Nintendo turns to U.S. government to fight piracy
by JC Fletcher 
{ Feb 14th 2008 at 6:00PM }
Having established that the United States is not rife with pirates, Nintendo has made a request to the U.S. government to assist in the fight against piracy of Nintendo products. The company has asked the U.S. Trade Representative to convey messages to other governments with rampant piracy issues, encouraging them to tighten their laws. Nintendo is asking, specifically, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, and Paraguay's governments to be more aggressive against software pirates. Nintendo is asking China to prosecute the large-scale producers of pirated materials, while Korean "service providers" on whose networks software is traded are the target of the censure in that country. Nintendo's complaints against the Latin American governments are much more interesting, as they call for an end to violence against anti-piracy law enforcement officials in Mexico, a crackdown on corruption in Paraguay, and the reduction of high tariffs on retail games in Brazil.
Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo's senior director of anti-piracy, said "The unprecedented momentum enjoyed by Nintendo DS and Wii makes Nintendo an attractive target for counterfeiters." Nintendo estimates the lost sales caused by piracy to be around $975 million worldwide.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Wilerson @ Feb 14th 2008 6:24PM
"reduction of high tariffs on retail games in Brazil"? Well, that is something I would like to see. At current currency conversion rates, I would pay approximately US$370 for a DS( http://www.submarino.com.br/games_productdetails.asp?Query=ProductPage&ProdTypeId=12&CatId=43456&ProdId=1572456&ST=BV43456&OperId=0&CellType=2 ) and US$ 100 for Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass ( http://www.submarino.com.br/games_productdetails.asp?Query=&ProdTypeId=12&CatId=43734&PrevCatId=43457&ProdId=21241437&ST=BL43734&OperId=0&CellType=2 ). Let us see if this plead shows some results.
JC Fletcher @ Feb 14th 2008 6:29PM
Since that's a tariff, I'm guessing that holds even if you buy it from the US? Can you get somebody to send stuff to you?
Wilerson @ Feb 14th 2008 7:03PM
It is possible, once in a while. I can tell people to send items to me - as "gifts" -- and, if the original item's value (plus shipping) is under $50, it will be tariff-free.
If I import via mail, a 60% import tax will apply (so a DS game that is sold in the US for US$ 35 will receive a tax of US$21, if it has free shipping) - sometimes, this is cheaper than the retail value, so it's something Brazilians (who buy their games legally) can do.
The retail taxes are higher, because the import laws in Brazil are somewhat twisted - videogames are sometimes taxed as gambling games -, so retailers have a hard time making a profit here, while pirates rejoice.
Jason @ Feb 14th 2008 6:30PM
This lost sales figure in reality would be much lower b/c people who pirate games probably pirate many more games than they would actually buy. A single game pirate might have a collection of 100 DS roms, but they certainly wouldn't have bought 100 DS games at retail. That's why people pirate stuff, they want more than they can afford.
Pie Pants @ Feb 14th 2008 11:36PM
Absolutely correct. Although I've got an R4DS, I still buy a lot of games, probably as many as I did before I got the R4. It just allows me to save carrying around a dozen carts.
I'd probably buy even more though if they stopped charging such ridiculous amounts for DS games in Australia. The big releases like Phantom Hourglass and Advance Wars retail for AU$70 (US$63), and continue to be sold at those prices for a long time. Heck, I even saw EB the other day still had New Super Mario Bros listed at $70.
I think Nintendo are thinking a little too wishfully if they expect countries like China and Brazil to comply with their requests though.
Jamar @ Feb 14th 2008 7:50PM
Good luck getting China to let up.
mauroh @ Feb 14th 2008 8:52PM
The reduction of those astronomycal tariffs here in Brazil is something that I would most definitely endorse! As of the moment I'm ashamed to admit it but yes, I do use the R4 and pirate games, but that doesn't stop me from buying those that were sure to pay off [Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy] that is to say the SAFE ones, due to the price leaving no room for those quirky, under the radar ones [and of course we don't have any of those bargain sales that you, spoiled americans get]...
Even in the age of the GBA and the parellel emulation scene I would still buy those big ones.
Bottomline is: cheaper games would undoubtfully hook more "legal" gamers, willing to try something different. Simple as that.
Matdredalia @ Feb 14th 2008 10:16PM
I'm really sad to see Nintendo following in the RIAA's shoes.
"Things aren't selling well, let's blame pirates!"
I'm sure there are many pirates who are stealing these products, however, I really doubt that Nintendo has lost that much money from pirates. And frankly, with the way the DS prints money and how high their stock has been (yes, I know it's dropping now), I don't see them having too many problems.
My question is, do they ever stop to think that maybe it's not just piracy that is the problem? Perhaps it is the fact the global economy as a whole is going to crap right now?
Brittany @ Feb 15th 2008 12:39AM
I can't read what you put in the read link - I get this message
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Dash @ Feb 15th 2008 11:00AM
As a gamer living in Brazil, I'm happy Nintendo is doing it. It's true, tariffs and taxes are a major problem for anyone buying games here. The standart Wii game here is 249 reais (our currency), which is equivalent of 142 dollars, and a DS game costs 97 dollars. That's how much I paid for all my games (which are a lot), and I never buy pirate games. Lower tariffs would for sure increase the sale of games, since the DS and Wii sell incredibly well here (and hey, no shortages here).
I'm also happy to see that Nintendo actually cares about the "emerging" markets. I don't think it's about then "losing" money (can the DS sell more?), but more of seeing that the game market can expand in those areas. In the cartridge age the consoles were actually manufactored here (I had the lucky to go to a Sega factory to see the Genesis/Mega Drive in the making).
But on a note, please don't get the wrong image. The games are expensive, but there's a large game comunity here. In fact I get games here at the American launch day, and the Wii is really easy to find. There is piracy, but mostly of PS2 games, never saw a fake Wii/DS game.
Btw, how do I reply here? Not sure how. Wanted to reply to JC's message. I actually import sometimes, but the tariffs stands even when sent by mail (they charge at delivery). But online games like Virtua Console and Steam are free of that (which explains why my Call of Duty 4 was way cheaper than my Contra 4) (but Contra 4 is way more awesome).
BlackDS @ Feb 15th 2008 8:53PM
I wish Nintendo would change their focus and sue Datel for it's Action Replay, which has ruined Nintendo Wifi.
It would be nice if Nintendo could get Datel to end support for Action Replay on the Nintendo DS, so that FUTURE DS games on Nintendo Wifi would be free of Action Replay cheaters.
As a Nintendo consumer, the piracy doesn't really impact me (Nintendo is doing well financially, so no worries), but Datel's Action Replay has ruined Nintendo Wifi.
Peace.