The interactive entertainment innovator wants specific governments around the world to take a more aggressive stance to combat piracy of Nintendo video games and systems. And it has asked the US government to help.

Citing an estimated $975 million in lost sales in 2007 for the company and its partners, Nintendo of America has filed a petition with the US Trade Representative requesting that the US address global piracy problems.  Emphasizing problems in China, Korea and Central and South America, the company suggested, among other things, criminal prosecution of pirates in China, ratification of the US/Korea Free Trade Agreement, and changes to “enforcement regimes” in Latin America which it describes as a haven for piracy.

According to Nintendo, while China remains the primary source of manufacturing pirated Nintendo DS™ and Wii™ games, Korea has emerged as the leader in distributing illegal game files via the Internet. Despite aggressive anti-piracy actions taken by Nintendo, Brazil and Mexico remain saturated with counterfeit Nintendo software. Meanwhile, Paraguay and Hong Kong continue to serve as major transshipment points for global distribution of illegal goods.

In filing its comments under a "Special 301" process, in which the U.S. Trade Representative solicits input from the public to underscore specific areas of concern, Nintendo underscored the need for stronger laws in all countries against the circumvention of technological security measures. Video game pirates have developed DS game-copying devices and modification chips to target the security found in Nintendo's hardware systems and allow the play of counterfeit software or games illegally downloaded via the Internet. A summary of Nintendo’s filing includes:

·         CHINA: China must pursue criminal prosecutions against people involved in large-scale piracy operations. Chinese authorities seized more than 1 million fake Nintendo products in China during the past year, but not one counterfeiter has been prosecuted.

·         KOREA: Nintendo supports the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, but suggests that it must be ratified immediately to address service providers who are profiting from the uploading and downloading of illegal Nintendo content.

·         CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA: New laws and better enforcement must happen to combat escalated violence in Mexico against police conducting anti-piracy raids, extraordinarily high tariffs and taxes placed on the sale of authentic video games in Brazil and widespread corruption in Paraguay. Even with more than 65 actions that resulted in the seizure of approximately 230,000 counterfeit Nintendo games in Brazil, Mexico and Paraguay alone, the piracy levels continue to rise.

Besides working with the US government, Nintendo has developed its own initiatives to combat video game piracy.

Illegal downloads occur in many forms including Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing networks, and non-P2P Internet protocols. In addition to its own monitoring and removal activities, Nintendo works with the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) who has retained an Internet monitoring service that proactively searches and identifies infringing game files being shared/distributed via these Internet protocols.

Pirates also use the Internet to sell counterfeit Nintendo products through auctions and websites. Pirates often fool bidders by claiming that their counterfeit Nintendo video game products available on Internet auctions such as eBay, Yahoo!, and Alibaba are genuine products obtained at a discounted price. A high percentage of Nintendo games sold via these auctions sites are pirated.To curtail these sales, raise awareness, and alert, its consumers, Nintendo monitors these sites and works with the various auction services to terminate any illegal auctions.

Nintendo also raises awareness by publicizing tips to detect counterfeit Nintendos:

1.       Nintendo video games are stored in two types of media formats: (1) cartridge based products that are used with the following hardware systems: NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS; and (2) optical discs that are proprietary to the Nintendo GameCube and Wii console systems

2.       Know that counterfeiters will often ship components separately.

3.       For cartridge-based games: Look for a missing or misspelled Nintendo trademark on the PC board and/or cartridge housing. Watch out for a spot of black or grey epoxy glue used to cover a counterfeit semiconductor chip on the PC board or an extra semiconductor chip affixed to the back of the PC board.

4.       For optical disc games, check if the back of the counterfeit discs is blue, green or purple or lack a SID code imprinted in the inner area of a disc; discs may have handwritten titles or lack the professional silkscreen labeling found on authentic Nintendo discs.

5.       Be alert for blurred printing, faded, discolored or poor quality ink found on game discs, cartridge labels or packaging.

6.       See if there is poor quality ink used on the Nintendo Seal of Quality trademark on the packaging and/or label - or lack of shrink-wrapping.

7.       Check if pricing is below normal wholesale or retail.

Video game piracy has not only threatened Nintendo’s bottom line, but also its reputation and its consumers. Through its multi-pronged strategies, the company is demonstrating that it’s not taking it sitting down.