Nintendo supports U.S Copyright circumvention raids

Nintendo is a company that on one hand fails consistently to provide timely content to the European territories, but on the other hand strictly opposes methods used by Europeans to import the materials themselves. This has never sat well with me, so when I hear that Nintendo supports the recent waste of FBI time that is hunting down modded videogame consoles instead of dealing with dangerous criminals, murderers and pedophiles, I can’t help but scoff. 

It’s not like it’s a surprise for videogame companies to support campaigns that save them money and I’m sensitive to the fact that piracy does cost these entities several swimming pools filled with gold and treasures. However, until Nintendo sorts out its European distribution policy, Wii modchips are the last kind of modchips I’m ever going to feel sorry about, even if these raids are in the States and not Europe. I just can’t muster the sympathy until I know I’ll get Super Mario Galaxy this year. 

Press release contained after the jump.

Aug. 1, 2007

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.”