Lockout Chip
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In a general sense, a lockout chip is a chip within an electronic device to prevent other manufacturers from using a company's device to perform certain functions. A notable example is the lockout chip found in Nintendo's
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
(called 10NES), designed to prevent "unlicensed" manufacturers from creating games for the
console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...
. The presence of the chip forced unlicensed companies to raise the price of each cartridge (due to a bypass chip having to be added to the cartridge), and allowed Nintendo a foothold for a lawsuit. Lockout functions are commonly used in printers to prevent the use of third-party ink or toner cartridges.


See also

* Regional lockout * CIC (Nintendo) *
Vendor lock-in In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lockin, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs. The use of open standards and alternati ...
* Software protection dongle * '' Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc.'', a U.S. Sixth Circuit case rejecting copyright-related claims in lockout chips


References

Video game hardware Hardware restrictions {{videogame-hardware-stub