Nintendo cracks down on piracy

Nintendo of America announced today that it has obtained a temporary restraining order that will prevent unscrupulous retailers from importing and selling counterfeit versions of Nintendo games and hardware. The US District Court for the Western District of Washington has issued a court order against two companies, their officers, and employees.

US marshals will seize the counterfeit products at shopping malls in the western Washington area. Nintendo is urging all mall management companies across the country to take action and close any such kiosks. The company is supporting more federal criminal investigations, and US Customs has seized thousands of the devices at port of entry into the US.

Over the past few years, kiosks selling these devices have popped up in shopping malls across the country, usually during the holiday shopping season but sometimes year-round. The counterfeit game systems, which sell under names like "Power Player" and "Super Joystick," are shaped like Nintendo 64 controllers and contain a selection of about 20 games from the Nintendo Entertainment System, like Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros.

"This action is one of many steps Nintendo is taking to protect its creative rights and to combat the growing international problem of product piracy," says Nintendo's antipiracy director Jodi Daugherty. "We're confident that mall management companies around the nation will provide their complete cooperation upon being informed of the court's decision."

Nintendo credits e-mails and tips from 400 "loyal fans" in helping to track down the counterfeiters, saying it has information that identifies such kiosks in over 40 different states. "This is the largest piracy problem Nintendo has faced in the United States," reads the statement issued by the video game publisher this morning. The statement asserts that Nintendo expects its losses to be millions of dollars "once the damage to both its reputation and the harm to relationships with its established business partners have been quantified."