Nokia Says Its N-Gage Copy Protection Hacked
Posted by: [PM] on: 11/13/2003 11:39 AM [ Print | 12 comment(s) ] · 2021 views
The world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia said on Wednesday hackers have cracked the copy-protection codes for its newly launched N-Gage gaming device, allowing copied games to be downloaded over the Web. The setback comes just over a month after the Finnish company launched the much-hyped game phone in a bid to gain a foothold in the portable gaming market.
"We take this very, very seriously and have initiated an aggressive program to stop the people that are behind these (intellectual property rights) violations," Nokia Mobile Phones spokesman Damian Stathonikos told Reuters.
Nokia has high hopes for N-Gage, aiming to sell between six and nine million units before the end of 2004 as it challenges market leader Nintendo's Gameboy Advance. A vital part of the revenue from N-Gage will come from games, which are sold separately, but Nokia said it did not expect the illegal downloads to become widespread. "This is not something the average consumer can do. You need to have very specialized software tools and very specialized skills," Stathonikos said. "We're working to develop our copy protection mechanisms to make this even more difficult in the future." The cracked versions of the games can in principle be installed and played on any phone that uses the same basic operating software, Series 60, used in N-Gage. Other models include Siemens's SX1.
Nokia has high hopes for N-Gage, aiming to sell between six and nine million units before the end of 2004 as it challenges market leader Nintendo's Gameboy Advance. A vital part of the revenue from N-Gage will come from games, which are sold separately, but Nokia said it did not expect the illegal downloads to become widespread. "This is not something the average consumer can do. You need to have very specialized software tools and very specialized skills," Stathonikos said. "We're working to develop our copy protection mechanisms to make this even more difficult in the future." The cracked versions of the games can in principle be installed and played on any phone that uses the same basic operating software, Series 60, used in N-Gage. Other models include Siemens's SX1.
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JemyM Senior Member Posts: 130 Joined: 2003-02-13 |
#49481 Posted on: 11/13/2003 02:52 PM
"We take this very, very seriously and have initiated an aggressive program to stop the people that are behind these (intellectual property rights) violations. We're working to develop our copy protection mechanisms to make this even more difficult in the future." I wonder if he actually believe thoose words... Can someone in that position be that clueless/inexperienced with computer software? Is he kidding himself, or is he just trying to kid someone else? |
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grimson Unregistered |
#49482 Posted on: 11/13/2003 02:54 PM
Suckheads...... Nokia just want you to know that you can download the games from the net. Nokia logic -> The customer will now think 'ah free games. Now I must buy just the phone'. Well done in playing innocent Nokia. |
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Sardaukary Unregistered |
#49484 Posted on: 11/13/2003 03:45 PM
Apart from them planning to make money selling the games. |
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Devourer Unregistered |
#49486 Posted on: 11/13/2003 04:21 PM
Wow!!! Not 1 word about the hackers being bastards for hacking poor Nokia. If this was Valve crying again then this tread would be filled with hacker bashers. The world really is a pot of hypocrits. |
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KNIGHT Junior Member Posts: 1 Joined: 2007-08-13 |
#49487 Posted on: 11/13/2003 07:27 PM
My question is who actually purchased this taco in the first place? lol. I'm sorry to see that hackers have cracked it, but I have to agree a little with grimson. Nokia's sales of the N-Gage have been so extreme low (almost non-existent) that they must be looking at this as a way to sell more of these $300 'Tacos' (that word can't be used enough to describe the N-Gage). Unless they sell several million of these things by 2k4, the N-Gage venture will be a bust. Nokia's only hope is to lower the price to say $100. But $300? What were they thinking? I could by 3 Gamecubes or an XBox with a few games or a PS2 with a few games for the price of the Taco. |
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neo-n Junior Member Posts: 1 Joined: 2003-10-28 |
#49489 Posted on: 11/14/2003 12:21 AM
Partly true, but nokia can make money from hardware, valve cant. Its not even very new hardware, its just a jazzed up 7650 inside. Im not sure how much the games are but ive always thought that mobile games are overpriced. If they are a reasonable cost it wouldnt be worth the download of a hacked game. From what i can gather the defeting of the protection allows playing the games on other hardware, rather than playing free games on the n-gage. Its possible to play many games on the Motorola A920 (3G) phone with an n-gage emulator. |
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neo-n Junior Member Posts: 1 Joined: 2003-10-28 |
#49491 Posted on: 11/14/2003 12:22 AM
Would nokia make the money from the games or would the networks ? |
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Devourer Unregistered |
#49494 Posted on: 11/14/2003 04:21 AM
"but nokia can make money from hardware, valve cant." Now I have normally agreed with everything you say except this. Basically its ok to hack Nokia's games cuz they have hardware & Valve doesn't? So I guess its ok for me to pirate all the software I can't afford simply cuz I can't afford it or even better. Know I can get it for free? |
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Mister Unregistered |
#49495 Posted on: 11/14/2003 08:47 AM
i got one of these tacos.. on the very first day.. and also tested all avaiable software... but, now i gonna sell this gamedeck.. its useless! why? i've never used it for calling my buddies.. cause it's so bad to use it as a normal phone.. only with a headset or handfree your are able to understand a word.. so i never sold my 6100 and always used this for calling, now i can use it (or my next 6600) for ngage gaming and calling -great! hehe  |
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neo-n Junior Member Posts: 1 Joined: 2003-10-28 |
#49496 Posted on: 11/14/2003 10:19 AM
No im not saying its ok, but it could have been far worse for valve than for nokia. Most games on the n-gage are not nokia creations anyway. I think mobile phone makers and networks need to realise that the prices they charge for their servicies are way to high or often restricted (listening '3' ?) thats why people try to hack around them. |
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Devourer Unregistered |
#49501 Posted on: 11/14/2003 05:17 PM
I still can't agree. Now I am not saying that I haven't got any sort of ill-legitimate software online. To say that from just about any1 is a complete lie. Pretty much every1 on the planet has at some time copied something that is copywrited wether it was a old cassette tape or any form of music that some1 copied from a friend or any TV show that was copied from say HBO or any other media. Now here is my point. If you or any1 else is going to condem the hacker or hackers who raped Valve then you have to treat the hacker or hackers who raped Nokia or any1 else the exact same way. To do otherwise is being hypocritical regardless of if said company has other means of generating cash flow or what they may charge for there products. Whatever they do charge is in there right & totally up to the buyer to decide if its price is worth its purchase. To make excuses as to why in this case its ok to hack Nokia's games & not Valves is simply hypocrtical to say the least. |
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neo-n Junior Member Posts: 1 Joined: 2003-10-28 |
#49502 Posted on: 11/14/2003 07:06 PM
ok fair enough, but did they break the code by reverse engineering the n-gage or by hacking into the nokia network and stealing something ?? To me its 2 very different things. |
