FBI Cracks Down on Piracy of Obsolete Game

Alien54 wrote to mention a story detailing an FBI crackdown on pirated...NES games. From the article: "More than 60,000 pirated copies of Nintendo game consoles were seized Wednesday during raids in New York and New Jersey, prosecutors announced. Four people were arrested in the crackdown on the theft of popular games such as "Donkey Kong," "Mario Brothers," "Duck Hunt," "Baseball" and others, according to a release by federal authorities and papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Nintendo told the FBI that individuals and companies copy the video games and sell the pirated versions throughout the world, costing the company millions of dollars in lost revenue annually, according to the complaint."

Do nentendo still sell the games?

[richy486]

Do nentendo still sell the old games?

Really?

[ReverendRyan]

copy the video games and sell the pirated versions throughout the world, costing the company millions of dollars in lost revenue annually

Then I should be able to go buy an NES and Super Mario Brothers from Nintendo, no?

Crappy consoles.

[Pentomino]

I think the biggest impact these consoles are having is not in revenue, but in brand damage, as is the case with most counterfeit products.

The games are all there, but often the titles or copyright notices are removed, or the graphics are askew, the little built-in light gun doesn't work, or the sound is off for some reason. The controllers are badly designed, such that you don't know which button is Start, which is Jump, and what the deal is with the turbo buttons.

I do think Nintendo is missing the opportunity to sell consoles like this themselves. But it seems they'd rather sell us old NES games for $20 each on the Game Boy Advance.

Not obsolete...

[nuxx]

They obviously aren't obsolete if they are still selling.

And also, these are the crappy 1000-in-1 games-in-a-controller things for sale at malls. The problem isn't so much that they cause Nintendo to lose money, but instead diminish Nintendo's brand.

See, many of the games in these systems are literally hacked ROMs with various sprites replaced, and often the ROMs don't work and simply crash. Since the consumer thinks "this Nintendo sucks", they are less likely to buy a Nintendo product down the line, thinking it'll be similarly crappy.

Not to mention that the consumer got ripped off in the first place, as these systems tend to be sold for US$60 or so in mall kiosks and are of absolutely piss poor quality which would likely break under moderate use.

Re:Really?

[Apreche]

No, but you can buy a GBA, SP or DS and the re-released version of Super Mario Brothers. Duck Hunt however is another story.

I always thought that Nintendo and other old game companies should just make an emulator, and give it away for free. Then sell ROM downloads for like 50 cents each. They would make a killing and their claims against pirates like these would actually have some more meaning. This is yet anothe reason we need IP reform. If you aren't currently making money from that IP you shouldn't be able to claim damages if someone else does. That will provide the most benefit to society by legally providing a supply of goods which are in demand. As it stands there is a demand for goods that IP holders refuse to produce, that is not good for people.

Re:Pirated...consoles?

[screwballicus]

NES/FC and SNES/SFC clones have been a hot commodity for many years, especially in Asia and Brazil. For a selection of pirated systems, check out this page [nesplayer.com].

Hold the fucking phone...

[PedanticSpellingTrol]

I'm a bit confused here.

Back in november, when Nintendo asked for your help in tracking down these "N64 controllers" full of hacked roms [slashdot.org], everyone thought it was great, lined up at their e-door to help

Now when they've finally raided the warehouse and put a stop to it, there's nothing but "bitch bitch bitch copyright is teh suck".

Fuck you guys, I'm going home.

Re:Not obsolete...

[nuxx]

Well, also, this is completely different from someone like you or I downloading old ROMs to play them. This is some folks profiting off of such copies, and doing so in a manner which can demonstrably damage the reputation of Nintendo.

I think NOA is completely in the right here... In fact, I've called NOA before to report such items for sale, and ended up in a conversation with one of the employees about how copying old games for personal use is not that bad, but this sort of thing just isn't right.

Re:Really?

[King Fuckstain]

"the funny thing is that copyright is for the public not the creator."

Huh? Copyright exists to protect the rights of the individual. Just because you state something does not make it true or even a valid argument.

"What public interest does is there in someone being a dick and withholding what he has prevously released?"

A person is a "dick" for retaining their property? There's an interesting thought. Seems like Lenin would be right behind you on that one. Honestly, Nintendo doesn't want their Mario property dilutted because they still make money off of it. They're not being "dicks", they're just making smart business moves. I think it is childish to label someone a "dick" because they are taking advantage of the laws that exist. Perhaps the laws need to change, perhaps not. But playing by the rules currently in place doesn't make someone a dick. Do you hold any copyrights? Perhaps if you did, you might realize that you're not exactly seeing this issue clearly.

Wtf? It's supposed to be legal...

[Southpaw018]

An anticircumvention ruling was issued by the Librarian of Congress on 10/28/2003. It protects - for the time being - sites such as ours at videogamemaps.net (my url). The pertinent clause:

(3) Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access. A format shall be considered obsolete if the machine or system necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.

Sounds like the FBI straight out fucked up to me.
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/

Re:Crappy consoles.

[aztektum]

They do sell a controller packed with games on a ROM chip, just not in the US. I think it's in China and Korea if I remember correctly. Google for Nintendo iQue. Last time I was at the site, Lik Sang carried them.