02 03:06

Well good thing I just bought mine with a 2GB for a nice little price :)

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# well... this means.. — Super6mix 2008-08-02 03:33

nintendo Will go After most of the Flash cart Manufacturers.

Meaning.. Higher Prices... Less Firmware support.. and Illegal In most Countries..



but Why would people want R4..

Really outdated and dont even Support SDHC :/

Team M3 real FTW

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# hm — SHGill 2008-08-02 04:58

well the R4 was the one that got rated the most. My only issue was that the first R4 I had was a fake and I had to send it back for a refund. :( So, Other than the M3, do you know much about the SuperCard DS-1? I've heard good things about it

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# .... — Super6mix 2008-08-02 12:23

Supercard Ds-1 is a lil pricy but it does offer some better features.

Check out Kickgaming.com they have some Slot-1 Carts..

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# & Brian — Stewies 2008-08-03 03:32

Hmmm, perhaps I'll have some luck here. Excuse me ladies and gents but, currently is there any flashcart able to boot gba games from slot-1?



Victory shall yet be mine!

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# huh — papajag 2008-08-03 11:46

I thought the R4 was the very first one that came out and that all the others just coppied it in a way. It doesn't really matter what people get just as long as it emulates the games...it was all over craigslist when it first came out though 2 for 60 bucks that was a real bargain

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