Cops capture counterfeit consoles
First discovery of fake DS Lites for sale in UK
Police have raided the home of a couple suspected of being the first people to sell fake games consoles in the UK.
Described as a "team" in an Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (Elspa) report, the couple’s Kent home contained 40 counterfeit Nintendo DS handheld consoles, the organisation alleges. Each was packaged with a “potentially dangerous” power unit and a game copying device.
Police say they also found 150 counterfeit games for the DS and GameBoy Advance, in addition to two laptops and a desktop PC.
The raid was the result of Bromley Trading Standards’ test purchase of illegally copied DS games and counterfeit consoles through eBay earlier this year.
A stack of eBay invoices - some dating back to 2007 - for counterfeit DS consoles were also discovered at the couple’s home, Elspa claimed. It’s thought sales netted the pair over £50,000 ($69000/€53000) in December 2008 alone. ®
COMMENTS
Probably not even modified
I expect they're imported DS Lites by iQue, the company that sells them (under license) in China. I'm not sure about the legality of the "game copying devices" -- I know Nintendo has been taking steps against the manufacturers and sellers of flash cartridges but I don't know what legal grounds they have for shutting them down. Yes, they're probably used mainly for piracy but there is a good selection of homebrew available for the DS too (eg. Spectrum emulator ZXDS, Roguelike game Powder, etc.) so it's not inconceivable that someone could buy a flash cart with no intention of pirating games.
Paris, because she's no stranger to flashing.
Really fakes?
Or grey imports with unauthorised modifications?
