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Piracy goes back in time

New York police seize more than 60,000 bootleg NES consoles

A huge haul of pirate games consoles has been seized during raids in New York and New Jersey, according to local prosecutors.

More than 60,000 bootleg Nintendo Entertainment Systems were seized, along with pirate games including Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt. The original NES launched in the US back in 1985.

Four people were arrested after FBI agents posed as buyers, telling the defendants they planned to distribute the fake products throughout Manhattan and the Midwest.

A criminal complaint filed as part of the case claims that the defendants imported more than 280,000 illegal games consoles into the US between September and December 2004.

The complaint also says Nintendo told the FBI that piracy costs the company millions in lost revenue each year.

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Ellie Gibson

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Ellie spent nearly a decade working at Eurogamer, specialising in hard-hitting executive interviews and nob jokes. These days she does a comedy show and podcast. She pops back now and again to write the odd article and steal our biscuits.