Jugaccino

If you have already written to Santa asking for a Nintendo DS to appear under your Christmas Tree this Christmas Day, then you better hope that he doesn’t pick up a fake one by accident.

Parents across the country have been warned to keep their eyes open for fake Nintendo DS consoles that have found their way into the country, and not to buy them if they want their kids to have smiles on their faces after they open their presents on the 25th December.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have seized hundreds of fake Nintendo DS consoles in an attempt to tackle the problem in the run up to Christmas, but they are warning buyers to purchase their Nintendo products from trustworthy dealers.  One thing worse than a recession is living in a recession with a fake DS sitting in your palm.  Now that’s depressing.

Pamela Rogers, from HMRC, says that the worst present to receive on Christmas morning isn’t a fake Nintendo DS, it’s the disappointment they will undoubtedly bring if they don’t work, but more importantly, the sales of these counterfeit goods seriously harm the already struggling British economy.

Rogers said, “At best, these consoles would have led to disappointment on Christmas morning.  At worst, they could have caused serious harm or injury.  Counterfeit goods also cause considerable damage to the UK economy by undermining genuine UK retailers and small businesses who are honest and abide by the rules.”

Nintendo DSs on Amazon.co.uk sell for near £100, but if you want one by dodgier means you will be looking at figures closer to £40, which can be quite appealing for shoppers facing job cuts and high bank rates.

Clare Merrills, also from HMRC, warned shoppers that, “You might find you plug it in and the adaptor sets on fire or the wires start to melt and stick out.  When you buy these goods, you’re not funding our economy, you’re actually funding criminals in these far off places and it could be linked to terrorism.”

Talk about a guilt trip…

Nintendo must be worried about this breach of copyright when it comes to their DS consoles, but they can take an easy breathe as they have just won the coveted title of highest weekly-selling gaming console of all time in the UK – for the second consecutive year.

GFK-ChartTrack, who released the record breaking news, are claiming that they believe the Nintendo DS can repeat the task of breaking the record again…this year.

Director of GFK-ChartTrack, Dorian Block, said, “The DS Lite has beaten its own record, almost exactly a year after it first took the title. It wasn’t a huge jump, but it bodes well for the remaining weeks. The interesting thing is that we can now assume that if there is still some DS Lite stock in the land in the next couple of weeks, the record will go again.”

Nintendo can be nothing but proud of their little DSs that they are sending out into the world and making history.  Surely you would want to go out and spend the extra £60 and buy an original one…surely?

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 9:37 am and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.