Hackers: MetaFortress security unlikely to keep DS game pirates at bay
Earlier, Metaforic revealed its anti-tampering DS tech, boasting that many games this holiday season will prevent pirates from loading ripped ROMs, and will require a “long, slow, manual” process to patch each individual release for flashcart users.
To get an idea of how game hackers are taking the news, I spoke with GBAtemp.net technician and Cheats Database maintainer Narin*, who was instrumental in the protection bypass efforts for high-profile DS games like Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!!, Chrono Trigger, and Dragon Quest V.
He’s confident hackers will defeat the MetaFortress tech, as they have with previous anti-piracy solutions:
“This isn’t the first time someone has tried to include protection into DS games. Nintendo has actually included code that game developers can use in their latest SDK that lets them check if the game is running on a flashcard. 99% of the games that came out recently that has a piracy check in them actually used this code.
Once this method was cracked, it was easy to crack it in other games, as you could search the game’s memory for similar routines. AKAIO, an custom AceKard firmware actually scans the game’s memory and patches these piracy routines before the game even loads so all current and future games that contain the Nintendo piracy check will automatically be patched.
The game hacking scene is quite large, and no matter what protection is added to a game, it will only be a matter of time before it’s cracked. The only people who lose out on this are those with flashcards that have been abandoned by their developers, meaning no firmware updates like the original R4.”
The key issue here, in my mind, is how long it will take for hackers to make those initial breakthroughs that will lead to a proven method for cracking the protected DS games. Metaforic claims on its site that MetaFortress has the potential to stall hacking efforts for months.
Narin also shared his thoughts on other DS/piracy-related items, discussing developments from both sides of the fight, so keep an eye on Tiny Cartridge for that.
See also: New flashcart seeks to circumvent future lockouts from DSi firmware updates, Flashcarts defeating anti-piracy measures with anti-anti-piracy feature
*Narin emphasizes that these statements are his personal opinions and do not reflect the views of GBAtemp.net.
tags / piracy / metafortress / metaforic / rom / narin / gbatemp
