Update: Over 200 bricks ordered for Nintendo, we reached our goal!

UPDATE: We surpassed our goal of 200 bricks! But, if you would still like to place an order, it is not too late. So, order your brick now.

So far, Defective by Design supporters have ordered 70 bricks 150 over 200 bricks to send to Nintendo's President and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime.

Here are some quick and easy ways you can help!

Also, the DefectiveByDesign.org campaign called the Nintendo support center and they confirmed they may not be able to unbrick a device once they have bricked it. Further, they said that any work they did trying to fix a bricked 3DS would not be covered by a warranty, since that would have been voided at the time they bricked your 3DS. Therefore, you would have to pay them to attempt to fix it. So, this isn't just a hypothetical -- Nintendo knows what they are doing.

Sample Letter for reviewers


Dear [NAME]

I wanted to inform you of an important story being covered by DefectiveByDesign.org. It concerns the Terms of Service (TOS) and Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology on the Nintendo 3DS.

I believe this is an important story and my hope is that [NAME OF NEWS OUTLET OR BLOG] will cover it.

You can find the blog post and more detailed analysis of the TOS at the following URLs:

Some of the important points covered by these articles are listed below:

  • Nintendo reserves the right to connect to your device and do a firmware update without notifying you. Further, Nintendo has confirmed that such a firmware update could be used to brick the device (i.e,. render it unplayable); and their TOS stipulates that if you use the device with any unauthorized modifications, accessories, or software, that such a firmware update will brick the device.

  • If a person takes photos or videos with the 3DS, Nintendo claims a copyright license to those pictures or videos.

  • All activities done on the device, including cartridges used, games played, programs run, wireless beacons connected to, etc. are tracked and stored on the device. This is very similar to the recent iPhone location-tracking scandal.

  • By default, your 3DS will always be trying to connect to a wifi connection (even in sleep mode), and upon connection it will upload all tracked data, including the "user content" (such as the videos and photos taken; messages created by the person; etc) to Nintendo servers.

  • Nintendo is clearly targeting children with the 3DS; and their message to parents is that it's the parents responsibility to carefully watch their children using it; and make sure they don't enter any personal information (e.g., take pictures, videos, type their name to friends they are chatting with, etc.). And, while they can turn wireless off and selectively disable some software through settings, it doesn't actually stop collecting and tracking the info.

The DefectiveByDesign.org campaign called the Nintendo call center, and after being passed around a bit, Nintendo confirmed that not only could they brick your device, but, that once bricked, they are unsure they would even be able to salvage it. Further, they said that any attempted work they did on it would not be covered by a warranty, since that would be voided, so you would have to pay for the attempt to fix it!

Again, I hope you will consider covering this important story.


Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]