Fake Dragon Quest IX ROM punishes overeager pirates (Joystiq)

Not sure if this should go to the news or here...Original news link here:
http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2009/07/08/fake-dragon-quest-ix-rom-punishes-overeager-pirates/

Fake Dragon Quest IX ROM punishes overeager pirates
by JC Fletcher { Jul 8th 2009 at 8:00PM }Okay, let's get this out of the way right up front: Downloading what you think is a ROM of the Japanese release of Dragon Quest IX, days before it even comes out, is not cool. It turns out that it will probably also end up being hazardous to your DS.DS Scene reports that a file going around, labeled "Dragon Quest IX JPN DSi Enhanced NDS iND," is actually not Dragon Quest IX at all, but rather a malicious program that can overwrite a DS's firmware and render systems unusable. The program is disguised as a hentai slideshow called "DS Owata," which is itself disguised as Dragon Quest IX.Our advice in this case is to do your very best not to be a pirate and just buy the thing when you can. Square Enix booby-traps its legitimate games against piracy anyway.

Scary o_O Never download roms outside romulation...
By the way I wonder how a mere rom was able to mess with DS firmware. Is it even possible? :-\

Replying to #1

Just heard about this on Kotaku, myself. Anything that can run homebrew software can cause harm to the system itself, as it is running in an unintended way.

DAMN!! Well RomUlation is safe right? 'Cause I just downloaded it and Im inserted it onto my DS right now

yes the romu one is safe.

Loonylion, you made me feel safe just now.
I am currently downloading DQIX and am going to test it on the following hardware;
AK2i running AKAIO v 1.4.1 *proper repack*
2GB Taiwanese Kingstion Micro SD formated with Panosonic SD Formatter.I plain to post if the game works unpatched or not, and if not, I will (if acceptable) post a link to the patch.

... thats a real trap.

Nasty, lucky ours are tested. I can't believe Nintendo is going to such lengths to make us buy...

lol well i keep playing a new game and the farthest I can get to is the point where the first battle happens with those slimes and that wierd fruit guy... Me and my bald angel guy tag team and after the battle, my DS screens just turn black... and it ends there

hahahahaha · #7Nasty, lucky ours are tested. I can't believe Nintendo is going to such lengths to make us buy...

I don't believe it is Nintendo's (or any developer's) work. Like PC virus, some guys just made for pranks or something. It's still possible though, considering developers do hate roms, especially Japanese developers. I remember reading the article about banning flashcarts in Japan somewhere in Joystiq/Kotaku earlier.

Thats so scary though.. Now Im scared to get any Square Enix games... But still, RomU is always safe for me!!