Police Seize $50 Million Worth of Fake Retro Games and Consoles

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Police Seize $50 Million Worth of Fake Retro Games and Consoles

Key Takeaways

  • Italian police have seized 12,000 fake retro consoles containing more than 47 million pirated games.
  • Turin’s authorities estimate the haul to be worth over $50 million.
  • Nine people were arrested as part of the action and face up to eight years in prison if found guilty of trading in counterfeited goods.

As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming history under my belt, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions upon hearing about the Italian police’s recent seizure of 12,000 fake retro consoles containing over 47 million pirated games. On one hand, it’s disheartening to know that so many classic titles have been tainted by this illegal activity, potentially robbing countless gamers of the authentic experience they deserve.

Italian authorities have broken up a counterfeit video game operation, confiscating fake gaming consoles and illegally produced games valued at more than $50 million. The specifics of the case are scarce, but it appears that the confiscated items violated the intellectual property rights of companies such as Nintendo, Sega, Atari, and others in the gaming industry.

The 2023 study by the Video Game History Foundation found that only about 13% of video games published before 2010 can still be bought legally. As a game gets older, it becomes increasingly rare to find it for sale. This situation has led to an increase in popularity for retro consoles, which are essentially devices that emulate classic games. The vast majority of these products are unlicensed and thus considered counterfeit.

Turin Police Seize 12,000 Consoles Containing 47 Million Pirated Games

In mid-September 2024, an Italian operation focused on the illegal distribution of specific goods was broken up by authorities in Turin, according to AFP news agency (via France 24). Alessandro Langella, a senior financial police official from Turin and head of its economic crime unit, stated that this operation led to the seizure of around 12,000 gaming consoles, which stored over 47 million pirated video games. The seized items were reportedly imported from China with the intention of reselling them through online retailers and specialized vintage gaming stores. Langella explained that this facilitated tracking down the illegal goods.

Police Say Their Counterfeit Retro Games Seizure Is Worth Over $50 Million

Langella approximated that the worth of the confiscated goods is approximately €47.5 million ($52.6 million), but the official did not explain how Turin’s financial police calculated this figure. According to the data, each seized device typically held around 4,000 pirated titles. For context, most multi-function retro consoles available in the U.S. retail for under $100, some even coming with tens of thousands of games preloaded. This implies that if these traffickers had managed to sell the 12,000 consoles, they might not have made more than a few million dollars, despite the potential high value of the licensed games on those devices.

1) All confiscated equipment has already been demolished. The financial police of Turin apprehended nine Italian citizens during the operation. Each one is now facing charges for dealing in counterfeit items, which could lead to a prison sentence of up to eight years if convicted. Additionally, the seized gaming consoles had pirated games and uncertified electrical circuits and batteries that didn’t adhere to EU safety or technical regulations.

The specific inventory of the confiscated items hasn’t been disclosed yet, but authorities stated that the demolished vintage game consoles violated multiple intellectual properties, predominantly those belonging to Atari, Nintendo, and Sega. Among the most common pirated games discovered on the confiscated devices were “Street Fighter,” “Super Mario,” and “Star Wars” retro titles.

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2024-09-15 23:03