Faking It Nintendo Accuses Samsung Of Helping Counterfeit Popular Video Game

Nintendo of America on Wednesday accused Samsung Electronics of helping produce hundreds of thousands of counterfeit copies of the fast-selling Donkey Kong Country video game.

In a civil suit filed in U.S. District Court, Nintendo contends Samsung manufactured the computer chips that contain the audio and video information for the illegal game cartridges. The chips were sold to companies in the Far East and other places counterfeit Nintendo games are produced.

The bogus cartridges often sell for about half the $59 retail price of a real Donkey Kong Country game, costing Nintendo millions of dollars in lost sales, said Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America, which is based in suburban Redmond.

The counterfeit games have shown up in Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East as well as the United States, Nintendo said.

The suit seeks immediate termination of illegal production, seizure of all counterfeit games and monetary damages.

Samsung officials did not immediately return a call for comment.

U.S. software companies have long complained of pirated products that have cost them billions of dollars in lost sales.

For Nintendo, Donkey Kong Country is hugely important. The game raced off store shelves during the holidays, purchased by 6 million consumers, and eased the impact on Nintendo of declining sales in other products.

“Counterfeiters always go for a kill in the most popular games. Certainly, Donkey Kong Country is the most popular video game we’ve ever produced on a worldwide basis,” Lincoln said.

He and other company officials met with Samsung executives in November about counterfeiting of older Nintendo games. Nintendo wasn’t aware at that point that Samsung-produced chips were also going into counterfeit copies of Donkey Kong Country, Lincoln said.

He said Samsung executives promised to stop the counterfeiting, but didn’t.

Nintendo found out about bogus Donkey Kong Country cartridges two weeks ago, following tips from game distributors at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Nintendo has since gotten hold of counterfeit copies of the games in different parts of the world.

“I find the whole thing almost incredible, that a company of this alleged stature would be doing this. And yet, the fact of the matter is we have proof that they are doing it,” Lincoln said. “How high the knowledge of this goes is anyone’s guess.”