Nintendo asks US to address worldwide piracy

Nintendo of America has requested that the US Trade Representative encourages governments to take a more aggressive stance in combating piracy.

Nintendo has highlighted China as a primary source of manufacturing pirated DS and Wii games, with Korea emerging as the leader in distributing illegal files over the internet. Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay and Hong Kong were also highlighted by the company.

The unprecedented momentum enjoyed by Nintendo DS and Wii makes Nintendo an attractive target for counterfeiters,” said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America’s senior director of anti-piracy.

We estimate that in 2007, Nintendo, together with its publishers and developers, suffered nearly $975 million USD worldwide in lost sales as a result of piracy. Nintendo will continue to work with governments around the world to aggressively curtail this illegal activity.”

This news follows concerns over the R4 chips, which allows gamers to download and play DS titles for free.