Video game flash carts 'facilitate information terrorism'

The head of Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software has hit out over video game flash carts.

Flash carts that allow consumers to download pirated copies of video games are facilitating "information terrorism".

This is the view of Yutaka Kubota, the president of Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software.

He was referring to the memory cartridges used with Nintendo DS handheld games consoles, onto which users can download and play games for free.

In an interview with Famitsu magazine, he said the intellectual property issue is harming Japan's national interests.

"Personally, I see it as a form of information terrorism that is crushing Japan's industry," he remarked.

"The fact is that you can download any Nintendo DS game as much as you want, so there's no way to even calculate the damage," Mr Kubota added.

He warned Famitsu readers that unless video game piracy is stamped out, the gaming industry will be under threat.

"Not only will gamers wanting to play new games not be able to play anything, but people who want to join the game industry in the future will have their dreams trampled upon," he stressed.

Currently, it is not illegal to use DS flash carts to play video games, although video game manufacturers have been pushing for stronger laws in this area for some time.

According to TechRadar, Nintendo believes that around 120 million video games have been downloaded illegally by gamers.

Meanwhile, the Austin American-Statesman has reported that The Sims 3 - a new video game from the popular series - was illegally downloaded at least 180,000 times between May 18th and May 21st ahead of its official release in June.