Nintendo DS protects wireless gamers with RSA encryption
The Nintendo DS, which is the company's first major mobile gaming product since the Game Boy Advance, is scheduled for launch in Australia on February 24. The device contains wireless networking technology to allow multi-player gaming and instant messaging with other DS units that are up to 100 feet away.
According to a Nintendo spokesperson, the DS's wireless capabilities will initially allow up to four players to participate in a multi-player game. The company hopes to eventually expand that capability by creating a "central game hub" on the Internet.
"Wireless technology increases and extends the gameplay experience. DS has the potential to eventually, once the software has been developed, to play somebody on the other side of the world," the spokesperson said.
However, the spokesperson said that without an Internet connection, DS owners will be able to search for other DS units and then challenge their owners to a multi player game.
"If I walk on to a bus I can do a search for another DS unit. If someone is in range and, for example, they have a Super Mario cartridge - even if I don't own a copy of the game -- the DS units can connect together so we can start playing against each other," the spokesperson said.
The Nintendo DS console uses both the standard 802.11 wireless technology and its own proprietary digital rights management protocol.
Glenn Dickman, director of the development solution group (DSG) at RSA Security, said that Nintendo has licensed RSA's BSafe technology, which provides a toolkit designed for embedding encryption into mobile devices.
"They use our toolkits to encrypt the traffic between the two or more DS consoles and at the same time protect the rights of the game developers," said Dickman.
Dickman explain that encryption is necessary between consoles to ensure that games are only played on Nintendo DS units.
"If you have a laptop you can roam around and pick up wireless connections and eavesdrop. Nintendo has prevented people from eavesdropping into the games so if you purchase the game you will have a right to use it under certain conditions and only those conditions," said Dickman.