Nintendo massively underestimated EC fine

Nintendo wildly underestimated the scale of the fine slapped on it by the European Commission (EC), The Register can reveal.

Today the EC imposed a massive €168m on Nintendo and its distributors for running a cartel in the 1990s that artificially fixed prices for Nintendo's consoles and games in Europe.

Nintendo's share of the fine is an eye-watering €149m and it says it's going to appeal.

However, according to embedded changes that have remained in Nintendo's official press release sent out today, it seems the giant games company would not have contested the fine had it been below €50m.

In an embarrassing clanger, it seems Nintendo massively misjudged the scale of the fine it would receive.

Nintendo's statement accepts that it rigged the market in Europe during the 1990s admitting that it "did not comply with EU competition rules".

In its defence, it says it cooperated fully with the EC over the investigation.

However, a deleted note that appears when you copy and paste the text into a new Word document reads: "If fine over 50m euros [then text should read:] Taking in to account this full cooperation, Nintendo is examining the Commission’s reasoning for the level of the fine closely with a view to appealing."

€50m? Is that all Nintendo thought it would get whacked? That's way, way off the €149m dished out by the EU.

So, what's Nintendo's view on this slip?

"It's old information that is not factually correct," said Nintendo.

They added: "The fine itself will not have any negative impact on Nintendo's financial forecast. We can confirm that Nintendo has, in accordance with normal accounting practise, anticipated the imposition of a fine in its accounts." ®

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Europe hits Nintendo with €168 fine for fixing game prices