Pirated Nintendo Products Sold In Malls

Beware of faulty pirated products this holiday season...

December 30th, 2004

It's currently the holiday season and for many of us, that means a lot of buying and receiving of video game accessories. However, there are a few things to watch out and avoid when you shop.

Poorly constructed counterfeit products mimicking Nintendo controllers and Nintendo games have been selling at cheap prices all over the US. These counterfeit products are sold in packages, a few of which are named 'Power Player,' 'Power Joy,' 'Super Joy,' 'Super Gun' and 'Super Joystick.' They have shown up in over 40 states, including Washington, New York, New Hampshire, Ohio and Missouri.

These controllers sell at low prices, but they are quite faulty; Nintendo has already received many complaints from customers who thought the products were real. The games (built into the controllers) aren't as numerous as advertised on the boxes, and are nothing new. Instead, they are direct copies of NES games, or in some instances are NES games with changed sprites.

If you bought or received one of these gifts for Christmas, you may have a problem returning these devices, as some retailers are refusing to give refunds. However, to help Nintendo out, find out where the product was bought, and report it to piracyscene@noa.nintendo.com or phone NOA's Consumer Affairs at 800-255-3700. If you spot these products being sold at a mall near you, please do the same thing.

Some images of these phony products can be found here, at Promoguy.net.

(Remember, always look for Nintendo's golden Official Seal on every Nintendo product you buy, okay?)

~SilverWind

Sources:

http://www.promoguy.net/Fun_Stuff/Gallery/-0001.html http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=3900
http://www.gameshout.com/news/122004/article119.htm