Nintendo pushes back against 149.1 million Euro fine

The EU has doled out some pretty hefty fines in the past, but it looks like Nintendo is pushing back against the one it got slapped with back in 2002, with the company now saying that it was "unfair, illegal, even shocking." That fine (some 140.1 million Euros, or about $220 million), was the result of some alleged price fixing on Nintendo's part back during the SNES-fueled glory days of 1991 to 1998, during which time European Union regulators say Nintendo colluded with seven different distributors to raise hardware and software prices. For its part, the EU commission maintains that the fine "was not of a capricious nature, or based on wild estimates," and that it "was for an infringement that was considered very serious." No word on Nintendo's next move just yet, but if past appeals of EU rulings are any indication, they certainly seem to be facing an uphill battle.

[Via Pocket-lint]

[peekinde @ May 21st 2008 2:32PM]

i wanna see the EU slap a fine onto opec

[John @ May 21st 2008 2:34PM]

Wow, it's like no one appreciates the EU handing out fines. Demanding money from foreign companies is hard work, you know.

[Flashpoint @ May 21st 2008 2:35PM]

I wanna see the EU pay all the countries they destroyed with colonialism.

[Waveblade @ May 21st 2008 2:39PM]

Zing!

[helloUser @ May 21st 2008 2:51PM]

England, France and Spain would all go bankrupt real fast.

[MeatyPi @ May 21st 2008 2:54PM]

Does America count as a country destroyed by colonialism?

[eugene @ May 21st 2008 3:03PM]

I'm sure the various native peoples who lived here before England, France, Spain and Portugal started cutting up the land would think so.

[fanman @ May 21st 2008 3:18PM]

Flashpoint, if you are a descendant of a colonizer surely you are more responsible than those who chose to stay at home.

[jim1027` @ May 21st 2008 7:47PM]

Thats not necessarily true, colonialism gave huge financial gains to the mother countries of the colonies, and as a result the people living in those mother countries.

[fanman @ May 22nd 2008 5:04AM]

Because the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and the rest of the world are clearly feeling the pinch.

If your going to bill Europe, you will need to return civilization with it's receipt and original packaging.

[Hung @ May 22nd 2008 10:51AM]

@ fanman
You're totally right. Everyone would still be primitive savages if it weren't for the magnificent Europeans with their superior intellect and inherent civility!




You douchebag.

[coffee @ May 21st 2008 2:39PM]

Nintendo should be careful, or the EU might send out a "sternly worded letter" next.

Wait, that's the UN. Nevermind.

Just where do all these fine payments go? Why do I think they don't go to the people that bought the systems?

[LJKelley @ May 21st 2008 2:44PM]

Greedy EU and their fines. I so wanna meet a commisioner one day so I can tell them where they can stick both the Nintendo and Microsoft fines.

Yep Nintendo sure was abusing its powers and forcing consumers to buy... thats why the GameCube was #3 and people were shocked when the Wii was so sucessful even to the point they are still sold out some places.

[Brian @ May 21st 2008 2:49PM]

150 million dollars isn't unreasonable for price fixing the electronic entertainment industry.

However, what really matters is where this money is going.

If it's going to fund campaigns or build foreign governments (read: foreign to the company being sued), then this is outrageous and Nintendo should tell 'em to piss off.

[Josh L @ May 21st 2008 3:11PM]

150 million euros. 220 million dollars.

[Tyson @ May 21st 2008 3:07PM]

Yeah you can get all Pro-Euro and pissy at me again but i will say the same thing I said with Microsoft, f- them. Just stop selling your products there and see who breaks first. it was all a joke with why would they care if they can't get 360 but if they can't get Nintendo products either. I'm not saying Video games are critical to national security but when other companies start pulling out of the European market and they are really stuck with price fixing, Ie Apple is the only one selling you computers and Sony video entertainment products, it will be a serious burn. Oh I know, they will just develop their own video game industry as well over night like the computer industry they are developing if Microsoft leaves. As a matter of principle I wouldn't pay them S-. The nice part is the Japanese are known for being tough and not settling cases and fixing stuff no matter the cost and in this case I totally support them. Get a life stop trying to fine others countries companies to support your economy. Eventually people will see it for what its worth, a tariff and violation of the BITs and other free trade agreements.

[shanoboy @ May 21st 2008 3:17PM]

I agree. Screw them.

France tried going after Apple because they didn't like the Itunes business model and Steve Jobs gave them the finger and threatened to do away with Itunes in France. Guess who won that battle?

I guess Jobs is the only one with the balls to stand up for their company.

(no, I'm not an Apple fan boy. I don't even own and Ipod.)

[Flying? @ May 21st 2008 8:14PM]

"Get a life stop trying to fine others countries companies to support your economy. "
Please don't make statements without having a clue of what you're talking about. EU Commission does not target specifically foreign companies at all ! e.g.: French Phone providers were fined with 600M€ (yep, that's right) one or two years ago by the french regulator (applying community law) !

EU commission often fines foreign companies juste because EU companies are less likely to be of her competence, that's it ! these EU companies often depend from the local regulator, but the law is the same everywhere in Europe !

Tn short : there is absolutely no discrimination between european and foreign companies, concerning the applicaiton of antitrust rules! Stop crying.

[james @ May 21st 2008 3:12PM]

I want to see a company like Nintendo or Microsoft one day just say, "OK, we're sorry. Here's your fine. By the way, we're taking the rest of our toys out of the EU".

[Flying? @ May 21st 2008 8:02PM]

Aha ... like it's going to happen. And if it did, like I'd care that a rogue company would stop selling goods in my country because they're not happy with our laws ... look at the bigger picture here please.

But guess what ... nobody's going to leave the european market : it's too big. Other competitors would choose to comply and then would get the whole market, as a result they could become more competitive in other countries untouched by that mean law ...

[EI8HT @ May 21st 2008 3:12PM]

the consumers (in other words...me) won't see a penny of that fine even though we were the ones who were affected by nintendo's shenanigans. one could say, however, that i have sought revenge on nintendo in my own way. they stole from me in the 90's, now, thanks to a mod chip and the twilight princess hack, i'm taking it all back... with interest. thanks nintendo!!!

[don @ May 21st 2008 3:14PM]

Tell the EU to go stuff it. We want repay for all the money and lives we spent saving their ass from Hitler.

[Kris S. @ May 21st 2008 3:17PM]

They sure love fining foreign companies some barbaric amounts. Must be to fund their uber-fail Galileo global positioning system just because the U.S. GPS isn't good enough. *rolls eyes*

[Jordan @ May 21st 2008 3:18PM]

A decade and a half later the trial continues...

[Darius @ May 21st 2008 4:05PM]

I love bureaucracy.
3 generations of hardware later, politics is still trying to catch up.

Cheers,
Darius

[Hung @ May 22nd 2008 10:56AM]

Damnit. I need to finish reading posts before I rank them. I had already clicked the green button by the time I saw the signature "Cheers, Darius." Is the minimal amount of effort to open another browser worth the satisfaction of ranking someone down?



Yep.

[Ian @ May 21st 2008 4:32PM]

Well, the EU needs an ATM to fall back on when the MSFT ATM runs dry.

[Ian @ May 21st 2008 4:34PM]

Godwins law says: FAIL

[pfanne @ May 21st 2008 4:46PM]

wait?
they fined nintendo for something they did like a decate ago?
and nintendo decides not pay the fine 6 years later?
when will the eu answer to that? 2018 or something?

[Hellios @ May 21st 2008 5:16PM]

Pay up Nintendo, you're charging 150€ for the $130 DS Lite! (Yes, Nintendo is actually charging $240 for a DS Lite)

[biggorilla @ May 21st 2008 7:11PM]

The law is the law, you Americans need to realise that we Europeans taught you the value of law, and democracy...You didnt invent it no matter how many times you ppl delude yourselves that law and democracy was an american invention...

And to the genius who who spouts the nonsense that you somehow saved us from the nazis, you should really read some history and you will find that the americans only became involved in the war in 1942 when most of the world had aready had already started fighting the war in 1939 when americans were the NUMBER 1 friends to the german government...call me a liar...youll have a hard time proving me wrong

The EU is your number one market, far outstripping any other trading block in terms of the wealth we help your nation generate --- be careful with your rhetoric because we europeans are the ONLY ppl left who still tolerate your nonsense...and we are rapidly rapidly becoming bored with America ---

[MeatyPi @ May 21st 2008 8:06PM]

You taught me about law and democracy? Funny I've never even met you. I think you are confused, Americans are proud of having the first functioning Federal Republic, and I don't believe any worthy American thinks we invented democracy.

As for the WWII remark, actually we were not allies with the German government, ever heard of the Lend-Lease act? President Roosevelt was lending military supplies and funds to the British and other Allied Nations as early as 1940. Roosevelt was NEVER a supporter of Hitler or fascism. Make no mistake, the war wasn't won solely by the US, but without the United States it may have taken many more years, or victory may have never come at all, remember how France fell to Germany in 1940? or how about Germany swallowing Poland within a month in 1939, so yeah the US was a big factor in WW2. Don't pretend like all Americans are George Bush either, it's pretty obvious we don't agree with anything our government does now day, so I kindly ask you to keep your ignorant mouth shut.

[MeatyPi @ May 21st 2008 8:14PM]

Oh, by the way

"The law is the law, you Americans need to realise that"

Nintendo is a Japanese company, not American, Idiot.

[Tyson @ May 22nd 2008 12:49AM]

90% of that is just flat wrong. i don't know what twisted text book you are learning from.
1.The US did save Europe from Hitler get over that. France was over Run Britain was besieged and broke, most of the rest of Europe were the aggressors the time.

2. After We paid to rebuild europe every heard of the Marshal plan?

3. Democracy existed way before European nations

4. America is not a democracy it is a republic there is a difference take a civics class.

5. US law was based in english common law until we improved it an made it better. We do not follow English law however most modern nations use our law as an example.

6. Americas biggest trading partners are Canada, China, and then Japan. Europe does not break the top 3 list.

7. The worlds biggest economies are in the US, Japan, and China not europe.

8. The worlds fastest growing economies are in Asia, China and Vietnam with averages over 7%/ year Europe is a used saturated market with a declining population noone cares.

Get over yourselves and go watch some football.

[Hung @ May 22nd 2008 11:03AM]

"6. Americas biggest trading partners are Canada, China, and then Japan. Europe does not break the top 3 list.

7. The worlds biggest economies are in the US, Japan, and China not europe."

I'm totally with you, but those facts seem a little sketchy. Did you take into account the fact the Europe is NOT a country. If those statements hold true, and by Europe you meant all the members of the EU, then HOOOAHHHH! Suck on that and realiZe this!

[James @ May 21st 2008 8:32PM]

Who else hates the EU about as much as the big bad monopolizing corporations they are trying to protect the us from?

[biggorilla @ May 21st 2008 9:05PM]

you yanks make me laugh, of course i realise that nintendo is a japanese company because unlike 80 percent of the american population I would be able to point to japan on a map... the moaning about the fine is being made by americans unhappy about EU law...now i hope i havent lost you with that remark...try to keep up...

with regard to your comments about the WW2 that you believe you won for us ( thanks foir that). I would like to say you neglected several relevent points....them being

banks such as chase, jpmorgan aswell as standard oil continued to do business with germany whilst france was being occupied, and had protection under nazi law as friends of the reich.... companies based in the midwest of the US supplied ball bearings that were used in the manufacture of weaponry used against poland, france, belguim uk etc etc

I also take issue with you saying all americans arent george w bush....GWBUSH is your leader having been elected on not one but two occasions....because he represent the majority American opinion...dont blame me, blame the majority of americans who voted for such a great guy...and he is a great guy by the way....


with regard to democracy, i dont expect you to know this but a little place called greece came up with that one... and thats not greece tennesse or athens NJ...but a whole country....im losing you i know

why not get a passport and travel ouside the US. honestly there are other places and other peoples - there may even be some ppl who still like you yanks..

I still like you guys because your greaaaaat... yall have a nice day now Y'hear --- and hey thanks again for ww2..ypu were a bit late and most of the fighting had been done, but give you guys their due, as soon as you saw who was likely to win you were right on our side...Gee thanks

[MeatyPi @ May 21st 2008 9:43PM]

are you really that thick? Your argument is particularly weak, due to your poor grammar, and logical fallacies as evidenced by

"80 percent of the american population I would be able to point to japan on a map." don't make such assertions with no evidence except your idiotic beliefs.

Your points about WWII- I was referring to the US government, not companies based in the US, which the government has little control over who companies deal with- it's called free markets and trade.

Are you so dense that you actually believe WWII was won in 1939-1941? Europe would have fallen to Germany if the US and the USSR didn't get involved, hence why the major battles occurred after 1942, and why the war ended in 1945, after Germany, Italy, and Japan had all suffered many defeats, because before 1942, the Axis powers lost very few battles.

Bush was given the presidency by Congress in 2000, and in 2004, Kerry wasn't a much better alternative. I for one didn't vote for him.

Greece was not a country when democracy came around, it was a collection of separate city-states, like Athens or Sparta, you arrogant, yet idiotic fool.

I have visited other countries, and completely enjoyed many European nations, because unlike you, I don't harbor inexplicable hatred for an entire nation of people.

And, no we didn't choose which side, you naive little ass, like I said before, we already were aiding many of the Allies, including France, Britain, and the Soviet Union. Also, we would have never of chosen the side of the Nazis.

Please learn how to make an argument, perhaps you could study Aristotle and learn about the art of persuasion, but I'm sure in your delusions of being intelligent, you already believe you know how to argue, but it's clearly not the case.

[biggorilla @ May 21st 2008 11:00PM]

let me set you strait on a number of things, oh great liberator of Europe...

Firstly this may come as a shock to you, but you assclowns really arent the chosen people, God is not an American, and you should really get your own nation in check before you fools "help" other nations out...you are clowns, admittedly clowns with money and great armies but in essence clowns. Any nation that spends trillions upon trillions of dollars on weaponry but is unable to provide even basic healthcare for its citizens is a nation of assclowns.... you showed yourselves up with katrina in which you allowed thousands of people to perish because you, as a nation of assclown muppets, value human life so little... look at the way china was able to mobilise itself to help its own people. China is a third world country. embarrassing (ouch)

you claim to be fighting terrorism around the world yet small armies of armed gangs such as ms18, cripsbloods and even armed anti-federal-government militias roam freely throughout your country. - you are complete jokers.

ww2: Do you honestly believe that any company would be able to trade munitions and or bankroll armies without the complicit knowledge of the sitting government..You have passed the buck in your argument by saying it wasnt the people at fault it was the company and the free trade system, lol weak.. America simply waited to see who was likely to win and then picked the team...Your own government propaganda has shielded you from the realities of what actually happened...hey I bet you watch war stories with oli north and believe every word of it...I can just see you now with your little flag outside your house....muppet

So to add to your ridiculous assertion that trading weapons and funding nazis betweeen 1939 and 1942 wasnt the fault of your government - now you add this little gem about it wasnt the majority of people who elected W on two occasions, it was congress...can you see why ppl may think you as an american are incapable of accepting responsibilty for the actions of your country. tut tut tut

The little comment you made about "I don't harbor inexplicable hatred for an entire nation of people." is a prime example of why the entire rest of the world thinks you are all nuts...its called critism...I know you are shocked that anyone could critisize your great nation...you clowns have probably scrambled jets already, Sweden is fucked..

I deeply apologise for the lack of Grammar --- you absolute TOOL

[MeatyPi @ May 22nd 2008 12:05AM]

Once again you naive little fool, the government operates independently of public opinion, and please stop saying "you" for everything the American government has done, you fucking retard, it's not passing the buck, I wholeheartedly disagree with many things my nation has done, but it's not my responsibility because I wasn't consulted, I know it's hard go against the sensationalist bullshit the media feeds you. America doesn't operate as one unit, that's the beauty of this nation, you're allowed to go against majority opinion, and not get persecuted for it. I'm sure having personal beliefs is a hard thing for you to comprehend but do try.

And you render your argument invalid by openly hating the US, and bringing in irrelevant things that weren't part of the original discussion. Such as "God is not American" okay this is totally subjective, god is whoever people interpret it be to be, I guess you could call me a godless liberal, but people have the right to believe in what they want to, you dumb fuck.

"America simply waited to see who was likely to win and then picked the team" once again your blindness to the invalidity of your argument makes you have no credibility, so maybe support this with real historical fact, and not some bullshit belief you have.

"see you now with your little flag outside your house....muppet" I do not have a flag outside my home, but there is nothing wrong with any citizen of any nation displaying the flag of their country, but I guess in you twisted world, patriotism is a curse word. Enough with the muppet bullshit, i think it's pretty obvious you regurgitate some conspiracy theory crap, and cannot think for yourself, get a brain, ass.

"So to add to your ridiculous assertion that trading weapons and funding nazis betweeen 1939 and 1942 wasnt the fault of your government"
Oh yes because other companies from other nations didn't do the same thing, in addition to Neville Chamberlain giving Czechoslovakia to Hitler to appease him, but hey "peace in our time" right? you ignorant jackass

"majority of people who elected W on two occasions, it was congress" only the first election, besides hindsight in 20/20 pal, how was the majority of the American public supposed to know that he would become one of the worst presidents in our history, they weren't blessed with your brilliant insight, sorry.

"rest of the world thinks you are all nuts...its called critism."
you think you're only criticizing the US? look up the definition if you don't know, because it's pretty apparent you have an open hatred for the United States, and you blame every American because you are some unfortunate troll that doesn't believe in historical fact or logical reasoning, only blind devotion to your idiotic beliefs.

you have shown once again that you're the tool and are incapable of refuting an argument. All you have done is recycle the same tired old argument and made your self look like an ass because your assertions are contradicted by history. and by the way, China mobilized itself for its people? 20,000+ people dying is a great achievement, yeah they're committed to human lives alright, with the known fact that infant females are often exterminated because they are not "desirable", and katrina was such an embarrassment when 1800 people died and 20000 people is a great effort? You fucking idiot, give up you will never win this argument because you, you naive little communist fuck cannot comprehend reality and are stuck in your own sick world fed to you on a spoon by the media and your government, whichever one it is, since you have yet to reveal it, although you have continuously attacked the US, because we're the only nation with problems in this otherwise perfect world.

[sinjinn @ May 22nd 2008 12:30AM]

this is great. i particularly like how both of you make good , intelligent points and then add "you ass clown" or "you ****" at the end.

seriously though , wasnt this supposed to be about nintendo? they got fined 150 million.. who cares , they can afford it.

[Tyson @ May 22nd 2008 1:21AM]

It is clear that you have no education at all and have no concept of the real world if you actually believe any of that garbage you just wrote. As an American it wold make me absolutely happiest if we withdraw our aid and troops from the rest of the world so I can watch people like you then bitch about how greedy and selfish we are not to help others. Do you realize that Germany and Japan among other countries to this day are defended by the US army,( see art. 9 of the Japanese constitution and the german basic law). Whenever something goes wrong the US is expected to be there to held aid. All of Europe combined does not give the aid that our one country does. And as a dumb American it would make me happy to see it all stop just so I can see what people like you would do without it.

The fact that you even in anyway believe American is not responsible for Europe being as it is today is ludicrous considering we were the ones who invaded normandy on D-day on the mot fortified of the beaches and fought to repel the Nazis and THEN FURTHER paid (never being paid back) to rebuild Europe.

If you understood anything about America you would know that our country is a republic, and we have 50 states which each function like one of your countries. Some of them are bigger than any of your countries. So to compare controlling what goes on in a tiny place like england (130,395 km² and 50,762,900) to America (9,826,630 km² and 304,132,000 people) is a joke. So your assertions that the Greek nation (opps i guess they were really city states but you didn't realize that) invented democracy is meaningless.

Further i don't know where you have been but China is not a third world country apparently you don't read.

Instead of ranting about stuff you don't know, defending an indefensible fine pick up a book because you sound like a moron. Stick to the topic, or at least read a book before start talking nonsense.

[Bull @ May 26th 2008 7:09AM]

EU is the lawless third world not China, please most of our toys are created in China not in EU.

I will never buy anthing European...........No Nokia, No Philips , no Big muscled woman...............................................

[Bull @ May 26th 2008 7:11AM]

From now, I will only buy American, Chinese , Korean and Japanese products.

Bye bye EU.