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Mexican counterfeiters busted, 15,000 fake Nintendo products seized


Dale North \\ 08.17.2007	30 comments

In a raid conducted today by Mexican authorities, 15,000 counterfeit Nintendo products were seized, which included 4,500 counterfeit Wii software discs.

This raid in Guadalajara is the continuation of Nintendo's actions in the region. Just last month they busted the shipment of 5,500 counterfeit Nintendo products entering Manzanillo from China, and prior to that they helped authorities in a raid of the San Juan de Dios market in Guadalajara, where more than 56,000 counterfeit Nintendo products (including 11,000 fake Wii games) were confiscated from over 20 stores.

"Mexico is Nintendo's largest market in Latin America, where the problem of video game piracy is widespread," said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's senior director of anti-piracy. "Since January, Nintendo has worked with law enforcement agencies worldwide to seize 100,000 counterfeit Wii games."

It seems like Nintendo is rolling up their sleeves and taking care of business. The press release says that Nintendo figures that they lost $762 million in 2006 due to piracy, so you really can't blame them for wanting to take care of this problem.

- - - Dale North instinctively holds down the "b" button.

30 COMMENTS, LATEST BY Gajeh
i swear there is so much pirated shit in mexico. almost anything electronic on the streets is pirated....the real stuff is all in the stores... - view discussion

There are 30 comments about this post:

Knives says:
08/17/2007 23:50

I know that place!! I used to live in Guadalajara.

Anyway, Mexicans have money to spend on electronics?

Neonie says:
08/17/2007 23:52

"Anyway, Mexicans have money to spend on electronics? "

I need not say more.

coonskin05 says:
08/17/2007 23:52

...Que?

Dale North says:
08/17/2007 23:52

not that I condone piracy, but from my understanding, the mexican wii is expensive

Neonie says:
08/18/2007 00:10

"not that I condone piracy, but from my understanding, the mexican wii is expensive "

Which only proves the point further. Why the hell are they hopeing over the border if they can afford frekin Wii's?

pakokonka says:
08/18/2007 00:18

Here in Mexico Nintendo puts insane prices to their products (about 70-80 USD per game and 400 USD for a Wii console) so it's no surprise the extreme piracy.

cquezaad says:
08/18/2007 00:19

I don't condone piracy either, but I completely understand it considering the massive rapage that Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft do to Latin American gamers wallets. Everything video game related is amazingly expensive over there.

Mxyzptlk says:
08/18/2007 00:40

Seven comments and no mention of stolen ipods? For shame!

Mxyzptlk says:
08/18/2007 00:42

Seven comments and no mention of stolen ipods? For shame!

Necron117 says:
08/18/2007 00:45

Mexico under attack!

Dale North says:
08/18/2007 00:46

mxyzptlk, there was some mention 'behind the scenes' at least

nightmareci says:
08/18/2007 00:50

Piracy is one thing, but selling completely fake products that aren't even playable versions? Now that's just plain terrible! Glad Nintendo did something about this, because I know a Mexican kid would be very disappointed if their brand new Wii couldn't run any of their games they got for <insert day of importance>. Piracy is very understandable in poorer countries that are also charged higher for the same products as other, more affluent countries, but this bust isn't piracy, because I believe there isn't a way to get an unmodified Wii to boot unofficial discs (could be wrong).

And, quite honestly, I have NO fucking idea why businesses do that. Microsoft sells cheap versions of their software in poor countries, though, so some businesses got the right idea.

ian_esq says:
08/18/2007 00:58

Get a real yob mexicans

jackass92211 says:
08/18/2007 01:40

stupid beaners

Wa-Keen says:
08/18/2007 01:59

Knives

I know that place!! I used to live in Guadalajara.

Anyway, Mexicans have money to spend on electronics?

I thought you lived there?

Boolean says:
08/18/2007 02:09

"Nintendo figures that they lost $762 million in 2006 due to piracy"

Did Nintendo even make over $762 million?

Knives says:
08/18/2007 02:19

@Wa-keen I thought you lived there?

Yeah, but tequila makes wonders with your memory =)

braulio09 says:
08/18/2007 03:40

nightmareci....people know the things wont work unless theyre modded

actually, you can get you wii modded in the same market where you buy the pirated games

this has been going on since CDs began being used on videogames, it's not like 10 years havent taught people what to do

when/if we see games becoming downloadable only, that'll probably be when sales increase a lot..until someone finds out how to pirate it too

MaximusPaynicus says:
08/18/2007 04:23

While piracy is bad, it's still nowhere nearly as bad as the counterfeit consoles being sold in China and S. Korea.

savagesaladin says:
08/18/2007 08:41

If the prices are so hiked up in Mexico, let them pirate.

Falkonite says:
08/18/2007 10:48

It's annoying when people say "Let them Pirate" because in the long run it really hurts everyone. People who decide to mod their consoles and download games are JUST as responsible for the condition of the market as the companies are. If there was less rampant piracy of software companies wouldn't have to waste time and energy working to combat them and work on developing our favorite pass time. I'm not saying that prices in Mexico are some poser gamers fault because he thinks he's a cool haxors but really who is to blame here? It's a cycle companies try to make money to keep making games, people try to save that money by getting the games the company is trying to make the money off of, since we all know how much companies make on hardware *coughnothingcough

Falkonite says:
08/18/2007 10:55

That sounded a little too sarcastic, companies don't make money off their consoles I mean

Irvine_frost says:
08/18/2007 11:01

one of the big problems in latin america is lack of support in games, go to any retail store, you can hardly buy an import console with double price, because sony, ms or nintendo "official" support is a lie.

you can buy a console, but you got almost no games, no accesories, no garanties, don`t even think about demanding online gaming. even in my country where dolar price is low, we can buy games at a decent price, because we're limited by private importers who can charge wathever crazy price they ask.

Myrmidon16 says:
08/18/2007 12:05

kickin ass and takin names

Pepillou2 says:
08/18/2007 13:25

"Why the hell are they hopeing over the border if they can afford frekin Wii's?"

Do you think ALL mexicans can afford Wiis and/or hop over the border?

I live in the city and I buy my games in a bazaar. They sell original and pirate games. I only buy original games because in the bazaar the prices are lower (50 - 60 USD) and the games are distributed legally.

Irvine_frost says:
08/18/2007 15:20

wow it's sure interesting, with globalitazion and all ,that when you put some kind of news with the words "mexican" or "latin america", most of the people enter in racist frenzy

what? no one copy things in the u.s, canada or the u.k

piracy is a structural problem fueled by crazy prices in electronics in general and "clever" bussiness who saw an excelent way to win money

snapperdragon says:
08/18/2007 16:20

@Irvine_frost

Different prices in different countries are most likely due to HIGH IMPORT TAXES imposed by the latin countries. It's not Sony/MS/Nintendo trying to rape latin people any more than any other. Economics still apply. The higher the price, the less you sell, and the lower the profit is.

If on a few vendors are able to import, they effectively set the price due to an allowed monopoly on a device. Blame them, not the company that makes the consoles.

Also, it is not anyone's god given right to play games and thieve them. Piracy happens all over the place, true, but it's not right anywhere. If businesses didn't make money then they would not exist. However, you will need to look more deeply at the problem and figure out why the same product costs way more in one country vs another. US is cheap (relatively) because things imported are probably not taxed as much. Keeps inflation low (but we lose jobs...)

cryocide says:
08/18/2007 17:23

Screw the pirates. I don't want to pay to subsidize their "free" games. These companies aren't making games for the "art" of it all. They're doing it to make money. When the money stops, the games stop.

Irvine_frost says:
08/18/2007 22:39

i never put the blame in the hardware part ,its the software part that they forgetting, c'mon it's cheaper to import from asian sites even with the taxes.

a lot of gamers here have try to import from the u.s, but ebgames,amazon and others charge like they sending things to fucking Atlantis

i'm talking on behalf of my country taxes are way low, considering jus south america, so is not that.

there are stores trying to charge fair prices, taking advantange of the low dollar price and with the 360, they setting an example, but is limited.

but some companies never learn and Sony Chile is charching us$ 681 for a ps3 and 81 bucks for a game

Gajeh says:
08/20/2007 11:38

i swear there is so much pirated shit in mexico.
almost anything electronic on the streets is pirated....the real stuff is all in the stores...

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