10K Nintendo Mod Devices Seized In Hong Kong Raid
In an effort to combat piracy, Nintendo sought help from the Hong Kong High Court to seize 10,000 game copying devices and mod chips during a 3-day period starting October 8, 2007. The raids occurred at Supreme Factory Limited Facilities revealing volumes of documents reflecting the scope of the operation, including ties to a French company, Divineo SARL, and its principal, Max Louarn, who are also named in the legal action initiated by Nintendo.
The mod chips and devices are used to illegally copy games over the internet and play them on the Nintendo DS and Wii console. During 2006, Nintendo and independent companies lost an estimated $762 million in sales due to piracy.
“Piracy affects the entire video game industry, from large companies to independent developers,” says Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America’s senior director for anti-piracy. “It can destroy years of hard work by a team of very talented software developers, who strive to create games consumers enjoy playing. Copying the developers’ work and spreading the game files globally is blatant stealing.”
This latest action is one of several in past years initiated by Nintendo. In 2005, Nintendo was awarded $5 million from Lik Sang, a widespread game copying distribution company. Bung Enterprises was ordered to pay $7 million to Nintendo for its involvement in manufacturing and distribution of copying devices.
October 22, 2007 at 7:50 pm | Business & Law, Hardware |
