Europe busts Nintendo for keeping game prices high

po0k

from http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/27790.html:

Europe busts Nintendo for keeping game prices high
By John Lettice
Posted: 25/10/2002 at 12:55 GMT


Console outfit Nintendo broke European antitrust laws, and an announcement of the level of fine is possible by next week, according to today's Wall Street Journal. Nintendo's sin, says the Journal, was obstructing cross-border sales, thus allowing it to keep prices high, and keep a frim grip on its distribution channel.

Depending on the attitude the European Commission takes, this could be ominous for other console makers. You'll recall that last week Steve Ballmer was complaining about how Australian legislation was obstructing Microsoft's ability to make a fast - er, honest) buck with Xbox.

Specifically, he was talking about the court ruling which effectively allowed the chipping of consoles in order to get around regionalisation, and regionalisation is the manufacturer's practice which allows them to stop their machines playing out of region software. Which helps them restrict cross-border sales, and keep prices high.

Apparently Australian and New Zealand legislation already makes it illegal for companies to restrict the parallel importation of their products, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is poised to take action against DVD regionalisation. So if other places, including Europe, follow the lead, Steve Ballmer could find himself threatening to stop selling Xbox virtually everywhere... ®

magick

greedy bastards

monument

(If my memory servers me right) Sony tried to stop people from chipping their PS2s, but Australian law was on the consumers side.

Its really a “gray area" here in Europe, but Governments are usually on the Industries side because “chipers” sometimes also sell illegal game copies .

l3rian

yeah microsoft has treatened to pull out of australia bcos of that decision to allow chiped xboxs, good on the australian courts i say

spooky donkey

well that would be a bad move by M$ but if i was going for a console it would be the ps2 as its out a while and it has cheaper games ane more of them. Its the crapiest of the 3 joints and still the one to get, its not all about the power of the machine but the software and its prise, that will make or break the next gen console!

Ping Chow Chi

linkage

blimey, thats a fair bit of money, even for Nintendo

Pugsley

thats alotta money

Retr0gamer

If microsoft pulled out of australia it would be a good thing for the aussies. Who wants an xbox any way. Halo is way overrated and it's only redeeming feature is the coop mode which can be polished off in 1 days playing.
The European courts should be looking at the prices between america and europe and not just in different european countries.

Asuka

The 'fourth largest fine ever handed down by the commission for a single offence' apparently

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=888

A

amp

I merged this thread with the other one cos they were basically the same.

I like to merge.