Just because the price of a console at certain places sounds too good to buy online, don’t even think about getting them especially if you live in the UK. The sale of fake Nintendo DS and DS Lite portable consoles sold by certain websites with headquarters in Asia have been causing certain problems for gamers in the United Kingdom. Not only people have the possibility of getting counterfeited devices, those game systems can be dangerous to use because their adapters are not safe to use them in that country. Nintendo already knows about this problem. So, if you see a console at a cheaper price at a site you’ve never heard from, don’t buy it. It will most likely be a fake console.
Solo porque el precio de una consola en ciertos lugares parece ser muy bueno para comprarlo en línea, ni piensen en conseguirlo especialmente si viven en el RU. La venta de consolas portátiles falsificadas Nintendo DS and DS Lite vendidas en ciertos sitios web con base en Asia han estado causando ciertos problemas para los videojugadores en el Reino Unido. No solamente la gente tiene la posibildad de obtener un dispositivo falsificado, esos sistems de juegos pueden ser peligrosos al usarse porque sus adaptadores corren peligro al ser usados en ese país. Nintendo ya sabe acerca de este problema. Así que si ven una consola a un precio más barato en un sitio del que jamás hayan escuchado, no lo compren. Es más probablemente que sea una consola falsificada.
Christmas Danger From Fake Games Consoles
Issued on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs
Friday 5th December, 2008/… Fake games consoles and adaptors are potentially putting Christmas consumers’ lives in danger, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) warned today. Hundreds of imported counterfeit games consoles seized at UK freight depots were found to have been supplied with potentially dangerous power adaptors. The goods had been purchased from a range of websites, mainly based in Asia, which claimed the items were “genuine Nintendo products.” Many of the consoles, which are fake versions of the popular Nintendo DS and DS Lite had been bought for around £40, instead of the usual retail price of £100.
Nintendo confirmed that the Nintendo DS and DS Lite consoles were counterfeit, and the power adaptors being supplied with the product were not Nintendo manufactured and were, in fact, potentially dangerous, since they had not been electronically tested and do not meet strict UK safety standards.
HMRC’s Head of Intellectual Property rights Pamela Rogers said:
“UK consumers must be vigilant when purchasing goods online. Buy from a reputable or regulated site and, if purchasing from outside the UK or a new website, research the site – check all the facts before you buy.
“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 the UK economy by undermining genuine UK retailers and small businesses who are honest and abide by the rules.”
Mike Rawlinson, managing director for the trade body of the UK game’s industry ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association), comments: “We are asking all concerned parents to be diligent – often when a bargain seems too good to be true it actually is. We would also like to thank HMRC for their role in swiftly alerting all UK ports to be on their guard for similar counterfeit goods coming into the country. As a responsible industry we are also extremely committed to ending the damaging counterfeit games market, which not only defrauds UK tax payers with inferior products but in some cases actually puts children’s lives at risk too. This is an issue that affects all retail businesses, particularly at Christmas, and more needs to be done to work together to mitigate the risks posed by fake goods. We are also continuing to work very closely with Trading Standards Officers on this important safety issue and we also want to thank them for their diligence.”