Nintendo get fined 146m euro by EU

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Oct 30, 2002, 23:03
Maciamo

Nintendo get fined 146m euro by EU

Nintendo fined for price fixing

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Nintendo has been fined 146m euros (｣92.1m) by the European Commission for trying to rig the computer game market.

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Prices of Nintendo products were up to 65% higher in Germany or the Netherlands than in Britain.

Quote:

"We will not tolerate... behaviour intended to keep prices artificially high in the European single market."

I am happy to see that the EU takes harsher measures to ensure that the single market be what it should be, competitive and open. :p
Oct 31, 2002, 01:39
moyashi

hmmm, but Nintendo was only following typical Japanese business practices.

Nintendo is being unfairly fined!
Oct 31, 2002, 04:28
thomas

It's about time they finally start to act as a single market.

"Typical Japanese business practices"... in Rome do as the Romans.
Oct 31, 2002, 09:18
Luxpyre

I glanced at that earlier. Didn't it say that this was for offences between '91 and '96 or something like that?
Oct 31, 2002, 10:10
thomas

Nando Times reported:

The European Commission fined Japanese computer game maker Nintendo and seven of its European distributors a combined $165 million Wednesday for violating antitrust rules on pricing in the 1990s.

Nintendo Co. Ltd. and seven of its European distributors were fined a total of 167.8 million euros for keeping prices in some European markets high by illegally collaborating to limit cross-border sales.

The fine on Nintendo was 149 million euros ($146 million) and was fourth largest ever handed down by the European Union's antitrust authorities on an individual company for a single offense. [...]

See also

=> http://www.msnbc.com/news/828103.asp
Oct 31, 2002, 10:37
Maciamo

Quote:

Originally posted by Luxpyre
I glanced at that earlier. Didn't it say that this was for offences between '91 and '96 or something like that?

Yes, but the EU has a single market with its own parliament, immigration policy, etc. since 1992, not since the euro.
Nov 1, 2002, 11:16
moyashi

The only difference between the Japanese and American Super Nintendo boxes where the cassette shapes and the place where you insert the cassette.

hehe, we cut the boxes and played Japanese and English games on the same box.

I've always wondered why Nintendo would want to do that? Probably to keep Japanese prices higher.

Well, it's not a big deal anymore since Nintendo is almost out of the market. Game cube is pretty decent but there are very few games that young adults want to play.

Play Station 1 is still the king of the market. PS 2 isn't really make headway as much as Sony would like.