AUS: Pirate to pay Nintendo $1.3m

An Australian man who uploaded an illegal copy of New Super Mario Bros Wii to the internet before the game went on sale has agreed to pay Nintendo $1.3m in compensation.

Having acquired the game early and made it available online before it could be legally purchased in shops, Nintendo argues that the man – who has been named as James Burt – breached copyright and cost Nintendo thousands of sales.

It wasn’t just an Australian issue, it was a global issue,” Nintendo’s Australian MD Rose Lappin told The Sydney Morning Herald.

There was thousands and thousands of downloads, at a major cost to us and the industry. But it’s not just about us. It’s about retailers and if they can’t sell the games then they have to bear the costs associated with that.

Once it’s on the internet it’s anyone’s really.”

Nintendo said when it discovered the game was online, it used computer forensics experts to identify the individual responsible.