Freeloader

Swifty

Is this out? I read on another post that it was. I'm thinking of getting it I'm just wondering is it worth it. Anyone reading these boards got one? For anyone who doesn't know what it is its a disk that can, apparantly, enable your PAL Gamecube to play NTSC games (I think). It'd be pretty sweet to get metroid and zelda a bit earlier. Somehow I think theres some horrible catch to it all. Anyone used it?

theciscokid

it plays jap and american,

and it was supposed to be out over 4 months ago and still isn't out


i doubt it'll ever see the light of day:rolleyes:

Placebo

i think i have a magasine stating its out in Uk . i dont see a catch to it , its just basically a boot disc

Mr E

Sorry folks, my mistake.

Availability has now changed to "T.B.A." on play.com. Its not out yet.

- Dave.

Vorrtexx

this cursed thing was supposed to come out in June. I had it pre-ordered since then. I even bought Resident Evil NTSC so I could use it with it. of course the thing kept getting delayed and now I still have Resident Evil NTSC sitting here never been used. just went out and bought the PAL version when it was released back in September.
It should have been set to T.B.A a looooooong time ago!

super_furry

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. Datel have announced date after date when it was supposedly due for release, and time after time it hasn't appeared.

If the Freeloader software has even been written, it's still unlikely to see the light of day. Remember, the Gamecube uses special Nintendo brand discs and not generic CD's or DVD's so if Datel want to get the Freeloader burned, they will have to get Nintendo's say-so to use their CD plant. How likely do you think it is that Nintendo will let Datel use their burners for something that remove's their software lockout?

Swifty

Surely if it's that easy to play import games on a PAL machine someone would have tried something similiar for the psx or ps2? I haven't heard of anything like that for them anyway. I would've thought nintendo would support it because wouldn't it increase sales? I guess they'd lose european sales but not THAT many would import would they? Your average casual gamer probably wouldn't be arsed it's just the fans that would like to avoid the several months wait.

Shinji

Surely if it's that easy to play import games on a PAL machine someone would have tried something similiar for the psx or ps2?

It's all down to the internal hardware of the machine - the Cube PAL hardware is very very similar to the NTSC hardware.

Freeloader exists and works, but they're having very serious problems mastering the discs. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it, frankly

theciscokid

i had actually heard they have had it finished properly for some time,

its just ninty keep holding them back, as it's been given the official approval , they don't want to damage any sales this side of xmas,

i can see why, how many ppl would go out and buy it, most gamers that know what it does and is capable of importing the games for it will do so,

KdjaCL

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006FRD9/ref%3Dbr%5Flf%5Fli%5F1%5F2/026-0693400-7030039

preordered

All i need now is a gamecube and im away anyone selling ???
kdjac

Swifty

I'd say that's not a guaranteed release date, play.com have had loads of release dates and every time the day came there was a new release date slapped onto it. I remember seeing that it was meant to be released on the 8th of august and then after that it said sometime in october instead. Now that zelda isn't coming out until June this would be good buy - price isn't too bad either.

Shinji

its just ninty keep holding them back, as it's been given the official approval

This is utter rubbish. Nintendo hate Datel, and Freeloader will NEVER have official approval.

theciscokid

shinji lets be practical, official as in nintendo will let it go ahead in their eyes..

Shinji

It's got nothing to do with Nintendo letting it go ahead - Sony have never allowed Datel to produce any of their PS2 or PSone gear. Datel have their own fabrication plant because none of the console manufacturers will let them use theirs; and they own no official development equipment for any of the platforms. Legally, however, the console manufacturers don't really have a leg to stand on in complaining - they don't breach any copyright laws with what they do, and in fact in some territories the region coding of games (and DVDs) is on shaky legal ground anyway, so the manufacturers would really rather not start making noise about it...

theciscokid

yeah i thought that was the case too, as they had lost previous legal battles with ninty in regards to the datel cheat cartridges..
being software , they lost..


but the freeloader is a bit more then just pallywallying (?) around isn't it....there has to be some illegal tweaks of a sort,

it's just like modding your cube in a sense, (so a warranty could be void)

do you reckon ninty could stop them if they tried?

Shinji

Um, no, nothing of the sort. Freeloader is purely software - no hardware tweaks, no loss of warranty on your GameCube. Unless Datel break some actual Nintendo copyrights or patents (unlikely since Cube executables are unencrypted), there's nothing Nintendo can do to stop them.

What's stopping them right now is that Cube discs are so damn complex to reproduce...

(This is why Datel will never do a region mod for the Xbox - they'd need to use Microsoft's encryption keys, which would be illegal without a license.)

Dont be at yourself

it's just like modding your cube in a sense, (so a warranty could be void)

It's not like modding your cube. You don't have to open the gamecube up or tamper with the hardware in any way. It doesn't change the gamecube on any permanent level. I would expect that your warranty would still be completely valid.

Also, I'm not sure on why you think Nintendo are welcoming of Freeloader. Region-coding wasn't a nasty side-effect of the GameCube's design, but rather something Nintendo specifically included. They want region-coding.

KdjaCL

Some EULAs may say that using software not authorized or "tested" may void your warranty.

havent got a gamecune so dont know if it has it in it.

kdjac

Originally posted by NekkidBibleMan
They want region-coding.

Whys that?

Dont be at yourself

For the same reasons the movie-industry wants region coding on dvds, I'd imagine.

It's a way of controlling the demand of products. If there was no region-coding on games, publishers would have a hard time meeting the demand for a big-name title upon it's release. By fracturing the market and having a staggered release, it enables them to meet the demand. It take a lot more resources to do a simultaneous worldwide launch of a product than it does to launch it in one territory at a time.

And, there's more of a risk involved. If a game performs terribly in America, chances are it'll do the same in Europe. Thankfully a staggered launch means that a) they can improve the game for other territories (as in Namco's Dead To Rights), or more commonly b) save money by not investing as much in marketing a dud game.

Conversely, if a game performs well in a territory, it'll create a buzz in territories that that game hasn't been released in yet. It's basically free advertising. Just take a look at Metroid Prime - the demand for this is *huge* over here due to it's performance and reception in the US and despite the fact that Nintendo haven't marketed it over here to any great extent.

theciscokid

good point in relation to the advertising,

but at same time, europe really does suffer due to the language translations..

but for example using dvd genie , to play different regions
on your pc, the warranty is to be void if you break your system (or ability to view discs) while using that surely not?

would it not apply to a games console too

Shinji

I have no idea what DVD Genie is... Basically, if it messes with the hardware (either in the physical sense or in the sense of mucking up the flash ROM on the drive) then yes, your warranty is void. If not, then it doesn't break any warranty.

The Freeloader (like DC bootdisks) is a software solution and as such makes no hardware modification.

Now, admittedly, it's possible that it breaks the terms of your end-user license agreement to play unlicensed software in the Cube. However there is no way to detect that this has happened - and there's no way I can think of that using a Freeloader would damage your system anyway.

Mr E

DVD Genie is completely software based, as far as I know. It allows you to play DVDs that are not Region 2 on your PC.

- Dave.

deadl0ck

Problem with Freeloader is that you have to have an NTSC compatible TV (or are more PAL TV's NTSC Compatible ?)

Cake Fiend

Most modern PAL TVs are multi-standard (capable of displaying PAL and NTSC signals).