Piracy Responsible For 50% DS Software Sales Drop In Europe

According to a report [via MCV UK] on the website for Japan’s Asahi Shimbun tabloid, comments from Nintendo Co. Ltd. indicate that DS flashcarts such as the R4 are responsible for a nearly 50% drop in DS software sales throughout European territories. Annual losses, according to Nintendo, are “in the region of trillions of yen.”

Recommended Videos

 

While no names were mentioned, the report reveals that in June 2009, the company monitored 10 websites, based outside of Japan, that allowed visitors to illegally download ROMs. Just during that single month, they discovered that software had been pirated a total of 238 million times. On average, that amounts to $10.7 billion in lost revenue.

 

In Europe, the number of illegal downloads were found to be greatest in Italy, followed by Spain, and then France. Compared to Europe, the effects of piracy in the U.S. and Japan were relatively limited, resulting in an 11% and 7% drop in sales respectively.


Siliconera is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Which Vanillaware Games Do You Like Best and Recommend?
Best Vanillaware Game
Read Article It’s the Perfect Time for Hotel Dusk and Last Window to Return
It's the Perfect Time for Hotel Dusk and Last Window to Return
Read Article How Many Nintendo DS Units Have Been Sold?
Ghost Trick review trick screen
Read Article Here Are the Bleach Games You Can Play in English
Bleach games in English
Read Article All the Shin Megami Tensei Games Available in English
Related Content
Read Article Which Vanillaware Games Do You Like Best and Recommend?
Best Vanillaware Game
Read Article It’s the Perfect Time for Hotel Dusk and Last Window to Return
It's the Perfect Time for Hotel Dusk and Last Window to Return
Read Article How Many Nintendo DS Units Have Been Sold?
Ghost Trick review trick screen
Read Article Here Are the Bleach Games You Can Play in English
Bleach games in English
Read Article All the Shin Megami Tensei Games Available in English
Author
Ishaan Sahdev
Ishaan specializes in game design/sales analysis. He's the former managing editor of Siliconera and wrote the book "The Legend of Zelda - A Complete Development History". He also used to moonlight as a professional manga editor. These days, his day job has nothing to do with games, but the two inform each other nonetheless.