Nintendo Backs Copyright Crackdowns

August 2, 2007, 7:27 pm EDT
Total comments: 6

The United States government is going after those evil pirates, and Nintendo is with them every step of the way.

NINTENDO NEWS: NINTENDO SUPPORTS U.S. RAIDS ON COPYRIGHT CIRCUMVENTION DEVICES

Today U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents executed 32 federal search warrants in 16 states as part of an investigation into the alleged sale and distribution of illegal modification chips for various video game consoles, including Nintendo's Wii™ home video game system. The mod chips designed for the Wii console circumvent the security embedded in the hardware and allow users to play counterfeit Wii software.

This Immigrations and Customs Enforcement investigation represents the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting video game piracy. Nintendo has worked closely with this branch of the Department of Homeland Security, and fully supports its actions and other investigations currently underway.

"Nintendo and its developers and publishers lost an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 due to piracy of its products," said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's senior director of anti-piracy. "Nintendo's anti-piracy team works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to seize mod chips and counterfeit software. Since April, Nintendo has seized more than 91,000 counterfeit Wii discs globally."

Talkback

CericAugust 02, 2007

I am very surprised. /sarcasm
I can't really disagree. Now things that just region unlock is another story.

BranDonk KongAugust 02, 2007

Why doesn't the government go after Sony for creating DVD burners that you can burn PS2/Xbox 360/Wii games with, as well as creating the discs that you can burn said games onto? Why don't they go after Microsoft for making the operating system that uses said hardware and media. Not all modchips and modders are about piracy - if something is illegal because of the potential for piracy, then CD/DVD burners and their respective discs should be illegal too.

GalfordAugust 02, 2007

Wow, I'm so glad the government is protecting us from pirates/mod chip makers while leaving our borders wide open.

Great use of resources...

KDR_11kAugust 02, 2007

I bet they also support suing Lik-Sang out of business because otherwise NoE staff might have to do more work than two hours a week while charging 50% extra on all games.

CericAugust 03, 2007

The Border issue... arg... So frustrating.

BranDonk KongAugust 04, 2007

CNet just posted a great editorial about console modders. My modded XBox lets me use a piece of homebrew software greater than anything any major publisher released for the system - Xbox Media Center.

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