In the latest effort to curtail the piracy of its intellectual property, Nintendo is urging U.S. Trade Representatives to increase pressure on governments around the world to tighten the leash on what they view is rampant piracy of their consoles and games. As you can see from this excerpt from the official press release sent to us, the numbers are indeed staggering:
The unprecedented momentum enjoyed by Nintendo DS and Wii makes Nintendo an attractive target for counterfeiters," said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America’s senior director of anti-piracy. "We estimate that in 2007, Nintendo, together with its publishers and developers, suffered nearly $975 million USD worldwide in lost sales as a result of piracy. Nintendo will continue to work with governments around the world to aggressively curtail this illegal activity."
While Nintendo lists China as the primary culprit, North Korea has started flexing a little pirating muscle of their own, and appear to be closing in fast on their lead. Although Nintendo has been here many times before, they are hoping that stricter laws will be enacted to at least slow piracy down a bit. As we all know, it’s an uphill battle Nintendo is fighting, and it is sure to last at least as long as the Nintendo’s popularity does.
So the next time you spot one of those knock-offs being peddled in the streets, or one catches your eye while strolling through the mall, you might want to give Nintendo (or the authorities) a call –they’ll appreciate the tip.
Catch the full press release, after the jump.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Entries (RSS)