Outcry leads to 200 bricks ordered and reprehensible Nintendo response

Reggie Fils-Aime In a little over a week, we surpassed our goal of taking 200 brick orders for Nintendo, to protest their claim that they have the right to "brick" (disable) users' devices when used outside of Nintendo's outrageous Terms of Service.

The point of all this is to send a message to Nintendo, and to let potential Nintendo 3DS buyers know how badly the company plans on treating them. It's also to set a precedent, so other companies will think twice about treating people this way.

The message against Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and terrible Terms is emerging loud and clear. During the week, news outlets around the world (see BoingBoing, PCWorld, TorrentFreak, and many more) have picked up on your action, and have been calling Nintendo asking for a response.

Speaking to MCV UK, a spokesperson for Nintendo issued the following amazing statement:

Nintendo would like to reassure any concerned consumers that under our European terms and conditions and in compliance with European requirements Nintendo does not have rights to user content, such as comments, messages, images, photos or movies, which are shared in private communications between users or simply stored on Nintendo 3DS.

Wow. Nintendo is admitting that the Terms they are attempting to enforce elsewhere are so awful, they are illegal in the European Union!

Of course, this doesn't deny that European users can still be bricked. Also, the Terms are only part of the story here. There is still the DRM software, used to enforce the Terms and keep users under Nintendo's control so they can't modify or improve their own systems.

But this response does confirm for us that Nintendo knows exactly what they are doing. And it shows that if we keep at it, we can expose Nintendo and other companies doing the same thing, forcing them to address the issue.

So, Reggie Fils-Aime, next week, we will be sending you our letter, signed by people from all over the world, along with a whole lot of bricks. We expect a response -- a real one.

Please note that, we are no longer accepting brick orders, but, you can still feel free to order and assemble bricks on your own and send them along with a letter! And, of course, your donations to the campaign are always appreciated.