Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against HackYourConsole.com, for the resale of game-copying devices for their handheld systems.

HackYourConsole.com sells SD cards and write-able R4i  DS/DSi/3DS cartridges that allow the user to copy game files, or ROMs, onto the device, which can then be played in the Nintendo handheld of the user’s choosing. A ROM is simply the raw data of a video game, copied onto a computer, where it can then be played in its original video game format through an emulator; in this case, these cards allow for ROMs to be played on the actual video game consoles.

While the resale of R4i cards and other products isn’t technically illegal, these devices still act as a blatant gateway for video game piracy, which Nintendo is cracking down upon. In this particular case, most of HackYourConsole.com’s products are aimed directly at Nintendo handheld consoles. According to Nintendo, such products “severely undermine” the sales of official Nintendo games; Renegade Kid Co-Founder Jools Watsham backed this statement, as “Piracy on the Nintendo DS system has a huge impact on games sales…It can affect everyone involved, including the many honest players out there. If independent studios, like ours, are unable to recoup the money they invest into game development, through the sales of their games, we will unfortunately see fewer independent games developed in the future.”

Nintendo believes piracy to be an “international problem”, and has released an email address and hotline for anyone who wishes to report those who pirate.

Sources: Gamespot, HackYourConsole.com