Is Nintendo being too harsh?

Renai LeMay
Friday, 19 February 2010 15:47

Your IT - Entertainment

OPINION: One can't help noticing that the creator of such cute and cuddly creatures such as Mario, pink and fluffy Kirby and the Lemmings-like Pikmin has been acting a little like Bowser recently.

In Australia grouchy Nintendo has been serving out lawsuits, kicking down doors and dragging the evil forces of video game piracy into the Federal Court for a right dressing down.

All the court action reminds me of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, but without the cute offsider who smiles at you adoringly while pulling the odd rabbit out of her hat. Wait, was that in Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice? Maybe both.

Anyway, if Nintendo was running for office in an upcoming election, it'd be on a law and order ticket.

The problem is, doesn't it seem like it's a little harsh for the Japanese giant to be throwing its weight around so much? Sure, video game piracy takes money from Nintendo and its game developers, but most people in Australia pay for their games.

And although Nintendo is completely within the law to attack piracy through suing those who upload rogue copies of New Super Mario Bros or sell DS mod chips, it's not as if doing so is going to make the problem go away.