NOE mad over importers

[Great Rumbler]

Nintendo of Europe is threatening legal action against retailers that import popular GBA titles like Advance Wars 2 and Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. They say steps to prevent importing led to the Pokémon games selling over half a million units across Europe last weekend. Nintendo has issued cease and desist letters to retailers selling import copies of Advance Wars 2, which hasn't been released in Europe yet.

"If importing is left alone it could spiral out of control and harm sales," said Nintendo UK general manager Andy Williams. "As well as having a knock-on effect on the European launch, it harms legitimate sales for retailers who are abiding by the rules."

Is it actually illegal to import games, because this is a subject that's been debates a lot and I'm not sure that a person or store that imports can actually be sued.

N-Philes

[OB1]

Geez, Nintendo really does deserve to be in third place in Europe. The way they treat European gamers is atrocious. Would you want to wait several months for Advance Wars 2?

[Dark Lord Neo]

This is so stupid, if they don't want people importing games they shouldn't leave large periods of time between when the english version comes out in North American and when it is released in Europe. It doesn't make sense, it's not like they have to translate the game from English to English.

[OB1]

In the UK they don't but for the rest of Europe they need to translate them into several different languages. But Sony and MS don't take ten months to do that.

[Great Rumbler]

North America gets shafted sometimes too, but nowhere near as much or as bad as Europe.

[Dark Jaguar]

They COULD just release the English version instantly in Europe and then only delay the other languages. What, is there some law around Europe that requires media to be released in all their languages at once or not at all?

The only thing NOE has in this whole thing would be some argument that these places have hurt their sales. That won't hold any water at all. You could argue that for anything, but who cares? Importing is fully legal, well to a degree, and it's fine so long as it's through the right channels. So long as both sides have no beef with the product leaving one country and entering the other, there can't possibly be any legal issues with it being SOLD after that. Now on the other hand, if it's actually illegal to import video games from us, like it's illegal to import most things from Cuba, then ya got something, but I hightly doubt that's the case.

Yes, NOE is being stupid. Good thing Europe "doesn't matter" in ANY context :D.

Yeah, America does kinda get just plain ignored at times. Japan however gets EVERYTHING. Heck, just when you think there's a plus to our delays and some better version is released, Japan gets all those plusses in a new version PLUS even more added to it! Stuff specifically made for us as an alternative to some Japanese game later gets released there too! Doki Doki Panic was remade for us as SMB2, but then they had to release that in Japan as Super Mario USA, so they have both versions! It never ends.

[A Black Falcon]

Total idiocy. IT IS THE SAME! And anyway is it really illegal to import games, or are they just able to do this with pressure? Morons... when they do stuff like that yes, you do think they deserve to be in last.

[Great Rumbler]

I really don't think it is illegal to import games, but Nintendo has always said that it is.

[A Black Falcon]

I see no possible way it could be illegal. Nintendo is just really stupid.

[Dark Lord Neo]

Originally posted by Great Rumbler
I really don't think it is illegal to import games, but Nintendo has always said that it is.

Just like Nintendo says it's illigal to rent games but they still sell liscences to stores to rent their stuff, and like how htey say back up copies are illigal when even that computer programers alliance(can't remember what it's called) says the law says you're allowed to have a back up of software you purchase for you're own use

[A Black Falcon]

"Copying of this game is illegal. "back-up" or "archival" copies are unnecessary. All violators will be persecuted.

But its LEGAL to own one back-up copy of a game! Just like its legal to buy a product sold in another nation and not banned in this one like videogames... or they'd be sueing E-Bay out of existance... :D

As for rentals I don't remember Nintendo saying that that was also illegal, but if they did it would just show a pattern here...

[OB1]

Well I imagine that these small stores would be scared of how much it would cost in legal fees to battle Nintendo, which is probably what the big N is counting on.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, absolutely. Its not the legality, its the legal fees... all kinds of legal things get shut down that way (see; Bleem).

[Dark Jaguar]

Here's the thing, isn't someone who's sued allowd to at the very least counter-sue so that if they win the looser has to pay their legal fees? Well, at least in America I was under the impression that was the case. Wasn't Bleem in America, or am I being nationalistic?

[Great Rumbler]

Here's the thing, isn't someone who's sued allowd to at the very least counter-sue so that if they win the looser has to pay their legal fees?

Yes, but Nintendo has the money to keep the matter in court till the small business runs out of money.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, you can do that but not if you are out of money before its over... like is likely against a big company with lots of lawers.

[Dark Jaguar]

There should be a new rule, that whenever one party manages to delay a ruling, THAT party is responsible for both party's legal fees, or something. I dunno, just thinking out loud...

[A Black Falcon]

It'd never work. Even if someone did come up with a workable rule corporate people would ... influence ... lawmakers into voting it down.

[Great Rumbler]

Something like that would be a double-edged sword. On the one hand it would prevent big businesses from waiting out people with less money, but on the other hand it would stop the small businesses that want to delay a ruling so they can get more evidence to prove their case.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, I know there are issues... but still, there's got to be a better way of doing this than just letting any company with enough lawyers do whatever it wants to small companies!