Nintendo joins US govt's crusade against piracy in China

***wraggster*** · April 11th, 2007, 00:27

Nintendo has pledged its support of a US-led stance against China's burgeoning military budget, er, counterfeit video games market, according to a company presser today. With few government restrictions holding them back, pirates plundered an estimated $762 million worth of booty in China last year. And these scallywags aren't your typical kid brothers burning DVDs in the basement and exchanging them for lunch allowances in the cafeteria. No, this is well-organized crime, which has accounted for the more than 7.7 million counterfeit gaming products seized during the past four years -- and only a single criminal prosecution brought against the more than 300 Chinese factories and retailers dealing in this illicit trade. To avoid punishment, an operation need only keep its pirated stock below a certain threshold and do away with bookkeeping.

The rampant piracy, which affects hundreds of companies in the games industry, has prompted the US Trade Representative to seek formal consultations with China regarding the government's failure to meet World Trade Organization obligations concerning intellectual property protection. Nintendo has chipped in, providing evidence of piracy in China and other countries during the annual "Special 301" investigation. In turn, the US Trade Representative will use this evidence to push China to comply with global standards. "Progress must be made," urged an unusually stern Nintendo.

via joystiq

**Tetris999** · April 11th, 2007, 00:32

they do a lot of weird stuff in china, somethings are really cheap there and that they make some of the crazy of things

like the treamcast, which is a dreamcast which is portable

and i have to say i dont want the whole "get weird stuff cheap from china" to change

i mean, pirated stuff in china is actually nifty sometimes

they make the craziest things

BTW I DO NOT SUPPORT PIRACY!!!! IT IS WRONG AND TOTALLY ILLEGAL!

**devmas** · April 11th, 2007, 03:11

Without China's piracy, the world would be a much more boring place. Of course, I don't support piracy, but sometimes they do actualy create nifty things, as the poster above stated.

**redsyrup** · April 11th, 2007, 05:09

Yeah I totally agree, the Chinese can create cheap novell hardware experiences that are second to none.

I hate to see Nintendo or the US govt. snuff that creativity.