British courts have declared the Ā«chipsĀ» intended to enable Nintendo DS systems to run unofficial games to be illegal.
According to the ruling, it is illegal to import, sell and advertise these types of devices, corroborating the same understanding that had already been expressed by the Dutch courts, in a decision issued earlier this month.
The defenseās argument that the chips could be used for lawful purposes, such as use on the Ā«homeĀ» video game console or developed and shared by console fans, did not convince the authorities.
The mere possibility of the device being used for lawful purposes is not a defense, the British judge said.
In the Dutch courtās ruling in early July, authorities ordered eleven stores to destroy the entire stock of devices designed to allow the use of pirated copies of games on both DS and Wii.
Here, too, the authorities found it illegal to import or sell this type of equipment, although the defense claimed that it was not their sole purpose, and that Nintendo was abusing its dominant position in the market by preventing users to use third-party software.
This week, the Japanese company announced its financial results for the second quarter of the year, reporting a loss of 25.2 billion yen (about 221 thousand euros).
The figure represents a sharp drop, compared to 42.4 billion yen in profit (373 thousand euros) in the same period last year, but the company still expects to end this year with positive results.
According to the manufacturer, the drop in DS prices in the European and Japanese markets was the main factor responsible for the negative performance of the companyās accounts in the first three months of 2010.
