Read more: https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/game-boy/#anti-piracy
TIL that the Game Boy’s anti-piracy protection is legal and not technical : games had to include a copy of Nintendo’s logo which the console will check in order to launch the game. In case of unauthorised cartridges, Nintendo could make use of Copyright and Trademark laws to take legal action!
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What do you mean not technical? Looks like a technical implementation to me with just a compare function.
Which can backfire; because the data is required for interoperability, it’s a functional part, and thus may not be protected.
Like if Toyota put their logo on their car keys, and make them so they would only turn if the logo was present; they could not block a generic key making company from making keys with their logo.