JAPAN: Most pirated DS games revealed

Japan’s Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association has released figures that show how severe a problem piracy is on Nintendo DS.

CESA claimed Pokmon Platinum is the most pirated game with 2.07m transfers recorded, worth YEN 9.5 billion ($m).

In fact, three of the most downloaded games were Pokmon titles, with Pokmon Diamond with 1.86m transfers and Pokmon SoulSilver with 1.12m downloads.

Three Mario titles were also mentioned, including Mario Party DS (1.47m downloads, worth YEN 6.7bn), New Super Mario Bros (1.45m downloads, worth YEN 6.6bn) and Mario Kart DS (1.44bn downloads, worth YEN 6.6bn).

Finally, Square Enix’s Dragon Quest IX was another high-ranking victim with 1.55m downloads, worth YEN 8.8bn.

CESA claimed the top 20 DS games have seen a collective total of 19.34m downloads, equating to YEN 86bn or $941m.

Nintendo has successfully rallied in the past to ban the sale of R4 cards, which make such downloads possible, but the device has recently resurfaced in Japan.